The Lost Apothecary

Sarah Penner's debut novel The Lost Apothecary is an intriguing dual time-line narrative of three women. Nella lives in 18th century London, with its horse-drawn carriages and cobblestone streets. It's a time when women have little power over their lives and often find themselves in intolerable, abusive marriages so, in a secret space behind her regular drugstores, Nella concocts special potions which she sells to women to poison their oppressors. Into her shop one day comes Eliza Fanning, a precocious 12-year-old sent by her mistress to obtain the means to murder her adulterous husband. Through a series of mis-adventures, Eliza winds up becoming a quasi-companion and assistant to Nella, who is increasingly unwell, and their relationship forms a strong through-line in the book.
Penner's third protagonist is Caroline, visiting London in the present on what was to have been her 10th wedding anniversary before she caught her husband cheating and decided to take travel alone. While on a mudlarking expedition near the Thames, she discovers an old apothecary vial and on a lark, decides to spend time researching its unusual markings. This leads her to a new friend, Gaynor, who works at the British Library and eventually to an abandoned property where she discovers the ruins of Nella's long-buried shop and her journal detailing her clients and their purchases.
Like many dual time-line novels, one story often outshines the other. For me, the tale of Nella and Eliza proved vastly more compelling than the modern-day narrative, so I felt a bit disappointed whenever the focus left the streets of old London to describe Caroline's growing dissatisfaction with her life's direction and her amateur pursuit of the mystery of the secret apothecary. Her research into historical records never quite captured me as much as the older tale but I did appreciate her growth through the book and the life decisions she made in the last chapters.
With its themes of female power and agency, paired with an interesting mystery and historical underpinnings, this would be a great read for book clubs. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance eARC in exchange for an honest review.