The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
5 out of 5 magical coffee cups
There was a lot going on in this book, and it was told from three different points of view: Nella (1791), the apothecary owner; Eliza (1791), a twelve-year-old hanging around Nella; and Caroline (present-day), a woman who stumbled upon one of Nella’s apothecary vials on the bank of the Thames in London.
I was lucky enough to travel to Italy during grad school and found time to go on as many tours as possible. The best one was probably Rome After Dark. It was a walking tour that started at 9 pm. The tour guide told us stories about the buildings as we roamed Rome. One of those tales was about a woman who would sell poisons to women so they could escape cruel husbands. There was no way to put a number on how many she may have killed, but the story was fascinating.
Once I saw what this book was about, I knew I had to have it! I know I was in Italy and not London, but the apothecary story was similar! I’m sure many towns had identical tales. Also, that cover is gorgeous!
I loved hearing about Nella and Eliza but was slightly annoyed with most of Caroline’s life. Part of me would love to read a book about Eliza and Nella or even just Eliza. I still loved this book and would highly recommend others to give it a chance. Maybe it was my love of history, how this book reminded me of my trip to Italy, or maybe Nella’s and Eliza’s parts of the book were just that awesome, but I still found this book to be one of my favorites.
Now, I want to go on ghost tours in London! When I was younger, I loved reading because it took me places I thought I would never see. Now that I am an adult, it’s possible that I could save up and travel to some of these places! Are there people out there who plan their vacations based on the books they have read? I want to travel to all of these places, take some photos, and slip those photos into the books so that when I reread or flip through the books, I can see the actual locations.
I bet there is a blog where someone already does this. Let me know who they are; I want to see their photos!
Literary Coffee 