Online
#BroaderBookshelf Book Group
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
This month we picked a title based on the #BroaderBookshelf prompt "Read a historical fiction book set before 1900." We will be discussing "The Lost Apothecary" by Sarah Penner.
Each month, the #BroaderBookshelf book group tackles one of the prompts of the 2023 reading challenge. Our title selection for each month can found in print or in electronic formats. This month's title is available for immediate download as an eBook and an eAudiobook from hoopla.
In this addictive and spectacularly imagined debut, a female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them-setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course
Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.
Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary's register.
One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose-selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella's world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.
In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband's infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can't resist investigating, only to realize she's found a link to the unsolved "apothecary murders" that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline's life collides with Nella's and Eliza's in a stunning twist of fate-and not everyone will survive.
With crackling suspense, unforgettable characters and searing insight, The Lost Apothecary is a subversive and intoxicating exploration of women rebelling against a man's world, the destructive force of revenge and the remarkable ways that women can save each other despite the barrier of time.
Our virtual book group discussions will be held on the first Wednesday of every month. After registering, a Zoom link will be provided one day prior to the event.
Questions? Please email lcazier@richlandlibrary.com.
Registration Information:
- This event is held via Zoom.
- Click the registration button below to register.
- The Zoom event link will be e-mailed to registrants the day of the event. If you don't have a Richland Library card, click here to get a card or register as a guest. A valid e-mail address is required to attend.