The Illness Lesson: A Novel

Synopsis

"Feels like both a classical ghost story and like a modern (and very timely) scream of female outrage. A masterpiece" ELIZABETH GILBERT"You want to know how horrifying things happened while decent people looked on and did nothing? Read this novel" MARY BETH KEANE“A Sunday Times Book to Read in 2020: A classic ghost story for fans of Picnic at Hanging Rock, Deborah Levy, Jeffrey Eugenides” SUNDAY TIMES STYLEIt is 1871. At the farm of Samuel Hood and his daughter, Caroline, a mysterious flock of red birds has descended. Samuel, whose fame as a philosopher is waning, 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, seizures, verbal tics, night wanderings. In desperate, the school turns to the ministering of a sinister physician – just as Caroline’s body, too, begins its betrayal. As the girls’ condition worsens, Caroline must confront the all-male, all-knowing authorities of her world, the ones who insist the voices of the sufferers are unreliable. Written in intensely vivid prose and brimming with insight, The Illness Lesson is a powerful exploration of women’s bodies, women’s minds and the time-honoured tradition of doubting both.

Copyright:

2020

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

Book Size:

288 Pages

ISBN-13:

9781473565647

Related ISBNs:

9781473578029, 9781784164386

Publisher:

Transworld

Date of Addition:

10/27/22

Copyrighted By:

Clare Beams

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Literature and Fiction, Mystery and Thrillers

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.