All the Things

A blog by Holly Papa.

Petals in the Ashes by Mary Hooper

by | Jan 25, 2010 | Blog | 14 comments

petals in the ashes

I read this, the second in a series, without reading the first, “The Sign of the Sugared Plum”. My husband picked some great books up for me at the library when I was sick, and this was one he came home with. Luckily, it is great reading and stands on its own, without the necessity of reading the first book, although now I would really like to read the first one.

Set in England during the ‘Black Plague’ of the mid 1600s, two sisters Hannah and Sarah manage to escape the city of London with a wealthy family’s baby they hope will buy them health and peace in the country. Unfortunately, every city has rules for new occupants to pass health tests and the two sisters must wait out two months in a pest house. A pest house is the place where all the poor and deathly ill are ‘taken care of’ if you can call it that. Living in putrid circumstances, the sisters manage to remain healthy and take care of their charge until they are able to move to the estate that has sponsored their escape.

Amazing historical fiction- I have always been fascinated with stories of the plague. Perhaps knowing some of our relatives survived the plague’s destruction in Eyam, Derbyshire, England, contributes a little to that. Highly informative, this book also includes the Great Fire of 1666 a horrific disaster that burned much of London, and probably helped to cleanse the area of the Plague.

14 Comments

  1. Candice

    Thanks for the review, I love historical fictions! I’ll have to check it out :o)

    Reply
  2. Candice

    Thanks for the review, I love historical fictions! I’ll have to check it out :o)

    Reply
  3. Britt, Book Habitue

    Sounds really interesting. I just put all three of hers on hold….
    😀

    Reply
  4. Britt, Book Habitue

    Sounds really interesting. I just put all three of hers on hold….
    😀

    Reply
  5. Kaylie

    Thanks for the tip on that one. I just reserved it at the library. I’m excited to find new authors!

    Reply
  6. Kaylie

    Thanks for the tip on that one. I just reserved it at the library. I’m excited to find new authors!

    Reply
  7. hollybookscoops

    Candice- You’re welcome, I think you’ll like these.
    Britt- Come back and tell us what you think- as much as I loved this book, I haven’t checked out the author’s other books, so I’d love to hear your opinion!
    Kaylie- You’re welcome! It’s always exciting to find another good book to read.

    Reply
  8. hollybookscoops

    Candice- You’re welcome, I think you’ll like these.
    Britt- Come back and tell us what you think- as much as I loved this book, I haven’t checked out the author’s other books, so I’d love to hear your opinion!
    Kaylie- You’re welcome! It’s always exciting to find another good book to read.

    Reply
  9. Dan

    Thanks for the review. I think my daughter will really like this.

    Reply
  10. Dan

    Thanks for the review. I think my daughter will really like this.

    Reply
  11. hollybookscoops

    Britt- Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed them both! I still need to get on the bandwagon and read the first one. I’m glad for the reminder- thanks for stopping by!

    Reply
  12. hollybookscoops

    Britt- Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed them both! I still need to get on the bandwagon and read the first one. I’m glad for the reminder- thanks for stopping by!

    Reply

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