The Lost Apothecary
 First edition | |
| Author | Sarah Penner |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Novel |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Published | Legend Press |
Publication date | March 2021 |
| Publication place | UK |
| Media type | Book |
| Pages | 268 pages |
| ISBN | 978-1789558975 |
The Lost Apothecary is a New York Times bestseller debut book written by Sarah Penner.[1][2][3]
Fox Broadcasting Company is developing a television adaptation of novel.[4]
Plot
 | This section's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (December 2021) |
The story unfolds simultaneously in 1791 and present day.
In early February 1791, Nella waits in the secret room of her mother's apothecary shop. The shop once supplied remedies but now provides poison. Twelve-year-old lady's maid Eliza Fanning seeks to poison her lord, so Nella instills poison into a pair of eggs, and Eliza cooks them the next morning. The newspaper reports he succumbed to alcohol, and the poison goes undetected.
Eliza returns to the shop excited about the success and witnesses Lady Clarence's arrival. Nella prepares a poison for the death Lady Clarence's note specified, but upon discovering she intends to harm another woman, Nella tosses it into the fire. Lady Clarence orders Nella to have another batch ready the next day, or she will report the shop to the authorities. Eliza recognizes that Nella is sick and offers to help. They travel to a farm to collect beetles while Nella recalls the origin of the shop. Twenty years earlier, a man came to the store for his sister. They started seeing each other, and she became pregnant. He made her dinner and left, and she lost the baby. Soon after, his wife arrived at the shop. Realizing he drugged her to lose the baby, Nella plotted with his wife to poison him. Since then, Nella has almost exclusively provided poisons.
They return with the beetles and grind them into powder which Eliza puts in a bottle and gives to Lady Clarence. Nella tells Eliza not to come back, so Eliza wanders around and comes across a book store. The boy who works the counter gives her a Magick book. Eliza promises to return if she tries any spells.
Lady Clarence returns to the store frustrated because Lord Clarence consumed the poison and died. Nella isn't concerned until Lady Clarence notices her bottle is different from the other ones—it has writing on it. Nella realizes that Eliza used one of her mother's bottles with an address. Lady Clarence leaves to get the bottle, and Nella brings Eliza back to the store. Lady Clarence returns with the bottle, and they're relieved until the next day when Nella notices a newspaper with a drawing of it. She learns Lady Clarence's maid took a wax impression of it and reported the incident to the authorities. Nella hurries back to the shop and catches Eliza in the middle of a spell. Nella tells her they have to go, and Eliza slips a pair of bottles into her dress
As Eliza and Nella leave the shop for good, they notice Constables chasing after them. They run to the bridge, and Nella orders Eliza to hide in the crowd. Eliza realizes Nella plans to jump. Eliza drinks her bottle, insisting it will save her, then jumps. Nella stares in horror as the Constables catch up to her, but they misidentify the jumper as the killer apothecary and let her go. She returns to the shop and writes Eliza's name in the registry. She starts having difficulty breathing and faintly sees Eliza holding out a vial to her.
In present day, Caroline arrives alone in London. The trip was intended to be a tenth anniversary celebration, but she learned her husband was having an affair. She prioritizes her interests and goes mudlarking, uncovering an apothecary bottle with a bear engraving. The guide tells her to go to the British Library and ask his daughter, Gaynor. Gaynor is unable to uncover much, but after doing some research on her own, Caroline finds a deathbed confession mentioning a killer apothecary. She visits the address she deduced from the confession and spots an old door nearly obscured from view. She takes this information back to Gaynor, who requests documents related to killer apothecary.
Caroline reads an email from James letting her know he ended the affair and is on a plane to London. Caroline is frustrated by this but greets him nonetheless. They have breakfast, during which James claims he's willing to do anything to keep their marriage. Caroline doesn't decide anything, especially because she worries she may be pregnant, as she is a few days late. She asks for more space and chastises him for following her. That night, she sneaks out to the alley and sees a sign that warns "no trespassing." She considers going back to the hotel but refuses to let James spook her. She breaks in, but without a flashlight, resorts to using her phone light, which drains her battery quickly. She takes several photographs and leaves just as her phone is about to die.
When she returns to the hotel, James tells her he hasn't been feeling well and asks if she has any DayQuil. She doesn't, but she offers him the eucalyptus oil she brought with her. He heads out, during which time she writes notes about the pictures she took, which contain the registry and lists the ingredients and poisons the apothecary gave out. She questions how typically nonlethal substances can be used as poisons, as that seems to reoccur in the registry. James returns noticeably worse. He asks that she go out so she won't have to see him sick. Gaynor shows her the articles she requested, one of which has an image of the bottle she found in the Thames. James calls suddenly and asks her to come back. When she gets there, she sees he's been throwing up blood and asks the hotel to call the hospital.
As the paramedics arrive, Caroline deduces that James drank the eucalyptus oil. While at the hotel, the paramedics see her notes and tell the police. They ride together in the ambulance, but Caroline is held back at the hospital by officers. The police insist her notes are condemning enough to arrest her, disregarding her research claims. Gaynor calls, and Caroline asks her to come down and confirm their research, which she does. Unconvinced, the officers follow her to James's room. James dismisses them, and they finally accept she didn't poison him and leave. Caroline is relieved James is okay but unsure about staying with him. She discovers she isn't pregnant and returns to tell him she intends to file for separation. James grows upset and reveals he purposefully drank the eucalyptus oil to make her forgive him. This only increases Caroline's resolve. She applies to a Cambridge Graduate Program as she intended before James proposed, and she and Gaynor remain close.
She reads the second article and learns that the apothecary jumped off the bridge as suicide. Her pictures contradict the article from February 11 because the last entry of the registry is February 12. The final entry is under the name "Eliza Fanning." Caroline researches Eliza and discovers Eliza married the bookstore boy and had two children. When her husband died, she inherited the shop, which became solely dedicated to Magick. She claimed Magick saved her life and a friend was still around to advise her because of it.
Caroline returns to the bridge with the bottle. She thinks she sees two women walking towards her, but as she lets go of the bottle, they are gone.
Reception
The Lost Apothecary is a New York Times best seller.[5]
Before publication, the book was named one of the most anticipated books of the year by CNN,[6] HELLO!, Newsweek,[7] and O, The Oprah Magazine.[8]
Following publication, the book received positive reviews from NPR,[9] Booklist,[10] and Library Journal,[11] as well as a mixed review from Publishers Weekly.[12] Reader's Digest,[13] Good Housekeeping,[14] and Cosmopolitan[15] included it in their lists of best books of the year.
In late 2021, it was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction and for Debut Novel.[16]
Adaptation
The Lost Apothecary will be adapted into a television drama series by Fox Broadcasting Company.[17]
References
- ^ Egan, Elisabeth (18 March 2021). "Writing a Novel? Don't Be Afraid to Get Muddy". Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Company, Tampa Publishing. "Sarah Penner's 'The Lost Apothecary' an intriguing tale of domestic poison". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "'The Lost Apothecary' Is A Poisonously Good Read". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ White, Peter (2 June 2021). "'The Lost Apothecary' Novel By Sarah Penner In The Works As Drama Series At Fox". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ "Historical Fiction: A story that centers around women that immerses you in 1970s London. It's atmospheric and well-paced". Princeton Book Review. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Kennedy, Lesley (2 March 2021). "20 of the most anticipated new books to read this March". CNN Underscored. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ Pignataro, Juliana Rose (23 December 2020). "2021's most highly anticipated new books: 26 fiction and nonfiction titles to get lost in". Newsweek. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ Nicolaou, Elena (29 April 2021). "The Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Novels". Oprah Daily. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ Bryce, Denny S. (13 March 2021). "'The Lost Apothecary' Is A Poisonously Good Read". NPR. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ "The Lost Apothecary". Booklist. 21 March 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Sarah, Penner. "The Lost Apothecary". Library Journal. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ "Fiction Book Review: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner. Park Row, $27.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-7783-1101-0". PublishersWeekly.com. 11 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "50 Best Fiction Books to Read This Year". Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ Schumer, Lizz (1 December 2021). "These Are the Best Books of 2021". Good Housekeeping. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ Freedman, Adrianna; Thomas, Leah Marilla (28 October 2021). "If You Want to Literally Transport Yourself to Another Time Period, Try These Historical Fiction Novels". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ "Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Debut Novel!". Goodreads. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ White, Peter (2 June 2021). "'The Lost Apothecary' Novel By Sarah Penner In The Works As Drama Series At Fox". Deadline. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)