Disturbed by the blood, she believes it to be Mr. Amwell, but as soon as he passes, she has her first period. The next day Eliza successfully poisons Mr. Nella sells Eliza the poisonous eggs, tucked in a jar with the image of a bear, and they part. Amwell, Eliza is the one who recommended they do it at a seemingly innocuous breakfast mealtime. Amwell plans to murder her husband for incapacitating Eliza with liquor and attempted to rape her.
In the morning Nella meets Eliza Fanning, who purchases two raw eggs, spiked with nux vomica, on behalf of her mistress Mrs.
Nella’s chosen path has restyled the nature of her mother’s shop, but she holds fast to her own two rules: (1) the poison must never be used to harm another woman, and (2) the names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in Nella’s calfskin register. Though the shop, located at 3 Back Alley, once belonged to her late mother and only distributed reputable cures for women’s maladies, Nella now sells poisons to women who would like to kill the harmful men in their lives. In 1791, London, 41-year-old apothecary Nella Clavinger prepares for the daybreak arrival of her latest client. All three stories, in their convergent and divergent points, speak to the themes of betrayal, feminine power, and secrecy. It follows the stories of apothecary Nella Clavinger, young housemaid Eliza Fanning, and London tourist Caroline Parcewell. The novel toggles between an 18th-century and present-day timeline, also alternating between the first-person narration of three characters. This study guide refers to the hardcover edition published by Park Row Books, an imprint of Harlequin Books.
Penner’s novel debuted at #7 on the New York Times Best Sellers List. This is one of many ways the novel’s modern publication date belies its historical resonance, as the book calls back to the deeply gendered social structures of 18th-century London, contrasting them with present-day experiences of gender and society. Readers have found that the character Nella parallels 17th-century Italian poisoner Giulia Tofana, who sold poisons in Naples and Rome to women who desired freedom from their abusive husbands. She draws on both these affiliations to chronicle feminine agency at its most relentless and unconventional, offering a cross-century tale that undermines the patriarchal structures that actively and passively harm women of all eras. Penner, though a corporate associate until the release of this book, belongs to both the Historical Novel Society and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Published in 2021, The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner is a contemporary novel with limbs in both the historical and mystery fiction genres.
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