Year of Wonders

A Novel

By: Geraldine Brooks

Narrated by: Geraldine Brooks

Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

“Plague stories remind us that we cannot manage without community . . . Year of Wonders is a testament to that very notion.”–The Washington Post

An unforgettable tale, set in 17th century England, of a village that quarantines itself to arrest the spread of the plague, from the author The Secret Chord and of March, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."

Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. Written with stunning emotional intelligence and introducing "an inspiring heroine" (The Wall Street Journal), Brooks blends love and learning, loss and renewal into a spellbinding and unforgettable read.

©2010 Penguin Audiobooks (P)2010 Geraldine Brooks

Critic reviews

"The novel glitters . . . A deep imaginative engagement with how people are changed by catastrophe."—The New Yorker

“Plague stories remind us that we cannot manage without community . . . Year of Wonders is a testament to that very notion . . . [The villagers] assume collective responsibility for combating the plague, rather than seeing it as an act of God before which they are powerless.”—The Washington Post

"Year of Wonders is a vividly imagined and strangely consoling tale of hope in a time of despair."—O, The Oprah Magazine

Good Book - Terrible Reader

The book was an interesting tale of a horrific time in history. The characters were well developed and the story was fascinating, which is the only reason I stuck with it. The reader lacked any emotion and at times the words were slurred, making it hard to understand her. I wasn't sure which of us would fall asleep first - the reader or me!

Wonderful!

I adore historical books, and although this is fictional, it was a wonderful read. I started reading this book, only to switch happily to the audible version which I truly enjoyed listening to. While the current corona virus hysteria is ongoing at this time, it was fascinating to read this story of the plague at this tome. Comparisons abound. Anna will hold a place in my heart for her compassionate ways. Thank you Geraldine Brooks for sharing your wonderful gift.

Difficult to Listen To

What did you like best about Year of Wonders? What did you like least?

I liked the time period setting and some of the description of events. But, I could not get into this book. The narration was horrible.

Would you recommend Year of Wonders to your friends? Why or why not?

Not unless you can get past the narration. I would love to listen with a different narration. It might be a decent story.

Writer is fine reader of her own text!

Ms Brooks is a fine reader of her own novel. Who better? She is big-hearted and erudite.

Great story

Wonderful story and characters but found it hard to look past the monotone voice of the narrator.

Good book to read in 2020!

A novel of the plague was an important read in 2020 as we have been dealing with COVID 19. Thinking about how people had to deal with the plague when they had very few medical resources to deal with it. It was so sad to hear the stories of so many deaths, yet the strengths so many people had kept their little town alive. The book is well written and the author did a lot of research to learn as much as she could about the plague.

covid redux

Audio "reading" this brilliant book during the year(s) of Covid has been an eerie experience. I stuck with it because the story was so gripping. The author's voice is my only complaint. Her voice is SO annoying that I almost gave up. Monotone, flat, muffled, and even garbled at times . . . but what a story! Because this book is bound to have a new audience in post-Covid years, hope a new reader can do this great book the justice it deserves.

slow to start, but good

Not knowing what to expect, I found the book a little slow to start, but once I became familiar with the characters, I enjoyed the story. I did not anticipate it ending the way it did!

Brilliant and beautiful

Brilliant, beautiful, elegiac, exquisite, and perfectly timed. One of the top ten of the year Make this the next book you read,

Wow!

Great read! Learned so much about this period of time. The ending was an unexpected surprise.