The Village

by Eleanor Watkins

The Village is beautiful, a place of order and security, but it harbours three outsiders--Ellen the tinker's daughter, returning with her father to the place where he grew up, a freewoman among serfs; William, whose father is Lord of the Manor; and Sam, who is 'different'. As each strives to find their identity and their place in a world where they can never fully feel accepted, they are unexpectedly faced with a bigger challenge: the Black Death.

How will they cope with the terror that is all around them? What inner resources can they find to make sense of life? In the face of such devastation, can things ever be the same, or what new world should they build? As each of them tells their story, we see the glimmerings of hope and new life in the midst of great uncertainty.

Ellen, William and Sam-three young people with an extraordinary challenge to face.

168 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2015

Reviews

[Josephine (Jo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delightful read, the characters were so real and likeable. The story is set during the time of plague in England around 1665. It starts with the return to the picturesque village of Clearway by Walter Freeman. Walter left the village many years and by staying away for more than a year and a day he gained his freedom, he was no longer a serf. Travelling with Walter is his daughter Ellen, they hope to find some of Walter's family still in the village and to settle down and give up their wandering life.
Not long after their arrival in Clearway there is an outbreak of the Black Death, this brings terror to the community and their story is told in this book by three children Ellen, William, son of the lord of the manor and Sam. Sam has always been bullied and an outcast because he is said to have been cursed by the devil at birth, reading his symptoms it would seem that he was autistic. The three voices take it in turns to relate the awful events in the upcoming weeks and months.
There is a lot of sadness but also hope and kindness and a great deal of bravery and faith.
This story reminds me of the true story of Eyam in Derbysire. The villagers there made the decision to isolate themselves, neither leaving the village to escape the sickness or allowing anyone across the boundary set at the edges of the village. This is said to have saved many other villages and towns from succumbing to the illness.

[S.C. Skillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this story very moving. I was totally engrossed by the author's descriptions of village life disrupted by the Black Death. I've often tried to imagine how it would have felt to experience the effects of the Black Death or the Great Plague sweeping through your community and picking people off, and the storytelling here is so sharp and vivid, I felt I was there. Juxtaposed with her accounts of all the individual tragedies of those struck by the pestilence, the author also conjures up a vision of a pastoral idyll, life in its most ideal form in the English countryside, with the most graceful, lyrical prose. Watkins' lucid narrative enabled me to feel the horror, the terror, the despair and finally the resignation that people must have felt who passed through and survived the Black Death. There is wonderful attention to detail: the rooting pigs that had broken free, the village green trampled by cows desperately in need of milking, people sick of the plague becoming demented and running into the streets half clothed or naked, the church bell ringing thee times for a woman, nine for a man and once for a baby. I recommend this book to all ages and not just a young adult audience.

[Philip S Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

UPDATE: I re-read this book in March 2020 in the midst of self-isolation due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus, and the story of resilience and hope seems hugely appropriate. I'm now looking forward to reading what becomes of Ellen, William and Sam in the sequel, "A Wind of Change".
(Review of first reading in Jan 2016:)
I love this book. Please don't be put off by the subject matter (the Black Death) because this is a moving tale of strength and hope amidst the tragedy. And yes, it has to be a tragedy, because it wouldn't be called "The Black Death" if no one died from it, would it?
My first question is often: can I relate to the protagonist? And Ellen is great (because I feel it's more her story than William's or Sam's). I hesitate to over-use the term "feisty", but Ellen is certainly that, and deeply caring too.
I enjoy medieval history, and so the social setting is familiar to me, with a lord of the manor, serfs, etc., and the author makes great use of period detail. But just as striking is her description of the natural world around the village of Clearway, a countryside that is obviously close to her heart.
The hope in the story comes not just from a faith growing through adversity, but also from the wisdom that even tragedies such as a plague can be catalysts for change, in individuals and communities, as life moves on from one generation to the next.
I don't give five star ratings lightly, and I rarely read books for a second time, but this story deserves both.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

thanks goodreads for sending me this book to review and special thanks to the author.

i enjoyed this book. It is a small book and i was able to finish it off in a day, but that could just be me, as i tend to read fast. I thought that this book was well written and the story was great. I will be giving this one a re-read in the future.

[Jawknee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a free copy of this book through a Goodread's Giveaway.

Set in an English village during the time of the Black Death.
The book features three main narrators-- Ellen, William and Sam.
The current narrator is stated at the beginning of each chapter.
This gives three different, interesting views to the story.
...