![]() ![]() There's even some self-flagellation for the puritanical. Some of Eyam's residents respond by panicking. But as the confinement continues, and the village dwindles, individual and collective faiths are undermined. Anna's belief in the Church and faith in God support her decision to accept the rector's proposed quarantine. An interesting theme is the reactions to the spread of the disease. Brooks' task has been to embroider some scant historical threads to create the story of the likeable, hard-working Anna. ![]() The rector's farsighted suggestion is based on fact, although the truth, revealed in Brooks' afterword, is that it came only after he had sent his own daughters away. Guided by their rector, Michael Mompellion, Eyam's residents agree to quarantine themselves off to prevent further spread to neighbouring villages. The fabric's arrival, cutting, sewing and use seal their fate. Unbeknown to Eyam, the plague has already started its ravages in London, and is travelling their way fast, in a flea-infested bolt of cloth. The story, set in the isolated English village of Eyam in 1666, describes the life of Anna Frith, widowed mother of two young children, Jamie and Tom. In Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks largely fulfils her dust-cover promise to examine "the collision of faith, science and superstition at the modern era". By SARAH McRAE* If you're interested in reading about personal and community reactions to the spread of contagion and related ills, then you should probably read on. ![]()
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