Janet Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 A Parcel of Patterns by Jill Paton Walsh ”Go home, Thomas!” I said. “You are in grave peril here.” It is Mall who tells of the tragedy of the fearful plague coming to her village, possibly bought from London by a parcel of dress patterns. She tells dramatically and powerfully of how the villagers lived and died, and of their collective heroism in containing the disease. But this is also a moving love story, for Mall must not go to meet her beloved Thomas, for fear of passing the sickness on to him. I very much enjoyed Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks when I read it a few years ago so I was pleased to discover this book about the same subject. This is the same story of a village making the sacrifice of quarantining themselves to try to prevent the spread of plague of course, because it’s taken from real events, but Mall is fictional (although her parents, William and Mary Percival, are based on real people) and her story is told in a different way. The book’s ‘blurb’ talks about it being a ‘love story’ and whilst it is undoubtedly about love, it’s definitely not sentimental or gushing. The characters, many of whom appear in Year of Wonders, including, (obviously), the Parson William Momphesson and his wife, Catherine (who are called Mompellion in Brooks’ work) are vividly written and come to life, and despite this being a children’s book (it’s published by Puffin) the story is not told in a patronising way. Despite the shortness of the book (it’s only 137 pages long) the story does not feel lacking at all. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely look out for more of Jill Paton Walsh’s books - and it has again made me determined to visit the village of Eyam for myself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Nice wee review there Janet....sounds good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted February 2, 2011 Author Share Posted February 2, 2011 Sorry I missed your reply, Diane. It was good. Eyam and the Plague is such an interesting subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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