In what ways did the two women respond similarly to these betrayals? In what ways did they respond differently? Do you feel that one woman was more emotionally resilient than the other?Ĥ) Nella and Eliza form an unlikely friendship early in the story, despite Nella's resistance to having the young girl in her shop a second time. Had you heard of mudlarking prior to reading this book? Do you believe that fate or coincidence led to her discovery? Have you ever stumbled on something that you consider to be fate?ģ) Both Nella and Caroline have been betrayed by men in their lives. When you first learned that Nella was a murderer, how did you view her? How did your feelings change over the course of the book as more of her past was revealed? Did you believe she would eventually find redemption? In the end, did you see her as a hero, a villain, or something in between? Why?Ģ) At the beginning of Caroline's story, she finds the apothecary vial while on a mudlarking tour.

Her work is sinister, and much about her character is dark and disturbing. Restrictions apply.1) The Lost Apothecary opens with Nella in her shop, preparing to dispense a poison meant to kill a man. Suddenly those letters languishing in the attic seem like small potatoes! (Future mudlarkers, take note: You’ll need to secure a “foreshore permit” from the Port of London Authority. About two years ago, someone found a human skeleton.” There are animal bones and little sewing pens the Victorians used. You can find anything from Roman coins to old clay pipes to leather shoes from the Tudor era. “Every day the River Thames rises 23 to 24 feet.

You may be wondering, what in the world is mudlarking? “It’s like beachcombing, but you’re looking for historical artifacts instead of sea glass or gold,” Penner explained in a phone interview. In present-day London, an aspiring historian joins a mudlarking expedition on the banks of the Thames there, she discovers a small blue vial that leads her to a 200-year-old mystery involving a poison-dispensing apothecary and a 12-year-old girl who makes a deadly mistake. Sarah Penner went with a grittier approach in her debut novel, “The Lost Apothecary,” which is No. POISON PEN(NER) Fans of historical fiction are familiar with the vehicles authors use to transport a story from the present to the past: A bundle of letters tied with ribbon, hidden in a steamer trunk black-and-white pictures, tucked into a grandmother’s jewelry box, or better yet, her diary a newspaper or map stashed in the rafters.

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