dotlit Book Review: 'Pertinent Story: 'The Year of Wonders' by Geraldine Brooks'

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24 Nov. 2001	Pertinent Story: 'The Year of Wonders' by Geraldine Brooks Blythe Seinor


	Geraldine Brooks. The Year of Wonders. Penguin, 2001.

	Wednesday 26 September, 2001

	Geraldine Brooks speaks to the crowd gathered at the Brisbane Hilton conference room with secure confidence. Her expression is intense as she relays her discoveries about the great plague of 1666, discoveries which roused in her the fervor to tell the story of the people of Eyam Village in her new novel Year of Wonders. Her speech reveals her passion and desire to share the sense of intimacy she has forged with the townspeople who resided in a so-called plague village over three hundred years ago.		1

	On a trip to England in 1990 Brooks chanced upon a small sign marked 'Plague Village' and the initial seeds of this book were sown. The town itself intrigued Brooks who says, 'There are very few places in the world that would advertise a "Plague Village Restaurant" as a selling point'. However, it wasn't until years later that Brooks' initial interest manifested itself in further research and writing.		2

	This novel is Brooks' first work of fiction and is cast through the voice of Anna Frith, a courageous heroine who works throughout the year of the plague tending to the sick and dying. The voice of Anna was animated by utilising the factual account of William Mompesson, the village rector who encouraged the villagers to stay in Eyam Village and avert the spread of further infection. A letter written by Mompesson testifies to his need for help in his work, My maid continued in health; which was a blessing for had she quailed, I should have been ill set...		3

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