The Drummer Was the First to Die

by Liza Pennywitt Taylor

As a cholera epidemic makes its way toward London, noted anesthesiologist Dr. John Snow searches for the source of the disease and encounters Lillian Arynsworth, a beautiful and haunted young woman

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

309 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1992

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good piece of historical fiction. I would recommend and read again.

[Mum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book introduced me to the cholera epidemic in London. I read it about ten years ago, and still it remains with me. I just finished The Ghost Map, hoping for more enlightenment, and found it in no way compared to this book. This book I would read again.
I just did that, and on re-reading, it seems much weaker than memory served. It seemed to foist a novel on the shoulders of John Snow, and now knowing the facts, it seems like a fluffy piece of fiction. It omitted characters critical to the epidemic, although it doesn't misstate the facts, it does sometimes ignore them.