I read this one in a day! The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner had been on my list since it came out. While looking for audiobooks to accompany me while I knit, this one was available so I decided to knock it off my personal TBR. Little did I think I would love it so much and finish it on the same day! The audiobook has a full cast with 3 narrators, one for each of the point of views that the book shows. Take a look at the synopsis below and then read on for my thoughts.
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.
Content notes include murder, miscarriage, poisoning, infidelity, death, illness, suicide attempt and pedophilia.
Thoughts on The Lost Apothecary
Told through the perspective of two women and a young girl, I was intrigued by the connection between the present day and 1791 in The Lost Apothecary. This is story of three women: one who has been put on a path to find herself, one whose illness is advancing and knows she is brink of death, and a young girl who has so much potential and compassion that one can only love her.
On the Characters
Let’s start with Caroline whose storyline is in the present and is the driver for understanding what happened in the past. As a history major who decided to opt for stability, Caroline chose not to study history further. However, a decade after graduating, her marriage is in jeopardy and an anniversary trip for one leads her to a blue veil on the beaches of the Thames river in London. With the help of a librarian, Caroline starts to rediscover the past around an apothecary who was known to aid in numerous murders in the 18th century but whose true identiy remains unknown. I loved her perspective and it was wonderful to see the help she got from a librarian. Their friendship is one of my highlights of this book!
As Caroline investigates, readers learn about Nella, the apothecary. She is the one who has a hidden store that women go to for remedies, sometimes for ailments, sometimes for people. Eliza is only twelve when she sets foot in Nella’s store, on an errand from her mistress. She is fascinated by the herbs and tinctures at the store and feels the presence of magic, as much as Nella denies any magic in what she does. I loved Eliza for her innocence and brilliance of mind. She is a driven girl and when she realizes that in helping Nella for another customer, she has unintentionally exposed Nella’s shop, she takes matters into her own hands and decides to undo her wrong.
If you have seen or read Wheel of Time, then you would know what I mean when I say Nella is like a Wisdom. In my head, she looks like Nynaeve with a lot more wisdom than Nynaeve. The story of how she inherited her mother’s store and ended up aiding women in getting rid of their problems is quite interesting and alludes to the atrocities that women have suffered at the hands of men for centuries. Nella’s rule of never hurting another woman is tested when the wrong per dies and her shop’s identity is threatened to be exposed.
On Growing Up
While Caroline’s search may be a distraction from her current situation, it is also a reminder of her love for history and the career she did not end up pursuing. Her POV was very well done and I felt like a scholar on the hunt for answers with her. She reminded me of my own university and research days and what happens when a problem haunts us and takes over our lives. How Caroline balances her new pursuit with the imagination that her husband has of her was written well. I liked that later in the book, he challenged her choices when she blames him for what her life has become. The honesty in those conversations and her realization that she is the one who has the final say has a big effect on her and I loved seeing her grow into the woman she became by the end of the book.
Eliza is young when she is hired by a family in London to write letters for the lady. She is a cheerful girl and discovering her womanhood through this book. I found her to be quirky and cute with a passion to learn. She decides to be an apprentice to Nella even though Nella does not want her. She is persistent and ultimately a friend that Nella needs. Their friendship and dependence is written beautifully and I enjoyed seeing the two from the other’s perspective.
This was a beautiful book that made me ponder the life choices women make! The protagonists are written as humans, i.e., they are not perfect but each has her own unique ability to be fascinating. The audiobook added a lot to the narrative by giving each woman a different voice. I quite enjoyed it and would listen to this again!
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Cover Image: Photo by Artem Maltsev on Unsplash
Excellent review, Kriti! I’m so pleased you loved this. I really enjoyed it too 😀
That is fantastic to hear, Stephen! I saw your picked it up on Goodreads and liked it so I prioritized it on my pile. Looking forward to our next read. 🙂