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Plague Searchers: Red Wands: Volume I
Not yet published
Expected 1 Apr 28It is 1665 and London faces two deadly threats – the devastating plague, and dangerous rumblings of a rebellion against the King, Charles II. In the frontline of the plague, the ‘first responders’, are the ancient women of the the Viewers, Keepers and Searchers, who must deal with the sick, the dying and the dead. Political and religious differences split the city. Some yearn for the days of Oliver Cromwell and the Puritan Commonwealth, others rejoice in the pleasure loving King’s return.
A tale of friendships and feuds, songs and psalms, plots and betrayals, this exciting and original novel paints a rich picture of life – and death – in the perilous streets of plague-struck London.
A tale of friendships and feuds, songs and psalms, plots and betrayals, this exciting and original novel paints a rich picture of life – and death – in the perilous streets of plague-struck London.
480 pages, Paperback
Expected publication April 1, 2028
4 people want to read
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June 7, 2023
Rob Wills, Plague Searchers Volumes 1 and 2, Arcadia 2022.
The description ‘immense’ has been at the forefront of my feelings about Rob Wills’ Plague Searchers, Volume 1, Red Wands and Volume 2, Flee Quick, Go Far. It is possible that such a description usually applies to novels that reach far into the past and future, that it implies that large characters will perform amazing deeds and that huge events will thunder across the pages and geographical expanses. Instead, Plague Searchers begins in London on Wednesday, 7 June 1665 with the last chapter set in London on Sunday, 29 October 1665. The characters with which the book begins, the plague searchers, Widow Margaret Hazard and Goodwife Joan Brokefild, are again together at the end. Their immediate whereabouts has changed, and so too, has Goodwife Joan Brokefild’s marital status – at the end of the book she is Widow Joan Brokefild.
The scenes in which Joan Brokefild changes her status are wonderful. They are a splendid example of the immensity of the concept Rob Wills has brought to these months in London during the plague. Not least is the gentle sisterhood Widow Margaret Hazard exhibits towards her companion. But the way in which sisterhood is juxtaposed with the gruesome details of how the change in status was facilitated, laid out through Joan Brokefild’s ruminations and the conversation between the women, are absolute jewels. And this is but one example of the way in which Wills uses his characters, those who are so often overlooked, to bring immense ideas to his story. Looking at each paragraph as a weaving together of a multitude of ideas, events and beliefs is one of the joys of reading (and re-reading) this work. Where a novel goes into two volumes as seamlessly as does this one, the question might be asked – why? Why not cull? The answer must be – how? When the layers are so thoughtful and give so much, why not just enjoy, and think about the ideas that are so convincingly conveyed through each paragraph, indeed relish every sentence – and sometimes every word, as crude as they might be at times!
The location from which the two women have moved is from an uncomfortable wall in Chapter 1, to a room with a fire in chapter XLVl. However, they remain in their London streets, in a seemingly small world. Geographically it is. But what a wealth of knowledge, momentous events deceptively writ small, tumultuous ideas and concepts have been elicited through the Searchers’ gossip, their unending interest in their surroundings and the events that influence these, their contacts and the events that take place around them.
In the second volume the plague has abated and the impact of its disappearance on the widows is felt through their concerns about the fewer fourpences they will receive as corpses become scarcer. Widow Margaret Hazard has had this work for over thirty years, even though readers have been privy to only to several months’ events through Plague Searchers. She has weathered attempts to diminish her status through the introduction of doctors to verify (at a much higher fee) her findings; she has maintained her friendships with other Searchers, but also seen some succumb to bribery or death from the plague; she has met with various levels of local government officials and contributed to their findings or debate about procedures. Throughout the thirty years the religious and methods of government have changed and changed again; new religious ideas have joined the wax and waning of confirmed bible understandings through the major religious protagonists. Now, as the year ends, officially those who do not follow the Church of England’s teachings must leave the cities or corporations which are represented in Parliament.
Here, the Searchers’ story gives way to the perfidy of the rich and powerful, administrators, royalty and religious, throughout the plague years – they have left their subjects, parishioners and staff to maintain the London environment to which they want to return after the danger has diminished. It is in stories such as these, and the graphic examples of how people’s lives were so different depending on their class and gender, that the immensity of Wills’ novels can again be observed. Issues such as class and sexism, and the social commentary associated with them are as immense in a novel that covers a brief period, and depends so strongly on women’s stories and observations, or those of the less mighty, as in novels dedicated to such themes explored by major figures. The subtle weaving together of the events of this period as observed through clerks’ meetings, women’s chatter, children’s relationships with their parents and other adults is as important in illuminating issues as a novel obviously dedicated to them.
There remains 1666 to deal with London, the remnants of the plague, the poor and the future. It is here that Rob Wills leaves the reader. Although so satisfied, a reader who cannot help wanting more.
Wills tells the reader that he has chosen not to interrupt the text with citations. He suggests that he will provide such information as may enhance understanding of where fiction and fact coincide in telling the story in another form. I certainly agree that citations are unnecessary for this work. However, I would have really liked to have a note on the authenticity of the verses that permeated the novels, bringing with them a wealth of information, comic and dramatic nuggets, while making an important contribution to the lyricism of the works. This is one occasion where I am thrilled to be unable to award half stars to reflect this concern - concluding that awarding the full five stars for Plague Searchers Volumes 1 and 2 is richly deserved.
The description ‘immense’ has been at the forefront of my feelings about Rob Wills’ Plague Searchers, Volume 1, Red Wands and Volume 2, Flee Quick, Go Far. It is possible that such a description usually applies to novels that reach far into the past and future, that it implies that large characters will perform amazing deeds and that huge events will thunder across the pages and geographical expanses. Instead, Plague Searchers begins in London on Wednesday, 7 June 1665 with the last chapter set in London on Sunday, 29 October 1665. The characters with which the book begins, the plague searchers, Widow Margaret Hazard and Goodwife Joan Brokefild, are again together at the end. Their immediate whereabouts has changed, and so too, has Goodwife Joan Brokefild’s marital status – at the end of the book she is Widow Joan Brokefild.
The scenes in which Joan Brokefild changes her status are wonderful. They are a splendid example of the immensity of the concept Rob Wills has brought to these months in London during the plague. Not least is the gentle sisterhood Widow Margaret Hazard exhibits towards her companion. But the way in which sisterhood is juxtaposed with the gruesome details of how the change in status was facilitated, laid out through Joan Brokefild’s ruminations and the conversation between the women, are absolute jewels. And this is but one example of the way in which Wills uses his characters, those who are so often overlooked, to bring immense ideas to his story. Looking at each paragraph as a weaving together of a multitude of ideas, events and beliefs is one of the joys of reading (and re-reading) this work. Where a novel goes into two volumes as seamlessly as does this one, the question might be asked – why? Why not cull? The answer must be – how? When the layers are so thoughtful and give so much, why not just enjoy, and think about the ideas that are so convincingly conveyed through each paragraph, indeed relish every sentence – and sometimes every word, as crude as they might be at times!
The location from which the two women have moved is from an uncomfortable wall in Chapter 1, to a room with a fire in chapter XLVl. However, they remain in their London streets, in a seemingly small world. Geographically it is. But what a wealth of knowledge, momentous events deceptively writ small, tumultuous ideas and concepts have been elicited through the Searchers’ gossip, their unending interest in their surroundings and the events that influence these, their contacts and the events that take place around them.
In the second volume the plague has abated and the impact of its disappearance on the widows is felt through their concerns about the fewer fourpences they will receive as corpses become scarcer. Widow Margaret Hazard has had this work for over thirty years, even though readers have been privy to only to several months’ events through Plague Searchers. She has weathered attempts to diminish her status through the introduction of doctors to verify (at a much higher fee) her findings; she has maintained her friendships with other Searchers, but also seen some succumb to bribery or death from the plague; she has met with various levels of local government officials and contributed to their findings or debate about procedures. Throughout the thirty years the religious and methods of government have changed and changed again; new religious ideas have joined the wax and waning of confirmed bible understandings through the major religious protagonists. Now, as the year ends, officially those who do not follow the Church of England’s teachings must leave the cities or corporations which are represented in Parliament.
Here, the Searchers’ story gives way to the perfidy of the rich and powerful, administrators, royalty and religious, throughout the plague years – they have left their subjects, parishioners and staff to maintain the London environment to which they want to return after the danger has diminished. It is in stories such as these, and the graphic examples of how people’s lives were so different depending on their class and gender, that the immensity of Wills’ novels can again be observed. Issues such as class and sexism, and the social commentary associated with them are as immense in a novel that covers a brief period, and depends so strongly on women’s stories and observations, or those of the less mighty, as in novels dedicated to such themes explored by major figures. The subtle weaving together of the events of this period as observed through clerks’ meetings, women’s chatter, children’s relationships with their parents and other adults is as important in illuminating issues as a novel obviously dedicated to them.
There remains 1666 to deal with London, the remnants of the plague, the poor and the future. It is here that Rob Wills leaves the reader. Although so satisfied, a reader who cannot help wanting more.
Wills tells the reader that he has chosen not to interrupt the text with citations. He suggests that he will provide such information as may enhance understanding of where fiction and fact coincide in telling the story in another form. I certainly agree that citations are unnecessary for this work. However, I would have really liked to have a note on the authenticity of the verses that permeated the novels, bringing with them a wealth of information, comic and dramatic nuggets, while making an important contribution to the lyricism of the works. This is one occasion where I am thrilled to be unable to award half stars to reflect this concern - concluding that awarding the full five stars for Plague Searchers Volumes 1 and 2 is richly deserved.
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