Set in England during the Plague this book introduces us to another strong woman who lost her husband, her children and many friends during the Plague. It also gives insight into the way people viewed the plague, how to cure it, how to treat it and how to deal with those they believed to be responsbible for it. It also showed how women were treated in a variety of stations of life. Whether they were married off to older men, cast aside by those who believed them to be unworthy, tried as witches or esteemed for the healing they could do the women were able to endure the hardships of life and still maintain their humanity.
I was surprised at the end of the book to find that the relationship between the Minister and his wife (Michael and Elinor Mompellion) was not even close to what I thought it had been. This man of God who did so much for others was unable to forgive his wife for loving another prior to their marriage. I found his treatment of her cruel and can not even imagine how they lived together as they did without animosity. I was not surprised that Anna left England but was surprised that she essentially ended up as part of a harem. Still, each decision was hers to make and hers to live. She was a very strong woman!
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