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The Pharmacist's Wife
Love. Desire. Vengeance. A deadly alchemy.
When Rebecca Palmer's new husband opens a pharmacy in Victorian Edinburgh, she expects to live the life of a well-heeled gentlewoman. But her ideal is turns to ashes when she discovers her husband is not what he seems. As Rebecca struggles to maintain her dignity in the face of his infidelity and strange sexual desires, Alexander tries to pacify her so-called hysteria with a magical new chemical creation. A wonder-drug he calls heroin.
Rebecca's journey into addiction takes her further into her past, and her first, lost love, while Alexander looks on, curiously observing his wife's descent. Meanwhile, Alexander's desire to profit from his invention leads him down a dangerous path that blurs science, passion, and death. He soon discovers that even the most promising experiments can have unforeseen and deadly consequences...
Reminiscent of the works of Sarah Waters, this is a brilliantly observed piece of Victoriana which deals with the disempowerment of women, addiction, desire, sexual obsession and vengeance.
When Rebecca Palmer's new husband opens a pharmacy in Victorian Edinburgh, she expects to live the life of a well-heeled gentlewoman. But her ideal is turns to ashes when she discovers her husband is not what he seems. As Rebecca struggles to maintain her dignity in the face of his infidelity and strange sexual desires, Alexander tries to pacify her so-called hysteria with a magical new chemical creation. A wonder-drug he calls heroin.
Rebecca's journey into addiction takes her further into her past, and her first, lost love, while Alexander looks on, curiously observing his wife's descent. Meanwhile, Alexander's desire to profit from his invention leads him down a dangerous path that blurs science, passion, and death. He soon discovers that even the most promising experiments can have unforeseen and deadly consequences...
Reminiscent of the works of Sarah Waters, this is a brilliantly observed piece of Victoriana which deals with the disempowerment of women, addiction, desire, sexual obsession and vengeance.
400 pages, Paperback
First published April 5, 2018
18 people are currently reading
916 people want to read
About the author
Vanessa Tait
3 books22 followersVanessa Tait is the great-granddaughter of Alice Liddell, the little girl who inspired Lewis Carroll to write Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The Looking Glass House is her first novel, inspired by family treasures and stories of the 'original' Alice.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
April 14, 2018
Vanessa Tait takes the reader into bleak and disturbing territory with this piece of 19th century historical fiction. She opens up the dark underbelly of Victorian Edinburgh in this penetrating study of obsession, drug experimentation and addiction, and gender inequality. Rebecca Palmer has given up hopes of her childhood sweetheart, Gabriel, returning to her as her more rational plans culminate in her marriage to the handsome pharmacist, Alexander. Her dreams for the kind of life she envisaged as a well to do married woman shatter, as she is forced to face an unbearable nightmarish reality when Alexander reveals himself to be a man with unsavoury secrets, warped sexual desires, vices, fetishes, an unprincipled man who thinks little of women, and betrays Rebecca with ease.
Alexander wants a wife he can belittle and control absolutely, so he is perturbed at Rebecca's wholesome enjoyment of sex. He has her on a new drug developed in his laboratory, curiously and clinically observing her reactions to it over time. This new drug is heroin, and at first, Rebecca enjoys the dreaminess, fewer anxieties and the access to her past that it provides. However, it soon has it tentacles deep into Rebecca with her growing dependency and addiction, and her experience of harrowing strange hallucinations. The unscrupulous Alexander is experimenting on others as well as his wife, with a view to profiting from heroin. His partner, Mr Babcock, turns out to have much in common with Alexander when it comes to sexual deviance, perhaps even worse. Rebecca is isolated, but she is bright and determined with an indomitable spirit, she is not going to take things lying down as she seeks atonement and vengeance. She musters up all her inner resources in her efforts to combat her addiction and settle scores with her cruel, depraved, deceitful and abusive husband.
Tait provides us a picture with the worst of men, bar the odd exceptions like Gabriel, whilst highlighting the tyranny, abuse, and horrors that women face and their lot in life. The impeccable research is apparent in the rich detailed descriptions that evoke Edinburgh, and the vibrant prose deployed is beautiful. The characterisation is wonderful, not just Rebecca, but Jenny and Eva too. A thought provoking read that captures the difficult realities of women, and their lack of rights in this period of history. I should warn readers there is disturbing and unsettling content, and sexual abuse in the novel. Recommended! Many thanks to Atlantic Books for an ARC.
Alexander wants a wife he can belittle and control absolutely, so he is perturbed at Rebecca's wholesome enjoyment of sex. He has her on a new drug developed in his laboratory, curiously and clinically observing her reactions to it over time. This new drug is heroin, and at first, Rebecca enjoys the dreaminess, fewer anxieties and the access to her past that it provides. However, it soon has it tentacles deep into Rebecca with her growing dependency and addiction, and her experience of harrowing strange hallucinations. The unscrupulous Alexander is experimenting on others as well as his wife, with a view to profiting from heroin. His partner, Mr Babcock, turns out to have much in common with Alexander when it comes to sexual deviance, perhaps even worse. Rebecca is isolated, but she is bright and determined with an indomitable spirit, she is not going to take things lying down as she seeks atonement and vengeance. She musters up all her inner resources in her efforts to combat her addiction and settle scores with her cruel, depraved, deceitful and abusive husband.
Tait provides us a picture with the worst of men, bar the odd exceptions like Gabriel, whilst highlighting the tyranny, abuse, and horrors that women face and their lot in life. The impeccable research is apparent in the rich detailed descriptions that evoke Edinburgh, and the vibrant prose deployed is beautiful. The characterisation is wonderful, not just Rebecca, but Jenny and Eva too. A thought provoking read that captures the difficult realities of women, and their lack of rights in this period of history. I should warn readers there is disturbing and unsettling content, and sexual abuse in the novel. Recommended! Many thanks to Atlantic Books for an ARC.
June 24, 2019
"Something that gives such a feeling of goodness cannot be on the side of evil, can it?"
Edinburgh 1869 . Vanessa Tait takes us into the bowels of the city's underbelly, where even the genteel folk have their dark secrets.
Rebecca Massey weds pharmacist-on-the-rise Alexander Palmer. It seems lucky he "chose" her. But the marriage is anything but. Alexander is a bully and a tyrant, who views women as the inferior gender. His paranoia runs so deep that he has her maid dismissed, as he feels they are conspiring against him.
From the outside, Alexander is the perfect husband. Polite, well spoken, respected in the community. He has just opened a new store with his friend (and partner in crime), the aptly named Mr Badcock, where Alexander plans to sell alchemies he has invented. But his shiny exterior hides his sexual fetishes and proclivities. He lives out his fantasies at the bawdy house down the road, while he rebuffs his wife's un-natural urges for him. Top of Alexander's list of wonder drugs are crystal salts, which turn out to be an early form of heroin. Experimenting firstly on his wife Rebecca, she being his prize guinea pig, then on other women within her social circle. To help them cope with being a woman, "that time of the month", female hysteria and all that. Spare-me-the-platitudes. I wanted to reach into the book and throttle him. Despicable man. Obviously the women become hooked, as they become dependent on Alexander's offerings.
"But we find a bee's sting in nature, why should we not find this? Only instead of poison there is pleasure..."
I enjoyed the book up to this point. I found it to be atmospheric, eerie, and quite gothic like. The repressed nature of society at the time was so well described, as was the clear division between genders and the working versus serving classes. It was a fascinating insight into a world on the brink of scientific breakthroughs, and changes in social standing. This portion of the story was believable and had my full attention.
After this is where the book fell over for me. It veered off course. I found it became odd and unrealistic.... meek, mild, drug dependent Rebecca somehow found the strength of will to wean herself off the heroin by joining her maid Jenny's family croft in the countryside... then she rented a room across the road from her home with Alexander, to "spy" on him. With revenge in mind. All power to Rebecca, but it seems incredibly unlikely. Along the way she ends up back with her long lost love Gabe (Gabriel). It was all too much of a stretch of imagination for me (and I have a very good imagination!). The end of the book was incongruous compared to how it started. It was like someone tore a book in half and put the wrong ending with the right beginning or vice versa. It's such a shame, as Vanessa Tait has great ideas and can obviously write. But this story ended up being too neatly tied up with pretty bows.
Having said that, a solid 3✰✰✰ as I really enjoyed the majority of it. I'd definitely read other books by Vanessa Tait.
"Shout out to Juzzy, who I buddy read this with; she also gives it three stars https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
April 4, 2018
Although a conscious escape from ‘spinsterhood and all the humiliations that went with it’, Rebecca Palmer’s marriage to pharmacist, Alexander, is not what she anticipated. Shocked when Rebecca shows signs of sexual pleasure, Alexander chooses to interpret this as an indication of ‘unnatural’ urges that need to be controlled. It turns out he has just the drug to do it, an as yet unnamed ‘wonder drug’ that he has been developing in his laboratory above the pharmacy.
Initially the ‘medicine’ her husband prescribes (described by him as like bathing ‘an individual’s brain in a vat of contentment’) eases Rebecca’s anxieties and provokes pleasant dreams, memories of her first love, Gabriel. However, since we soon learn that this ‘wonder drug’ is heroin, unsurprisingly Rebecca finds herself increasingly dependent on the drug to get through the day. And, as events unfold, it transpires Rebecca is not the first person to have been subjected to Alexander’s experiments.
With the exception of Gabriel, none of the male characters come out very well from the story. Alexander, as well as using his wife as a guinea pig for his pharmaceutical experiments, is revealed to have unusual sexual proclivities and fetishes. Alexander’s friend and business partner, the aptly named Mr Badcock, is a particularly unpleasant example of manhood. Ironically, when both men eventually learn of the other’s vices, their hypocritical response is to condemn each other’s actions.
I really enjoyed the period atmosphere of the book and the descriptions of 19th century Edinburgh, including the less salubrious parts of the Old Town. ‘Here the streets were not as straight as they were in New Town. They stuttered with differently angled, differently sized houses and lurched into the alleyways as if they were drunk.’
The Pharmacist’s Wife convincingly illustrates the stages of drug dependency, with higher and higher doses needed to achieve the desired affect and the dreadful effects of addiction. It also engages with the inequality between men and women at that time. Sexual, economic, legal and psychological power all rested in the hands of men. It’s a time when even a normal bodily function such as menstruation is regarded a ‘disease’ and it was seriously believed that ‘women’s temperament...could not bear as much as men.’
I received an advance reader copy courtesy of NetGalley and publishers Corvus in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Initially the ‘medicine’ her husband prescribes (described by him as like bathing ‘an individual’s brain in a vat of contentment’) eases Rebecca’s anxieties and provokes pleasant dreams, memories of her first love, Gabriel. However, since we soon learn that this ‘wonder drug’ is heroin, unsurprisingly Rebecca finds herself increasingly dependent on the drug to get through the day. And, as events unfold, it transpires Rebecca is not the first person to have been subjected to Alexander’s experiments.
With the exception of Gabriel, none of the male characters come out very well from the story. Alexander, as well as using his wife as a guinea pig for his pharmaceutical experiments, is revealed to have unusual sexual proclivities and fetishes. Alexander’s friend and business partner, the aptly named Mr Badcock, is a particularly unpleasant example of manhood. Ironically, when both men eventually learn of the other’s vices, their hypocritical response is to condemn each other’s actions.
I really enjoyed the period atmosphere of the book and the descriptions of 19th century Edinburgh, including the less salubrious parts of the Old Town. ‘Here the streets were not as straight as they were in New Town. They stuttered with differently angled, differently sized houses and lurched into the alleyways as if they were drunk.’
The Pharmacist’s Wife convincingly illustrates the stages of drug dependency, with higher and higher doses needed to achieve the desired affect and the dreadful effects of addiction. It also engages with the inequality between men and women at that time. Sexual, economic, legal and psychological power all rested in the hands of men. It’s a time when even a normal bodily function such as menstruation is regarded a ‘disease’ and it was seriously believed that ‘women’s temperament...could not bear as much as men.’
I received an advance reader copy courtesy of NetGalley and publishers Corvus in return for an honest and unbiased review.
January 21, 2018
The Pharmacist’s Wife is an atmospheric piece of historical fiction about female empowerment, manipulation, and addiction, set in Victorian Edinburgh. Rebecca Palmer’s husband Alexander opens a pharmacy and dreams of dreams of success with his new chemical invention: heroin. At the same time, he claims that it is the perfect cure for Rebecca’s hysteria, but the drug reminds her of her lost first love and draws her into a friendship that will reveal all her husband’s sexual secrets. Soon, she is fighting to escape Alexander and his obsession, but her position as his wife doesn’t make things easy for her.
The novel is a gripping read, with a dark Victorian vibe that emphasises both the dangers of addiction and abusive men and the difficult position for women in various situations. Tait focuses on creating the right atmosphere rather than on overloading on historical or scientific material, as could happen in drier historical fiction. The narrative is interesting, particularly the abusive ways in which Rebecca and other women are manipulated by men for science and for gain, plying them with drugs to make them docile and easy to manage. Sometimes the time jumps in the narrative are a little disjointed, but overall it is a good read.
The Pharmacist’s Wife is a historical novel that looks at problems that are not gone today, including the disempowerment of women, drug addiction, and abuse, as well as touching on other areas like the treatment of sex workers. It is one for fans of dark Victorian fiction, particularly those who’d enjoy the genre with a very slight dash of Trainspotting.
The novel is a gripping read, with a dark Victorian vibe that emphasises both the dangers of addiction and abusive men and the difficult position for women in various situations. Tait focuses on creating the right atmosphere rather than on overloading on historical or scientific material, as could happen in drier historical fiction. The narrative is interesting, particularly the abusive ways in which Rebecca and other women are manipulated by men for science and for gain, plying them with drugs to make them docile and easy to manage. Sometimes the time jumps in the narrative are a little disjointed, but overall it is a good read.
The Pharmacist’s Wife is a historical novel that looks at problems that are not gone today, including the disempowerment of women, drug addiction, and abuse, as well as touching on other areas like the treatment of sex workers. It is one for fans of dark Victorian fiction, particularly those who’d enjoy the genre with a very slight dash of Trainspotting.
February 17, 2018
I loved my visit to Victorian Edinburgh in the company of The Pharmacists wife. I love books set in this era, I love Edinburgh and I really enjoy books which remind me how grateful I am to be a woman in the noughties and how very different life must have been for my contemporaries around 150 years ago.
Rebecca's only chance to make a life for herself lies in marriage, albeit not to the man she loved and lost years ago, but a practical arrangement as wife to Alexander, a handsome and respectable pharmacist with a shop in Edinburgh, she is thrilled when she anticipates the possibilities her future may hold.
But she soon discovers that her new husband leaves a lot to be desired. He is dismissive of her obvious intelligence and ambition and plans to turn her into a subdued and submissive wife. She soon discovers that he has dark urges and a peculiar fetish and isn't anything like the handsome loving husband she longed for.
Life as the pharmacists wife is a lonely one and she soon manages to make a friend or two, though neither are what would be considered suitable company by polite society, being of a lower class and somewhat dubious morals.
Then Alexander begins to show his true colours and begins to experiment on his wife by subjecting her to a series of medical practises which involve pharmaceutical testing of the most dangerous kind. He introduces her to a new drug he has invented which he plans will be the solution to the insuborinate, wifely behaviour and hysteria he considers his wife to display and soon she becomes addicted to the new wonder substance, to become known as heroin!
But he has underestimated Rebeccas strength of spirit and determination.
The book takes us on a drug fuelled journey of redemption and revenge as she battles her newly created addiction and her husbands attempts to manipulate and master her.
The location is suitably dark and atmospheric and the story is gripping and engaging, I fairly rattled through it and it didn't stop keeping me entertained for moment. It's nicely fast paced yet an easy to follow and captivating read. I love books with a string female lead and this is exactly what this is, I was rooting for Rebecca all the way and loved this fascinating and illuminating work.
Read this and other reviews on my blog https://beadyjansbooks.blogspot.co.uk/
Rebecca's only chance to make a life for herself lies in marriage, albeit not to the man she loved and lost years ago, but a practical arrangement as wife to Alexander, a handsome and respectable pharmacist with a shop in Edinburgh, she is thrilled when she anticipates the possibilities her future may hold.
But she soon discovers that her new husband leaves a lot to be desired. He is dismissive of her obvious intelligence and ambition and plans to turn her into a subdued and submissive wife. She soon discovers that he has dark urges and a peculiar fetish and isn't anything like the handsome loving husband she longed for.
Life as the pharmacists wife is a lonely one and she soon manages to make a friend or two, though neither are what would be considered suitable company by polite society, being of a lower class and somewhat dubious morals.
Then Alexander begins to show his true colours and begins to experiment on his wife by subjecting her to a series of medical practises which involve pharmaceutical testing of the most dangerous kind. He introduces her to a new drug he has invented which he plans will be the solution to the insuborinate, wifely behaviour and hysteria he considers his wife to display and soon she becomes addicted to the new wonder substance, to become known as heroin!
But he has underestimated Rebeccas strength of spirit and determination.
The book takes us on a drug fuelled journey of redemption and revenge as she battles her newly created addiction and her husbands attempts to manipulate and master her.
The location is suitably dark and atmospheric and the story is gripping and engaging, I fairly rattled through it and it didn't stop keeping me entertained for moment. It's nicely fast paced yet an easy to follow and captivating read. I love books with a string female lead and this is exactly what this is, I was rooting for Rebecca all the way and loved this fascinating and illuminating work.
Read this and other reviews on my blog https://beadyjansbooks.blogspot.co.uk/
May 13, 2018
Set in Victorian Edinburgh, The Pharmacist's Wife takes readers on a journey deep within addiction, into brothels, through an abusive marriage & leaves one reeling with feminine-pride. Main character Rebecca is a force to be reckoned with & her story is full of shocks, laughter & strength. I'm not sure what I expected this book to be, but I do know that it was a throughly interesting read that ended on a contented & satisfying note. Fans of The Mermaid & Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gower, Elijah's Mermaid by Essie Fox & She Be Damned by M.J. Tjia will love this book.
⚠️ This book contains drug abuse, domestic violence, very heavy sex scenes & an attempted rape scene ⚠️
I was sent a copy of this book by Atlantic Books in return for an honest review.
Extended Review: https://wp.me/p8MbIo-2yw
⚠️ This book contains drug abuse, domestic violence, very heavy sex scenes & an attempted rape scene ⚠️
I was sent a copy of this book by Atlantic Books in return for an honest review.
Extended Review: https://wp.me/p8MbIo-2yw
January 22, 2018
I really enjoyed this book, and have put it up there as one of my favourite books 2018. I know we are not yet finished January but I know when I love a book, and this one I didn’t just love, but I devoured.
Set in Victorian Edinburgh, which always excites me as I am from Edinburgh, recently married Rebecca Palmer is adjusting to married life with her pharmacist husband Alexander. When Alexander begins administering her daily salts to calm her ‘hysteria1 Rebecca begins a horrible descent into heroin addiction. It’s very easy to compare this to Trainspotting as its about heroin addiction and they are both set in Edinburgh. But whilst you can say the trace this is no Trainspotting. Rebecca’s addiction is not a choice she has made, it is a choice her husband has made under the guise of scientific research.
Other themes are woman’s disempowerment in Victorian society, a lack of female choice in Victorian Society, or at least choice for woman who are unmarried, men’s manipulation of woman and sexual desire. Rebecca is intelligent, well read and interested in current affairs, she reads the Newspaper and appears to be very up to date in current affairs. Following the Suez Crises and the Edinburgh Seven in the newspapers, and even teaching her maid to read.
Ultimately its Rebecca’s wit and intellect that saves her. I thoroughly enjoyed this and it’s an easy five stars.
Set in Victorian Edinburgh, which always excites me as I am from Edinburgh, recently married Rebecca Palmer is adjusting to married life with her pharmacist husband Alexander. When Alexander begins administering her daily salts to calm her ‘hysteria1 Rebecca begins a horrible descent into heroin addiction. It’s very easy to compare this to Trainspotting as its about heroin addiction and they are both set in Edinburgh. But whilst you can say the trace this is no Trainspotting. Rebecca’s addiction is not a choice she has made, it is a choice her husband has made under the guise of scientific research.
Other themes are woman’s disempowerment in Victorian society, a lack of female choice in Victorian Society, or at least choice for woman who are unmarried, men’s manipulation of woman and sexual desire. Rebecca is intelligent, well read and interested in current affairs, she reads the Newspaper and appears to be very up to date in current affairs. Following the Suez Crises and the Edinburgh Seven in the newspapers, and even teaching her maid to read.
Ultimately its Rebecca’s wit and intellect that saves her. I thoroughly enjoyed this and it’s an easy five stars.
August 24, 2019
It’s not often I read a novel and wonder why it was written. It’s also not often I let my historical side get the best of me when reading fiction, but here we are.
And my question is: why set the invention of heroin 20 years early when there’s a perfectly good story around its invention? Why link the invented story with long-disproved ideas of Victorian sexual repression? Why invent ideas around addiction when the Victorians had almost no sense of this at all? And why on earth write your dialogue in such a stilted manner? It would be one thing if the point was to pick up a ‘what it’ question in a sort of alternate history manner, to use existing history as a jumping off point, but I can tell exactly zero research into the period has been done. I genuinely just don’t understand why this story exists, nor what it even begins to provide.
And my question is: why set the invention of heroin 20 years early when there’s a perfectly good story around its invention? Why link the invented story with long-disproved ideas of Victorian sexual repression? Why invent ideas around addiction when the Victorians had almost no sense of this at all? And why on earth write your dialogue in such a stilted manner? It would be one thing if the point was to pick up a ‘what it’ question in a sort of alternate history manner, to use existing history as a jumping off point, but I can tell exactly zero research into the period has been done. I genuinely just don’t understand why this story exists, nor what it even begins to provide.
February 17, 2018
Alexander Palmer has chosen a wife; a compliant young lady upon whom he can experiment with his new invention, heroin. Rebecca Palmer is not the retiring young woman her husband thought she was and, despite being heavily dosed up with "medicine" she sets out to show him what she's really made of.
I really liked the idea of this novel when I read the precis and was looking forward to reading it, thinking it would be full of Victorian intrigue and Dickensian characters. Unfortunately, there were none of those and, if anything, the plot is superficial at best.
Rebecca is indeed a feisty young woman and Alexander is truthfully highly unpleasant. There are, however, no depths to their characters and in actuality I didn't really care much for either of them. There is a supporting class of equally unpleasant or characterless folk involved; the only one with any spirit is the maid, Jenny, who gets out of the area as soon as she possibly can and who can blame her?
All in all, a great idea backed up with a lacklustre story; such a shame as I was expecting so much more!
I really liked the idea of this novel when I read the precis and was looking forward to reading it, thinking it would be full of Victorian intrigue and Dickensian characters. Unfortunately, there were none of those and, if anything, the plot is superficial at best.
Rebecca is indeed a feisty young woman and Alexander is truthfully highly unpleasant. There are, however, no depths to their characters and in actuality I didn't really care much for either of them. There is a supporting class of equally unpleasant or characterless folk involved; the only one with any spirit is the maid, Jenny, who gets out of the area as soon as she possibly can and who can blame her?
All in all, a great idea backed up with a lacklustre story; such a shame as I was expecting so much more!
November 13, 2018
Read the full review also on my blog: https://lets-geek.blogspot.com/2018/1...
The Pharmacist's Wife is a story that takes you back to Victorian times and how shows the harsh reality of being a woman really was.
Total Rating: 6.9/10
Originality: 6/10
Language: 7/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Characters: 7/10
World building: 7/10
Fun: 6/10
Predictability: 5/10
Believable: 8/10
Relevancy: 8/10
Cover: 8/10
Genre: Historical Fiction
Time It Took Me To Read: approx. 3.5 hours
"We are all trapped, us women. We are none of us free."
I rarely read historical fiction, but for some reason this book called to me with its beautiful cover.
THE BOOK:
Rebecca's new husband Alexander started his own pharmacy - but more than anything he is into his laboratory, creating new medicine. His wife gets the new medicine he is working on first, white crystals, that are there to reduce the desire for morphine when in pain. However, soon Rebecca falls into a spiral of addiction - then the new medicine is nothing else than what we today know as heroin. Trying to escape the control of her husband, she reaches out for Gabriel, the man she loved before marrying Alexander.
Originality: 6/10
The topic of addiction, especially in a historical point in time, is rarely explored. However, the book promised revenge, and this story line fell out so differently than I expected, so I was slightly disappointed.
anguage: 7/10
The language helps you get lost in Victorian London. It is not over the top either, which I liked. We get a lot of insight about women in Victorian London, from the point of few of a simple wife, who does not dare to contradict her powerful husband.
"He forbids me to go. Woman have no place in his study, is if for intellectual rigour."
"I will get your medicine. Though after the adventure of the morning...." Alexander looked up to the ceiling and made his calculations. "I think I will weigh out a few milligrams more." And now Rebecca wept, with relief and sorrow and far. The tears were easy to make."
Atmosphere: 7/10
This novel made me feel incredibly uncomfortable and trapped - just like poor Rebecca must have felt. It feels a bit like you are wearing noise cancellation headphones too - because the novel being told from the point of view of Rebecca she does not see many things, for example her husband slapped her quite early on in the novel, but all she says is that she felt this pain suddenly, but her husband helped her get her medicine afterwards.
Characters: 7/10
Rebecca is a strong woman, who just does what her husband tells her to - like most women in that time. However, she is starting to develop a strong relationship with her maid, who she starts to teach reading and later on finds friendship in Evangeline, a woman she meets in Alexander's Pharmacy. Relationships to other people give her the strength to see beyond her relationship with her husband.
Alexander is the anti-hero of the story. He and his colleague (despite reading the whole book only yesterday I cannot remember his name... sorry folks!) are literally disgusting me.
World building: 7/10
I would have loved to hear more about Victoria London, see more about the pharmacy and the wider world - but we are limited to Rebecca's narrow life. It makes sense, since for her there was only her limited life. For her there was only the house she lived in, which she explains for pages on end how she decorated it and where she got the curtains from.
Fun: 6/10
This book was good, but not very fun. It felt heavy, dark, and depressing.
Predictability: 5/10
I am kind of disappointed by how the ending turned out. As said, the book promises revenge - and we get it, but the result of it is a bit underwhelming. I imagined Rebecca would burn down the stupid pharmacy. Have women march against Alexander. Do something significant. But what we get is merely a little prank, that has a surprisingly large impact.
Believable: 8/10
I completely felt engulfed in Victorian London, and believed everything - except the ending. The ending deducted two points straight from the total. But I will not get into it to avoid spoilers.
Relevancy: 8/10
This was an important novel to read for me - because I find it easy to forget how much women had to fight for what we have today. We still do not have total equality - but how can we, if only few decades ago women were not allowed to go to university.
Plus, the topic of addiction was important in this novel. Personally I never had to struggle with drug addiction of any kind, but today a lot of people do. Seeing how it affects Rebecca, and how she fights to get out of it, was really powerful.
Cover: 8/10
The cover is beautiful, and was what got me first to even look at this novel. Because I do not read much historic fiction, I decided to go for it. I do not regret it at all - but I would wish that the story would be just as magical as the novel. I do not believe they would fit so well. I think a cover showing a Victorian woman would somehow fit better to the story.
Total Rating: 6.9/10
A gripping historical novel about women emancipation, drug abuse and friendships.
Read the full review also on my blog: https://lets-geek.blogspot.com/2018/1...
The Pharmacist's Wife is a story that takes you back to Victorian times and how shows the harsh reality of being a woman really was.
Total Rating: 6.9/10
Originality: 6/10
Language: 7/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Characters: 7/10
World building: 7/10
Fun: 6/10
Predictability: 5/10
Believable: 8/10
Relevancy: 8/10
Cover: 8/10
Genre: Historical Fiction
Time It Took Me To Read: approx. 3.5 hours
"We are all trapped, us women. We are none of us free."
I rarely read historical fiction, but for some reason this book called to me with its beautiful cover.
THE BOOK:
Rebecca's new husband Alexander started his own pharmacy - but more than anything he is into his laboratory, creating new medicine. His wife gets the new medicine he is working on first, white crystals, that are there to reduce the desire for morphine when in pain. However, soon Rebecca falls into a spiral of addiction - then the new medicine is nothing else than what we today know as heroin. Trying to escape the control of her husband, she reaches out for Gabriel, the man she loved before marrying Alexander.
Originality: 6/10
The topic of addiction, especially in a historical point in time, is rarely explored. However, the book promised revenge, and this story line fell out so differently than I expected, so I was slightly disappointed.
anguage: 7/10
The language helps you get lost in Victorian London. It is not over the top either, which I liked. We get a lot of insight about women in Victorian London, from the point of few of a simple wife, who does not dare to contradict her powerful husband.
"He forbids me to go. Woman have no place in his study, is if for intellectual rigour."
"I will get your medicine. Though after the adventure of the morning...." Alexander looked up to the ceiling and made his calculations. "I think I will weigh out a few milligrams more." And now Rebecca wept, with relief and sorrow and far. The tears were easy to make."
Atmosphere: 7/10
This novel made me feel incredibly uncomfortable and trapped - just like poor Rebecca must have felt. It feels a bit like you are wearing noise cancellation headphones too - because the novel being told from the point of view of Rebecca she does not see many things, for example her husband slapped her quite early on in the novel, but all she says is that she felt this pain suddenly, but her husband helped her get her medicine afterwards.
Characters: 7/10
Rebecca is a strong woman, who just does what her husband tells her to - like most women in that time. However, she is starting to develop a strong relationship with her maid, who she starts to teach reading and later on finds friendship in Evangeline, a woman she meets in Alexander's Pharmacy. Relationships to other people give her the strength to see beyond her relationship with her husband.
Alexander is the anti-hero of the story. He and his colleague (despite reading the whole book only yesterday I cannot remember his name... sorry folks!) are literally disgusting me.
World building: 7/10
I would have loved to hear more about Victoria London, see more about the pharmacy and the wider world - but we are limited to Rebecca's narrow life. It makes sense, since for her there was only her limited life. For her there was only the house she lived in, which she explains for pages on end how she decorated it and where she got the curtains from.
Fun: 6/10
This book was good, but not very fun. It felt heavy, dark, and depressing.
Predictability: 5/10
I am kind of disappointed by how the ending turned out. As said, the book promises revenge - and we get it, but the result of it is a bit underwhelming. I imagined Rebecca would burn down the stupid pharmacy. Have women march against Alexander. Do something significant. But what we get is merely a little prank, that has a surprisingly large impact.
Believable: 8/10
I completely felt engulfed in Victorian London, and believed everything - except the ending. The ending deducted two points straight from the total. But I will not get into it to avoid spoilers.
Relevancy: 8/10
This was an important novel to read for me - because I find it easy to forget how much women had to fight for what we have today. We still do not have total equality - but how can we, if only few decades ago women were not allowed to go to university.
Plus, the topic of addiction was important in this novel. Personally I never had to struggle with drug addiction of any kind, but today a lot of people do. Seeing how it affects Rebecca, and how she fights to get out of it, was really powerful.
Cover: 8/10
The cover is beautiful, and was what got me first to even look at this novel. Because I do not read much historic fiction, I decided to go for it. I do not regret it at all - but I would wish that the story would be just as magical as the novel. I do not believe they would fit so well. I think a cover showing a Victorian woman would somehow fit better to the story.
Total Rating: 6.9/10
A gripping historical novel about women emancipation, drug abuse and friendships.
Read the full review also on my blog: https://lets-geek.blogspot.com/2018/1...
April 14, 2020
"But we find a bee's sting in nature, why should we not find this? Only instead of poison there is pleasure..."
2 stars
Okay, let me start by saying this book is nowhere near what I usually read and enjoy and also not something I had high expectations for, but this book got me incredibly riled up, in the worst way possible. Let's start by saying that I get that this story is situated in Victorian Edinburgh, but I just could not get past certain things in this book.
Firstly the way Rebecca is treated and the way she goes about it (which is especially the first half of the book, but still). Rebecca Palmer is married to Alexander Palmer so that she doesn't have to become a spinster and man this shows. This woman is so incredibly desperate to get this man to approve of her that she accepts almost everything he does. I hated reading this toxic masculinity and I really couldn't connect to the weak character of Rebecca. Yes she does change later on in the book and she becomes a sort of stronger character, but it's just absolutely absurd. Speaking of toxic masculinity, the visual scenes and sexual desires of both Alexander, but especially Mr. Badcock (the name already suggest the character of this asshole), was something I don't want to read about and I absolutely despise it. The fact that this is logical in the time frame I get, but I just don't appreciate it at all.
The way the women in this book are used and mostly abused is just something I cannot get past, yes the ending and second half was better to stomach, but I just didn't enjoy it and gritted my teeth and rolled by eyes while reading it. I do have so many feelings towards this book, none of them good apart from the stunning cover, but I'll just leave it at this, I've wasted enough time reading this. And the one question I'd like to ask myself is why did you finish this, because I wish I hadn't.
April 25, 2018
The Pharmacist’s Wife is exactly my type of novel. Historical fiction set in the Victorian era with a creepy gothic undertone orbiting around an horrific abuse of power. All it was missing was the mental asylum, but the threat of it was there, so ticks all round! This story put me in mind of one of my all time favourite television series, Penny Dreadful, and it was thrilling to read a novel that harnessed that vibe so thoroughly.
Imagine a man, a scientific man, who is clever and focused. This man has invented a drug that promises so much, but he needs to conduct a study. So he actively seeks out a wife, deliberately selecting a woman who is alone, and therefore unprotected. And unbeknownst to her, he begins to give her his new drug and is able to embark upon his terrible research. And there is no one to stop him, because he is a respected pharmacist, a man of science, and she is just a woman. Hysterical and in need of care. Are you creeped out yet? You should be, and this is only the half of it.
Alexander and his business partner, Mr Badcock, are truly despicable men. While Alexander seeks scientific glory, Badcock seeks riches, so the two work together in a bid to achieve this with Alexander’s invented wonder drug: heroin. In addition to experimenting on his wife, two other women fall victim to their trap, and Alexander sets about observing these three women as they each spiral deeper into their heroin addiction. Alexander and Badcock both have rather depraved sexual desires and this of course undermines their work and it amused me to no end to see each of them spurn the other when they find out each other’s predilection. Each thought they could keep their habits a secret, but each also acknowledge how exposure would destroy their study and their chances for glory. But as so often is the case, desire over-rules sensibility and the two were unable to surface from their debasement without consequence. These were two very evil men who had zero respect for women. They chilled me to the core and I spent much of my time reading this novel in a state of tension feeling an incredible amount of dread.
This is a novel that doesn’t hold back. It shows the grime of poverty in Victorian Edinburgh, the depravity and evil that lurked in the shadows, the contempt some men had for women — it’s like stepping through a black hole into a time long past. Women had it tough back then, dependent in every way and regarded as lesser on every level. Rebecca showed such strength in the face of her adversity. She literally had to fight for her life, as well as her freedom and safety. Her revenge on Alexander and Badcock was a sweet victory that paved the way for her to set herself up with a new future, but it was also evidence to them that she was a force to be reckoned with, not a meek compliant wife who could be experimented on. Sadly, her realisation that her addiction was deadly came only after a terrible tragedy. The realism of addiction was depicted so well throughout this novel, and I particularly enjoyed how Vanessa Tait showed the descent from within her addicts as well as in an observational manner. The irony, of heroin being invented as an antidote to the addictive properties of morphine.
The Pharmacist’s Wife is top shelf historical fiction blending seamlessly into the realms of gothic. It was a frightening read, much in the way stories of the past can be, that reflection upon society and the horrors that were commonplace within a given era. I loved this novel and highly recommend it. I did see that it was classified as historical romance on some sites; far from it, more like historical thriller. Read it if you dare!
Thanks is extended to Allen and Unwin for providing me with a copy of The Pharmacist’s Wife for review.
Imagine a man, a scientific man, who is clever and focused. This man has invented a drug that promises so much, but he needs to conduct a study. So he actively seeks out a wife, deliberately selecting a woman who is alone, and therefore unprotected. And unbeknownst to her, he begins to give her his new drug and is able to embark upon his terrible research. And there is no one to stop him, because he is a respected pharmacist, a man of science, and she is just a woman. Hysterical and in need of care. Are you creeped out yet? You should be, and this is only the half of it.
Alexander and his business partner, Mr Badcock, are truly despicable men. While Alexander seeks scientific glory, Badcock seeks riches, so the two work together in a bid to achieve this with Alexander’s invented wonder drug: heroin. In addition to experimenting on his wife, two other women fall victim to their trap, and Alexander sets about observing these three women as they each spiral deeper into their heroin addiction. Alexander and Badcock both have rather depraved sexual desires and this of course undermines their work and it amused me to no end to see each of them spurn the other when they find out each other’s predilection. Each thought they could keep their habits a secret, but each also acknowledge how exposure would destroy their study and their chances for glory. But as so often is the case, desire over-rules sensibility and the two were unable to surface from their debasement without consequence. These were two very evil men who had zero respect for women. They chilled me to the core and I spent much of my time reading this novel in a state of tension feeling an incredible amount of dread.
This is a novel that doesn’t hold back. It shows the grime of poverty in Victorian Edinburgh, the depravity and evil that lurked in the shadows, the contempt some men had for women — it’s like stepping through a black hole into a time long past. Women had it tough back then, dependent in every way and regarded as lesser on every level. Rebecca showed such strength in the face of her adversity. She literally had to fight for her life, as well as her freedom and safety. Her revenge on Alexander and Badcock was a sweet victory that paved the way for her to set herself up with a new future, but it was also evidence to them that she was a force to be reckoned with, not a meek compliant wife who could be experimented on. Sadly, her realisation that her addiction was deadly came only after a terrible tragedy. The realism of addiction was depicted so well throughout this novel, and I particularly enjoyed how Vanessa Tait showed the descent from within her addicts as well as in an observational manner. The irony, of heroin being invented as an antidote to the addictive properties of morphine.
The Pharmacist’s Wife is top shelf historical fiction blending seamlessly into the realms of gothic. It was a frightening read, much in the way stories of the past can be, that reflection upon society and the horrors that were commonplace within a given era. I loved this novel and highly recommend it. I did see that it was classified as historical romance on some sites; far from it, more like historical thriller. Read it if you dare!
Thanks is extended to Allen and Unwin for providing me with a copy of The Pharmacist’s Wife for review.
April 9, 2018
This was horrible, I mean what was done to her! Poor Rebecka.
She is newly married to pharmacist Alexander. And he is always tinkering with new recipes. And he has ideas. Sigh, what a man! He is of the lie back and think of England variety. Any emotion from a woman is wrong. But she really tries to make it a happy marriage. What else can she do. Her husband is her keeper.
And then the horrible part. He gives her heroin and says it will make her feel better. And then thing is, he really thinks so. It is not the first drug that was used as a cure it all. Heroin! Of course she gets addicted and he just watches. Because after all, what a great experiment. Horrid man!
Though I must say, for a woman with no choices, she really gets a backbone. And she has ideas and she deserves so much more than this idiot of a man.
There is also questions about her husband, Doubts, flashbacks to her one true love and the dark side of addiction.
Men were not as clever as they thought. Heroin! I can not say it enough.
Interesting.
She is newly married to pharmacist Alexander. And he is always tinkering with new recipes. And he has ideas. Sigh, what a man! He is of the lie back and think of England variety. Any emotion from a woman is wrong. But she really tries to make it a happy marriage. What else can she do. Her husband is her keeper.
And then the horrible part. He gives her heroin and says it will make her feel better. And then thing is, he really thinks so. It is not the first drug that was used as a cure it all. Heroin! Of course she gets addicted and he just watches. Because after all, what a great experiment. Horrid man!
Though I must say, for a woman with no choices, she really gets a backbone. And she has ideas and she deserves so much more than this idiot of a man.
There is also questions about her husband, Doubts, flashbacks to her one true love and the dark side of addiction.
Men were not as clever as they thought. Heroin! I can not say it enough.
Interesting.
March 4, 2018
I don't read a lot of Victorian based historical fiction, though admittedly it is loosely based on historical fact, as a result I found this an interesting read but I also struggled at the same time because the writing sometimes failed to engage me.
The story itself is based around Rebecca, a lady approaching her 30's and is considering herself 'past it' (oh dear god no, that means I'm screwed then!) so marries the first eligible man to come along so she can be saved from spinsterhood. What followed is a series of cruel and dramatic events that made me glad to be born in this century and also served to remind me why we still need feminism.
I found the in-depth discussion of Heroin pretty fascinating. I've never taken illegal drugs so have never understood the lure of them, this book gave a good insight into the addiction side, the affects and the withdrawal from Heroin and it sounds brutal.
On the character front I liked Rebecca a lot. She starts out very compliant but grows strong, powerful and independent. I wasn't to impressed with the men in this novel, with the exception of Lionel and Gabe (Rebecca's childhood sweetheart). Alexander, the pharmacist, is a nasty piece of work and gets up to all sorts of horrible things. But the ultimate bad guy is Mr Badcock (I laughed so hard at his name) who possesses all the worst qualities a man can.
Among other things this book addresses cruelty to women, the lack of women's rights and the fact that in this era men could rape women and pretty much get away with it. I was left angry and horrified by some chapters and glad to be single in others.
All in all, this is a fascinating piece of literature but I did find the writing fell flat at times and became dry. Having said that, it is worth pushing from for the benefit of the whole story. Overall, an education and powerful read.
The story itself is based around Rebecca, a lady approaching her 30's and is considering herself 'past it' (oh dear god no, that means I'm screwed then!) so marries the first eligible man to come along so she can be saved from spinsterhood. What followed is a series of cruel and dramatic events that made me glad to be born in this century and also served to remind me why we still need feminism.
I found the in-depth discussion of Heroin pretty fascinating. I've never taken illegal drugs so have never understood the lure of them, this book gave a good insight into the addiction side, the affects and the withdrawal from Heroin and it sounds brutal.
On the character front I liked Rebecca a lot. She starts out very compliant but grows strong, powerful and independent. I wasn't to impressed with the men in this novel, with the exception of Lionel and Gabe (Rebecca's childhood sweetheart). Alexander, the pharmacist, is a nasty piece of work and gets up to all sorts of horrible things. But the ultimate bad guy is Mr Badcock (I laughed so hard at his name) who possesses all the worst qualities a man can.
Among other things this book addresses cruelty to women, the lack of women's rights and the fact that in this era men could rape women and pretty much get away with it. I was left angry and horrified by some chapters and glad to be single in others.
All in all, this is a fascinating piece of literature but I did find the writing fell flat at times and became dry. Having said that, it is worth pushing from for the benefit of the whole story. Overall, an education and powerful read.
June 3, 2019
This could have been a great book. The invention of heroine, the use of the wife as a lab rat, and the scary path to addiction should have made for riveting reading. However, the dialogue was stilted. The characters never resonated with me, other than Jenny. I especially disliked the introduction of a romance. This book was too dark for that and it felt out of place. It would have been a far more powerful book if Gabe hadn't been there On the other hand, the dialogue was pretty hard to get through.
April 11, 2018
This book tells the story of a pharmacist and his wife. It is a marriage of convenience and not love. Rebecca is a lovable character who has experienced hardship and also heartbreak. Alexander at first appears to be a straight down the line working man, however as the story continues you find that not to be the truth.
The characters are believable and also some of them lovable. The book is extremely descriptive and you feel as if you are really there hearing the carriages go past on the cobbled streets and the smelling the rancid smell of the tannery.
I found the book engrossing from the start. It has a good pace and the plot does not dwindle at all. The ending of the book was well written and also believeable.
The characters are believable and also some of them lovable. The book is extremely descriptive and you feel as if you are really there hearing the carriages go past on the cobbled streets and the smelling the rancid smell of the tannery.
I found the book engrossing from the start. It has a good pace and the plot does not dwindle at all. The ending of the book was well written and also believeable.
April 14, 2018
The Pharmacist’s Wife is set in Victorian Edinburgh, a setting which interested me immediately. There are so many novels set in Victorian London, it always makes a nice change to find one set somewhere else! Although I felt that the sense of place could have been strengthened by the use of more Scottish dialect, I did like the contrasting descriptions of the Old Town and the New Town.
North Bridge, the road linking Old to New, is the location Rebecca Palmer’s husband Alexander has chosen for his new pharmacy, the Grand Opening of which is celebrated with a brass band and a performing monkey. These are exciting times for Rebecca who, as a spinster of twenty-eight, had given up hope of ever marrying anyone, let alone such a clever and distinguished man as Alexander. Almost as soon as they move into their new home, however, Rebecca is forced to question whether her husband really is the man he appears to be. She suspects him of having an affair with Evangeline, a woman from the Old Town, and when she finds a ladies’ red shoe on his desk she’s sure her suspicions have been confirmed.
Alexander doesn’t like a wife who asks questions or has too many ideas of her own and, with this in mind, he has been developing a new medicine in his laboratory above the pharmacy – a medicine which he hopes can be used to control women and which he persuades Rebecca to try by telling her it will make her happy and content. Soon Rebecca is dependent on her medicine, taking it more and more often and relying on her husband to provide it for her. It is, of course, heroin – and it seems that Rebecca is not the only woman on whom Alexander has been testing his new invention…
This is certainly a dark novel but I didn’t find it a particularly thrilling one and it wasn’t until near the end that I started to feel gripped by the story. I suppose I was expecting more from the plot; there are lots of good ideas and plenty of interesting topics are touched on, but it’s only when (without wanting to spoil too much) things begin to go less smoothly for Alexander that it becomes really compelling, in my opinion. What this book does do, very well, is explore the inequalities between men and women in 19th century society. Although Alexander is not a real person and his discovery of heroin is fictitious, he uses the drug to keep his wife quiet and submissive and to take away whatever small amount of independence and freedom she may have had. Rebecca’s situation is oppressive and frightening and as her addiction to the drug deepens it becomes difficult to see how she is going to break out of the cycle in which she has found herself.
I liked Rebecca as a character and was pleased to see that she does develop as a person as the novel progresses, but I thought the villains, Alexander and his friend Mr Badcock, were too obviously ‘villainous’ and could have been given more depth. As well as the drugs, it seems that there’s no type of cruelty or depravity of which they’re not capable! Thankfully, there are two decent male characters to balance things out slightly – Lionel, the apprentice who helps Alexander in the pharmacy, and Gabriel, Rebecca’s first love.
The Pharmacist’s Wife is an interesting novel and, as I’ve said, a very dark one. I couldn’t love it, but I would be happy to read other books by Vanessa Tait.
North Bridge, the road linking Old to New, is the location Rebecca Palmer’s husband Alexander has chosen for his new pharmacy, the Grand Opening of which is celebrated with a brass band and a performing monkey. These are exciting times for Rebecca who, as a spinster of twenty-eight, had given up hope of ever marrying anyone, let alone such a clever and distinguished man as Alexander. Almost as soon as they move into their new home, however, Rebecca is forced to question whether her husband really is the man he appears to be. She suspects him of having an affair with Evangeline, a woman from the Old Town, and when she finds a ladies’ red shoe on his desk she’s sure her suspicions have been confirmed.
Alexander doesn’t like a wife who asks questions or has too many ideas of her own and, with this in mind, he has been developing a new medicine in his laboratory above the pharmacy – a medicine which he hopes can be used to control women and which he persuades Rebecca to try by telling her it will make her happy and content. Soon Rebecca is dependent on her medicine, taking it more and more often and relying on her husband to provide it for her. It is, of course, heroin – and it seems that Rebecca is not the only woman on whom Alexander has been testing his new invention…
This is certainly a dark novel but I didn’t find it a particularly thrilling one and it wasn’t until near the end that I started to feel gripped by the story. I suppose I was expecting more from the plot; there are lots of good ideas and plenty of interesting topics are touched on, but it’s only when (without wanting to spoil too much) things begin to go less smoothly for Alexander that it becomes really compelling, in my opinion. What this book does do, very well, is explore the inequalities between men and women in 19th century society. Although Alexander is not a real person and his discovery of heroin is fictitious, he uses the drug to keep his wife quiet and submissive and to take away whatever small amount of independence and freedom she may have had. Rebecca’s situation is oppressive and frightening and as her addiction to the drug deepens it becomes difficult to see how she is going to break out of the cycle in which she has found herself.
I liked Rebecca as a character and was pleased to see that she does develop as a person as the novel progresses, but I thought the villains, Alexander and his friend Mr Badcock, were too obviously ‘villainous’ and could have been given more depth. As well as the drugs, it seems that there’s no type of cruelty or depravity of which they’re not capable! Thankfully, there are two decent male characters to balance things out slightly – Lionel, the apprentice who helps Alexander in the pharmacy, and Gabriel, Rebecca’s first love.
The Pharmacist’s Wife is an interesting novel and, as I’ve said, a very dark one. I couldn’t love it, but I would be happy to read other books by Vanessa Tait.
January 14, 2024
Slow start; page turning middle; predictable end.
The premise is good- the development of heroin and its impact on women ( then men) to cure ills and offer escapism- then of addiction . This section is exciting. The setting is Edinburgh though I don’t sense it in the descriptions neither do I get any sense of Scottishness. The misogyny is outrageous but attempting to be of its time: 1860. I loved bits , hated other bits. Some was gratuitous / sensationalised and this irritated me. It’s a shame… I should have loved it.
The premise is good- the development of heroin and its impact on women ( then men) to cure ills and offer escapism- then of addiction . This section is exciting. The setting is Edinburgh though I don’t sense it in the descriptions neither do I get any sense of Scottishness. The misogyny is outrageous but attempting to be of its time: 1860. I loved bits , hated other bits. Some was gratuitous / sensationalised and this irritated me. It’s a shame… I should have loved it.
May 9, 2018
I just couldn't do it...RTC.
June 8, 2018
Reluctant female guinea pig's hopeful escape from drug induced shackles of hypocrisy and inequality in Victorian Edinburgh.
May 1, 2018
Firstly, the book cover art is amazing! The dark black illustration and the rich metallic red evoke Victorian Scotland before you even open the pages. Inside is a very detailed piece of historical fiction about a young woman called Rebecca who married for convenience and nearly paid for it with her life.
Rebecca had a childhood sweetheart named Gabriel, who was destined for big things. He went away to Egypt and didn’t return when he said he would, in fact, in Rebecca’s mind he would never return at all. After the death of her father, and living in a time where women needed to be married for financial support and roof over their head, she married an upstanding man of the community. Alexander and his business partner Mr Badcock were to open a new pharmacy, treating the locals for any manner of ailments. Alexander is very passionate about his job and has a dream of discovering a new drug and becoming rich and famous across the globe.
Alexander has a deep desire and obsession for things outside of alchemy too. Rebecca slowly begins to discover Alexanders dark secrets and heinous plan for his wife. When she challenges him, he, like many men of the era believe his wife to have hysteria and plans to treat her with this new drug. Heroin.
Vanessa Tait has researched this period in history with great dedication and detail. The first pages took a little while to get used to as the writing is in keeping with that of the time, but this helps to escort the reader back to an era which was full of life and happiness for some, yet full of misery, poverty and oppression for many. Tait also focuses on what it was like for women at the time, even those married and living in the middle classes. They had no bank account, no money of their own and controlled by the man of the house. Rebeca is told at one point that she should stay in her room and not exert herself while on her menses.
Tait takes us on Rebecca’s journey as she shed her skin of naivety and compliance to that of maturity, business savvy and defiance, which is a dangerous path to take in Victorian Edinburgh.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and if you love anything by Natasha Lester or Pamela Hart, you’ll be sure to enjoy The Pharmacists Wife.
Share this post with anyone who loves historical fiction!
Rebecca had a childhood sweetheart named Gabriel, who was destined for big things. He went away to Egypt and didn’t return when he said he would, in fact, in Rebecca’s mind he would never return at all. After the death of her father, and living in a time where women needed to be married for financial support and roof over their head, she married an upstanding man of the community. Alexander and his business partner Mr Badcock were to open a new pharmacy, treating the locals for any manner of ailments. Alexander is very passionate about his job and has a dream of discovering a new drug and becoming rich and famous across the globe.
Alexander has a deep desire and obsession for things outside of alchemy too. Rebecca slowly begins to discover Alexanders dark secrets and heinous plan for his wife. When she challenges him, he, like many men of the era believe his wife to have hysteria and plans to treat her with this new drug. Heroin.
Vanessa Tait has researched this period in history with great dedication and detail. The first pages took a little while to get used to as the writing is in keeping with that of the time, but this helps to escort the reader back to an era which was full of life and happiness for some, yet full of misery, poverty and oppression for many. Tait also focuses on what it was like for women at the time, even those married and living in the middle classes. They had no bank account, no money of their own and controlled by the man of the house. Rebeca is told at one point that she should stay in her room and not exert herself while on her menses.
Tait takes us on Rebecca’s journey as she shed her skin of naivety and compliance to that of maturity, business savvy and defiance, which is a dangerous path to take in Victorian Edinburgh.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and if you love anything by Natasha Lester or Pamela Hart, you’ll be sure to enjoy The Pharmacists Wife.
Share this post with anyone who loves historical fiction!
November 17, 2020
The ending was better than the beginning. But I just couldn't care about the characters and I think that Rebecca has no agency whatsoever, but at the same time I really feel for her situation.
The almost rape scene with Jenny really freaked me out, because I think she's a minor and well, although it was done to show how abhorrent the men in their life was. I could only see just how Alexander was a terrible father, and honestly, shouldn't his reputation be worse if it got out? Or even the complete lack of disregard that a friend had for his friend's daughter. It was just so revolting and there was no consequences to him, even when it's his own flesh and blood.
Either Alexander doesn't understand what it means to raise children, or he doesn't even seem to care that his daughter has to marry someone one day. And at this rate, it should be his friend who would have violated his daughter. How uncaring and horrible could he get?
I just felt that it was too black and white, Rebecca too useless as a stepmother, she should have at least kept Jenny around, or supervised her. How did he even end up in her room anywhere just to make an almost rape scene. So, I guess that it went too far to the point of absolute stupidity.
I mean, if his daughter gets slap with an immoral and fallen woman label for something that he was supposed to help her with. Then what kind of father is he? I just found that scene to totally take me out of the story and see it as nothing more than fiction.
Women were seen as property even around that property, so I guess that he would have ended the friendship. I mean, there maybe no grounds for a woman seeking to end a marriage, or the right to their own inheritances and property but almost all incredibly misogynistic societies had one thing in common.
They despised and hated rape, they had punishments for them. Even if it requires the man to just take her on as his wife, for the sake of avoiding scandal or even to the death. I have to admit that in Victorian england where women were seen as morally superior, Alexander would have been viewed as a horrendous father and terrible mate in general, if he couldn't even keep hands off of his daughter.
Mr Badcock would have all sorts of issues just convincing parents to let him meet their daughters. He would have been seen as a beast that no one wanted around.
The almost rape scene with Jenny really freaked me out, because I think she's a minor and well, although it was done to show how abhorrent the men in their life was. I could only see just how Alexander was a terrible father, and honestly, shouldn't his reputation be worse if it got out? Or even the complete lack of disregard that a friend had for his friend's daughter. It was just so revolting and there was no consequences to him, even when it's his own flesh and blood.
Either Alexander doesn't understand what it means to raise children, or he doesn't even seem to care that his daughter has to marry someone one day. And at this rate, it should be his friend who would have violated his daughter. How uncaring and horrible could he get?
I just felt that it was too black and white, Rebecca too useless as a stepmother, she should have at least kept Jenny around, or supervised her. How did he even end up in her room anywhere just to make an almost rape scene. So, I guess that it went too far to the point of absolute stupidity.
I mean, if his daughter gets slap with an immoral and fallen woman label for something that he was supposed to help her with. Then what kind of father is he? I just found that scene to totally take me out of the story and see it as nothing more than fiction.
Women were seen as property even around that property, so I guess that he would have ended the friendship. I mean, there maybe no grounds for a woman seeking to end a marriage, or the right to their own inheritances and property but almost all incredibly misogynistic societies had one thing in common.
They despised and hated rape, they had punishments for them. Even if it requires the man to just take her on as his wife, for the sake of avoiding scandal or even to the death. I have to admit that in Victorian england where women were seen as morally superior, Alexander would have been viewed as a horrendous father and terrible mate in general, if he couldn't even keep hands off of his daughter.
Mr Badcock would have all sorts of issues just convincing parents to let him meet their daughters. He would have been seen as a beast that no one wanted around.
June 17, 2020
3.5 stars. The second half of this book was wildly better than the first half.
I have never wanted a fictional character to be real more than I wanted Alexander to be real, if only so I could punch him. Or Mr Badcock... Who is a touch rapey, a good name for him, that is.
Alexander, the chemist, is working on a wonder drug, a cure all to every ailment. He believes it will fix 'the female problem' - its heroin. He's also a giant pervert, not to kink shame or anything... But I did not expect to read a Victorian man sucking toes and licking shoes.
Also, HE CUM DOWN HER ANKLE. How are we not addressing this?! I mean, I get everyone has their thing, but have some game, man.
As I pushed towards the second half of the book, I found myself way more invested. It got dark real fast, exploring Rebecca's addiction, the loss of her friend to the drug and learning that Alexander picked her to be a subject of his own drug and that he was writing up a case study on her. Watching Alexander fall into a mad scientist, addicted to his own drug was fascinating. I would have rated this higher if we had spent more time watching him slip into madness over his work.
Side note: I love Gabe and that they ended up together. I'm weak, I miss my husband, and they're cute.
I have never wanted a fictional character to be real more than I wanted Alexander to be real, if only so I could punch him. Or Mr Badcock... Who is a touch rapey, a good name for him, that is.
Alexander, the chemist, is working on a wonder drug, a cure all to every ailment. He believes it will fix 'the female problem' - its heroin. He's also a giant pervert, not to kink shame or anything... But I did not expect to read a Victorian man sucking toes and licking shoes.
Also, HE CUM DOWN HER ANKLE. How are we not addressing this?! I mean, I get everyone has their thing, but have some game, man.
As I pushed towards the second half of the book, I found myself way more invested. It got dark real fast, exploring Rebecca's addiction, the loss of her friend to the drug and learning that Alexander picked her to be a subject of his own drug and that he was writing up a case study on her. Watching Alexander fall into a mad scientist, addicted to his own drug was fascinating. I would have rated this higher if we had spent more time watching him slip into madness over his work.
Side note: I love Gabe and that they ended up together. I'm weak, I miss my husband, and they're cute.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2018
Although I very much enjoyed reading this book, at times, I found it very hard going and an uncomfortable read. I didn't like the abusive (mentally) relationship that Rebecca and her husband Alexander had, Mr Badcock and his penchant for under age girls, Alexander's strange sexuall desires and the deep and dark effects of the new drug Heroin had on it's victims. It's scary to think that although this is a story and loosely based on a gentleman who did indeed create Heroin, that all the other relationships and parts of the story actually happened in real life, and to some extent still happen now. The book touches on women's oppression and the lack of rights they had back in the day, how women were meant to be seen and not heard. Alexander used his wife and other women as test subjects on the new drug Heroin, keeping them in a submissive state, so that these women were then able to be manipulated into doing whatever a man would so desire. Overall this is a good read, quite harrowing at times, I nearly put it down and didn't go back to it! But I'm glad I did, and like most books it ended with a happy ending.
April 24, 2018
I won this book through Readers first for an honest review.
I had very high hopes for this book when I came across my first impression of it. It called out a good read and interesting plot. While others might find the story line rather interesting, I'm afraid that I struggled through nearly the whole book until I reached the last few chapters when things got more interesting for myself.
Some of the subjects which was brought up within the book was subjects that I felt uneasy with which might have the same affect with other people, so be careful with that when it comes to reading it.
Since the book is set in the 1800's, you have the typical the husband rules over the house and wife and controls most aspects within the home and the wife's social life. Alexander is Rachel's husband, he owns a pharmacy, and with a good friend starts to experiment on a new drug which they hope to present before the society.
To try the new wonder drug on people, Alexander decides to use his own wife as a test subject. Giving her doses of salts which she soon becomes dependent on and often begs her husband to 'have her medicine.'
But it isn't long before Rachel and her friend Eva soon find out what her husband is really up too, in turn, Rachel turns around and started to fight back against the man who had taken her in and married her after her father's death. Hoping for a happy life, Rachel is blind to her husbands actions until she finds out and starts to unravel his plans for the future.
I had very high hopes for this book when I came across my first impression of it. It called out a good read and interesting plot. While others might find the story line rather interesting, I'm afraid that I struggled through nearly the whole book until I reached the last few chapters when things got more interesting for myself.
Some of the subjects which was brought up within the book was subjects that I felt uneasy with which might have the same affect with other people, so be careful with that when it comes to reading it.
Since the book is set in the 1800's, you have the typical the husband rules over the house and wife and controls most aspects within the home and the wife's social life. Alexander is Rachel's husband, he owns a pharmacy, and with a good friend starts to experiment on a new drug which they hope to present before the society.
To try the new wonder drug on people, Alexander decides to use his own wife as a test subject. Giving her doses of salts which she soon becomes dependent on and often begs her husband to 'have her medicine.'
But it isn't long before Rachel and her friend Eva soon find out what her husband is really up too, in turn, Rachel turns around and started to fight back against the man who had taken her in and married her after her father's death. Hoping for a happy life, Rachel is blind to her husbands actions until she finds out and starts to unravel his plans for the future.
April 19, 2018
I really enjoyed The Pharmacist’s wife, even if I was left feeling queasy on a few occasions from the vivid descriptions! Although there is not much introduction to Rebecca before her first dose of her husbands medicine, you learn more about what led her to the point where she found herself marrying Alexander, and I enjoyed the previously malleable, ‘helpless’ woman finding strength and ‘a backbone’, including forgiving people where maybe some wouldn’t. It got me thinking of how cocaine was once in cough syrup, it’s easy to forget how that would have affected the individuals who took it, and with no laws to protect her and at a time where women could easily be silenced you really feel how trapped and desperate Rebecca is. I was actually drawn to this book because my great great grandmother took over her husband’s pharmacy business when he became an alcoholic and they separated (and the lovely book cover!). There is a newspaper article about another matter that took them to court where he complains that she would not have known how to make up the pills if were not for him, and she retorted that it was not all that difficult to learn, actually, and nothing seemed to be done about her dispensing medicine without any formal training. I always wondered if she had a proper shop, and I thought of her when a character in the pharmacists wife mentions how men like to make running a pharmacy seem more complicated than it really is 😆
I would recommend this to people who enjoy historical fiction, suspense and (women’s and medical) social history especially.
I would recommend this to people who enjoy historical fiction, suspense and (women’s and medical) social history especially.
April 15, 2021
Quite a nice idea - seemingly upstanding chemist husband in Victorian Edinburgh turns out to have an evil streak and tests out the new drugs he invents on his wife - but quickly descends into silliness and the plot twists towards the end just weren't credible.
If you want a book with a similar vibe but much better executed, read the Miniaturist.
If you want a book with a similar vibe but much better executed, read the Miniaturist.
September 17, 2019
This was one of those dark Gothic tales that are a bit disturbing in parts. I imagined Alexander and Rebecca to be very similar to the dodgy vicar from Poldark and Morwenna. It was quite fascinating and I could imagine it would do well as a made for TV drama.
April 9, 2018
My first instinct was to deride a comparison with Sarah Waters whose work I love but having completed the novel I totally understand the parallels. At times this book makes for uncomfortable reading but it covers a wide plethora of issues regarding women in the Victorian age.
Our ‘heroine’ (forgive the pun, read the book to get the pun!) is Rebecca Palmer who has married a pharmacist. The book begins as Alexander Palmer opens his new pharmacy. Without revealing too much neither Alexander nor the marriage is all that it seems or indeed all that it should be. Alexander’s desire for fame and fortune with the manufacture of a new compound overrides any integrity or humanity he might have, not to mention his fetishes. Dispassionately he administers his new drug to his wife to ‘pacify’ her. It is only Rebecca’s awareness and intelligence that enable her to find a path out of the labyrinth of deceit and skullduggery which she manages to parry with some of her own.
This dark and brooding tale threatens to engulf its reader with the gloom, despair and unpleasant proclivities of the majority of male characters. Homage to Dickens here with the aptly named partner of Alexander Palmer (which I won’t divulge as I think it would be a spoiler to do so). Gabriel and Lionel seem to be the exceptions. The female characters are well drawn and guide the reader to the outrageous inequalities of the Victorian age. They also help to illustrate how drug and drug dependency haven’t changed throughout history sadly and the book doesn’t seek to sugar coat the tragic consequences. Intentionally the writer draws our sympathies towards the female characters, the trio of Rebecca, Evangeline and Jenny.
The writing is lively and well paced, the novel reads authentically and the atmosphere created is tangible, you can almost smell the streets, a testament to solid research. The cruelty of some aspects the story are spiky to read. It made me edgy but I guess it was supposed to, something of the Victorian gothic among the pages. The conclusion is redemptive, as fictions maybe need to be. I did enjoy the book and I am grateful to Readers First for the opportunity to do so.
Our ‘heroine’ (forgive the pun, read the book to get the pun!) is Rebecca Palmer who has married a pharmacist. The book begins as Alexander Palmer opens his new pharmacy. Without revealing too much neither Alexander nor the marriage is all that it seems or indeed all that it should be. Alexander’s desire for fame and fortune with the manufacture of a new compound overrides any integrity or humanity he might have, not to mention his fetishes. Dispassionately he administers his new drug to his wife to ‘pacify’ her. It is only Rebecca’s awareness and intelligence that enable her to find a path out of the labyrinth of deceit and skullduggery which she manages to parry with some of her own.
This dark and brooding tale threatens to engulf its reader with the gloom, despair and unpleasant proclivities of the majority of male characters. Homage to Dickens here with the aptly named partner of Alexander Palmer (which I won’t divulge as I think it would be a spoiler to do so). Gabriel and Lionel seem to be the exceptions. The female characters are well drawn and guide the reader to the outrageous inequalities of the Victorian age. They also help to illustrate how drug and drug dependency haven’t changed throughout history sadly and the book doesn’t seek to sugar coat the tragic consequences. Intentionally the writer draws our sympathies towards the female characters, the trio of Rebecca, Evangeline and Jenny.
The writing is lively and well paced, the novel reads authentically and the atmosphere created is tangible, you can almost smell the streets, a testament to solid research. The cruelty of some aspects the story are spiky to read. It made me edgy but I guess it was supposed to, something of the Victorian gothic among the pages. The conclusion is redemptive, as fictions maybe need to be. I did enjoy the book and I am grateful to Readers First for the opportunity to do so.
April 18, 2018
What a fantastic story of dark and seedy Victoriana Edinburgh!
Rebecca Palmer seemed to have been picked as a wife by a respectable gentleman - what a wonderful position to be in. His work as pharmacist is respectable enough, however, things soon take a turn and into a twisted and lurid Edinburgh we go.
As Rebecca discovers more about the addiction that she has been drawn into, the pace of the book picks up and the dangers of her husband's work become evident. His obsession with becoming famous has to be stopped - is Rebecca the person to do it? Or is someone else able to stop him?
I absolutely loved this journey into an Edinburgh set in an era I am quite fanatical about. A brilliant concept and very well executed. Looking forward to more novels from this author!
Rebecca Palmer seemed to have been picked as a wife by a respectable gentleman - what a wonderful position to be in. His work as pharmacist is respectable enough, however, things soon take a turn and into a twisted and lurid Edinburgh we go.
As Rebecca discovers more about the addiction that she has been drawn into, the pace of the book picks up and the dangers of her husband's work become evident. His obsession with becoming famous has to be stopped - is Rebecca the person to do it? Or is someone else able to stop him?
I absolutely loved this journey into an Edinburgh set in an era I am quite fanatical about. A brilliant concept and very well executed. Looking forward to more novels from this author!
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