“History doesn’t record the intricacies of women’s relationships with one another; they’re not to be uncovered.” Sarah Penner’s debut, a historical novel, The Lost Apothecary, reveals traces of the secrets women share. It also indicates that women keep secrets even from the women closest to them. This remarkable debut is a March Indie Next Pick and the #1 LibraryReads Pick for March.

In London in 1791, only women can find their way to the hidden room in Nella Clavinger’s apothecary shop. While Nella’s mother had been an apothecary who sold remedies, after a betrayal, Nella took a different path. She keeps a register of those women who sought her help, potions to kill men in their lives, abusive husbands or fathers or brothers, men who betrayed them. That register is Nella’s way of telling the stories of women whose stories were never told in history books.

Nella has a feeling of uneasiness before twelve-year-old Eliza Fanning shows up. Her mistress sent her there to obtain eggs for the master’s breakfast. Eliza is innocent in so many ways of life, and doesn’t really understand why she herself needs protection. But, she’s fascinated by what she sees as Nella’s magick, although Nella insists it comes from a knowledge of the usage of the earth and its gifts. Nella doesn’t expect the girl to return, but she does.

On a second timeline, Caroline Parcewell is in London on what should have been her tenth anniversary trip with her husband. But, when she learned James was cheating, her best friend told her to take the trip by herself. Angry, defeated, exhausted, Caroline goes mudlarking, hunting for items left behind by the outgoing tide of the Thames. When she finds a small blue vial and wants to know more, she’s sent to the British Library. That small vial sets Caroline on the path of historical research, a path she had set aside for her marriage and the hope of a family.

It’s surprising that Penner’s novel is a debut. It’s skillfully written, and the stories of the three women are entwined, but each voice is easily identified. While Eliza is the device that moves the story along, Nella and Caroline are the more interesting characters. Nella knows she supplies poison to women, but she keeps that register. “The register is important because the names of those women might otherwise be forgotten. It may be the only place their names are recorded.” At the same time as she supplies poison, she knows she’s poisoning herself, and she knows her desire for revenge, and her angry is eating her alive. Then, there’s Caroline, a woman who is only coming to realize that she buried her own needs and desires for the sake of marriage.

The cover of The Lost Apothecary is stunning, and it will catch a reader’s attention. It’s the story of women, though, hidden women with secrets, women who look out for each other, that will remind readers of all the women whose lives have been forgotten.

Sarah Penner’s website is https://www.sarahpenner.com/

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner. Park Row Books, 2021. ISBN 9780778311010 (hardcover), 320p.

FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.