The Apothecary's Daughter

This story was excellent and so true to life when life is a jumble. Lots of twists and turns, joy and sadness. All of which brought laughter and tears at how life can be. I enjoyed the book tremendously !!

Intriguing and a wonderful overall story

Ah....if I told you that, I would give the plot and story away !!

The title of the book. The title is what drew me in.

Read the book. It's wonderful

Yes. There was a lot of historical information about the plague and the fires in London. Also, what spices, etc, they used to cure illness.

The Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Although the Apothecary's Daugher was easier and quicker to get thru.

Well of course, Suzanne was my favorite character. What that poor girl put up with but never lost her courage and drive.

Suzanne again. She faced many trying issues but always saw them thru. Courage could be her middle name.

Don't miss this book. I thought it was one of the best I have listened to in years. And trust me, I do over 50 books a year.

I learned many things about this sad time in the history of England and the impact of the plague. The apothecary's craft is fascinating and so are the characters in the book. Great story overall.

This novel takes place in 1665 and includes the Plague endemic and the Great London Fire as part of its background. Susanna Leyton grew up working with her father, an apothecary, helping him fill orders. In fact, she knew as much about it as he did, having learned from him. Then her father, a widower, remarries-a woman whoo is interested mostly in his money and who already has three children of her own. She wants Susanna out of the house and so helps engineer a marriage proposal from a charming businessman, Henry Savage. Although she has no wish to marry, there are few jobs in the 1600’s that a woman was allowed to do besides being a governess, a lady’s housemaid, or a prostitute. So she marries Henry and finds out her husband is not so charming and has secrets which could financially devastate her. He dies of the plague, however, and Susanna goes on to further adventures involving both the plague and the fire and to ultimate happiness. This is a quick read, a feel-good book but with realistic descriptions of the plague and how people reacted while it was raging. Very good.

I can't believe I wasted hours of my life listening to this book! I kept on listening, hoping that the story would improve, but that didn't happen. While the performance is excellent (the reader does a great job of reading different characters), the story is predictable, melodramatic, sentimental, and the heroine is positively shrewish and annoying. The prose is also filled with groan-inducing cliches. What calamity doesn't befall this woman? It was as if the writer took her cue from soap operas, where the heroine endures unbelievable hardships only to (of course) triumph in the end. The story is also troubling because of the stereotypical representation of the black ("African") characters. I'd expect to find these representations in an 18th-century novel but not in a contemporary one. If you're looking for a smart romantic story with a can-do heroine and thoughtful characterizations, this is not for you.

The story may be good. I tried several times , but I was unable to over come the cadance of the narration.