The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Title: The Lost Apothecary

Author: Sarah Penner

Release Date: March 2, 2021

Length: 301 pages

My Review

The Lost Apothecary, which takes place in the shadowy lanes of late eighteenth-century London, is a stunning mix of intrigue, murder, suspense, remorse, revelation, and historical adventure.

The second phase occurs in the present day when American Caroline Parcewell is in London for her tenth wedding anniversary celebration—until she learned her husband is having an affair.

How are these two stories related, though?

The story opens in 1791 London when the reader is introduced to a mystery woman by the name of Nella who runs a covert business out of a room of her mother’s former pharmacy store, where she first discovered the medicinal properties of plants and herbs.

Nella’s mother has passed away, and after being the victim of a cheating lover’s treachery, she uses her expertise to create potions that would bring men like him to their knees.

She is a well-kept secret that only women are aware of to safeguard her identity. A young girl turns out to be Nella’s newest client as she waits for her in a secret pharmacy that is concealed behind a fake wall in the rear of a dark London alley on a chilly February night.

She sets up a chain of future events when she agrees to let the young girl who indicates an interest in learning more about her profession assist her.

Present-day Caroline Parcewell, whose marriage is disintegrating, arrives in London for what was intended to be a tenth wedding anniversary party.
She is alone herself, and the significance of the vial she discovers on the Thames’s shoreline is both historic and life-altering.

Two shifting timelines are the focus of The Lost Apothecary, which I enjoy when done effectively, as it is here. It’s impossible to put this amazing tale down since it’s so deep, interesting, and captivating. In this outstanding book, the past and present are intertwined. The stories of Nella and Caroline are presented in alternate chapters.

As we alternate between each woman’s three points of view in each chapter, the staging is excellent. The little blue vial serves as an enticing bridge between the two eras.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner is visually rich, so you can feel the squish of the Thames’s thick muck and see what the characters see as the soot-blackened pharmacy comes to life before your eyes.

The story has a gothic, eerie feel to it that blends with a wonderful ambiance. You get shivers, goosebumps, and the hairs on the back of your neck rise as you sense oncoming peril.

The historical setting and the language used for Nella and Eliza are accurate. I find the comparison between then and today to be interesting, but it also amply proves that certain things never change.

All the characters are nuanced and do their best to fulfill their goals. Nella wants to assist women, particularly her new acquaintance Eliza. Caroline is attempting to determine what brings her joy. Nella’s narrative captivated me more than Caroline’s, which surprised me because I had expected to be more engaged in hers.

She is a complex figure who lived in a time when men, frequently wicked men, decided the destiny of women. Nella’s response may appear to be a harsh form of retribution on the surface, but it costs her soul.

When Caroline comes upon that vial, she decides to learn more about its past and origin. What she learns fills her with delight and happiness.

Despite having a history degree, she works as a simple bookkeeper at her family’s company back in Cincinnati where she lives. She is reawakened by this quest in a way that brings clarity to her existence.

In the course of her acquaintance with Gaynor from the British Library, Caroline discovers interesting strands that she follows in the obscure nooks of London.

How far some women will go to rebel against a man’s society can be seen in The Lost Apothecary. I adored this story’s originality, as well as the way the depictions of the people and setting were done.

The Lost Apothecary is an excellently written novel that is both intriguing and intelligent. With the two parallel universes fusing flawlessly, it is gloomy, a little menacing, dramatic, enchanting, and haunting. I suggest reading this if you need a short escape from reality.