Sarah Penner's Reviews > The Lost Apothecary

Dear Reader,

Last summer, long before lockdown, I found myself standing in the mud of the River Thames in central London, wearing blue rubber gloves and a pair of old tennis shoes. I was mudlarking—hunting the river for old treasures, which is the inspiration for my debut novel, The Lost Apothecary. Given such an adventure would be impossible right now, I hope my novel provides you an opportunity to escape back in time and embark on a story that begins with one woman’s discovery of a mysterious vial on the banks of the River Thames. The vial is connected to a string of unsolved murders two centuries ago and the female poisoner behind them—an apothecary who sells well-disguised poisons to other women seeking freedom from the men who have wronged them.

The Lost Apothecary is very much a story about women controlling their own destinies. There are dark aspects to the story—like the burden of secrets and the destructive pursuit of vengeance—but it is also a story of hope and the way women can protect, honor, and free one another, even when separated by the barrier of time. While researching this book, I loved digging into historical documents and antiquated ephemera, particularly those relating to eighteenth-century London. Over the last few years, I’ve happily passed many an afternoon in the Rare Books room of the British Library, my head buried in fragile manuscripts from bygone eras. I’ve studied firsthand accounts of apothecaries, druggists, and poisoners. (I know enough to be dangerous, as they say.) So, although The Lost Apothecary is a work of fiction, I have done my best to research and craft a story that is true to history.

As lockdowns continue and many of us turn to books to escape our present reality, I hope you feel swept away by the mysterious world of The Lost Apothecary and the complex female heroines at its heart. You will become familiar with the secret apothecary shop and the many vials lining the shelves—their contents, their preparations, their sinister uses—and peek into the apothecary’s register of names, discovering who stepped through her hidden door in pursuit of poison. And you will, of course, be alongside the apothecary when the unthinkable happens and her greatest secret is exposed.

I invite you now to leave your own lockdown, if only in your imagination, and join me on the banks of the River Thames. Together, we can begin to unbury the secrets belonging to the lost apothecary. I only ask that you tread carefully—for the apothecary is a clever woman and a master of disguise.

Cheers,
Sarah Penner