Witchcraft and PoisonĪ captivating part of Nella’s storyline was the introduction of Eliza, the 12-year-old maid of one of Nella’s clients. The events of their encounter forever alter their lives. However, Nella realizes too late her new client wants to murder the mistress – despite Nella being sworn to never hurt a woman. In 1791, Nella meets with a new client for a “solution” for her husband’s affair. As a result, Caroline decides to go on her 10th wedding anniversary to London alone. The Lost Apothecary begins with Caroline reeling from the discovery her husband was having an affair. who had nowhere to turn – especially considering women had few options in 1791.Ĭheating was explored thematically throughout the novel in both timelines. The apothecary, Nella, creates poisons and their mode of delivery for her clients, women whose lives are being threatened by men, be that physically, emotionally, psychologically, or economically. What drew me to The Lost Apothecary was the (extremist) feminist twist on murders in 1791. The 1791 storyline details how the (lost) apothecary became linked to the murders in question. 20 – intersect compellingly: our modern-day Heroine, Caroline, investigates the unsolved apothecary murders after discovering a vial that’s related to the apothecary on a mudlarking expedition in London. I loved the premise of The Lost Apothecary! The two timelines – present-day c. See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.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.

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.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity.

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. 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. One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register. Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.

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.

Book review the lost apothecary