The illness lesson : a novel
Title
:
The illness lesson : a novel
Author
:
Beams, Clare, author.
ISBN
:
9780385544665
9780525565475
9780857526311
Edition
:
1st ed.
Physical Description
:
271 pages ; 25 cm.
Subject Term
:
Philosophers -- Fiction.
Fathers and daughters -- Fiction.
Girls' schools -- Fiction.
Secrets -- Fiction.
Geographic Term
:
New England -- History -- 19th century -- Fiction.
Genre
:
Historical fiction.
Summary
:
The year is 1871. In Ashwell, Massachusetts, at the farm of Samuel Hood and his daughter, Caroline, a mysterious flock of red birds descends. Samuel, whose fame as a philosopher has waned in recent years, takes the birds' appearance as an omen that the time is ripe for his newest venture. He will start a school for young women, guiding their intellectual development as he has so carefully guided his daughter's. Despite Caroline's misgivings, Samuel's vision--revolutionary, as always; noble, as always; full of holes, as always--takes shape. It's not long before the students begin to manifest bizarre symptoms. Rashes, fits, headaches, verbal tics, night wanderings. In desperation, the school turns to the ministering of a sinister physician--based on a real historic treatment--just as Caroline's body, too, begins its betrayal. As the girls' conditions worsens, long-buried secrets emerge, and Caroline must confront the all-male, all-knowing authorities around her, the ones who insist the voices of the sufferers are unreliable. In order to save herself, Caroline may have to destroy everything she's ever known.
Library | Call Number | Status |
---|
Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake) | FICTION BEA | Fiction Collection |
Oakdale Library | FICTION BEA | Fiction Collection |
R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | FICTION BEA | Fiction Collection |
Stillwater Public Library | FICTION BEA | Fiction Collection |