Eyam: Plague Village (David Paul)

In 1665, the black plague came to a tiny village in the Peak District.  Over the next year, Eyam saw over 250 inhabitants lose their lives to this deadly disease.  Their story is captured in Eyam: Plague Village, by David Paul.

Eyam was not alone in suffering, of course, but what made it (somewhat) unique is the steps the town took to contain the pestilence.  The Church of England rector, William Mompesson, consulted with town resident (and Puritan minister) Thomas Stanley, and decided to quarantine the village (with the approval of the masses).  To allow for supplies to access the village, but keep outsiders safe, the pastors set boundary stones, where they set money (soaked in vinegar) for supplies.  Deliverers would then take this money and leave the goods they brought.  So this system continued until the plague abated in 1666.

Eyam: Plague Village is told as a series of diary entries, alternating between fictitious (but based on fact) entries of William Mompesson, his wife Catherine, and Catherine's sister, whose visit to the village was unfortunately timed.  The book succeeds in that it gets across the main points of the story- the horror of the time, the roles played by Mompesson and several others, the sacrifice of those willing to isolate themselves, and the tremendous loss experienced by many (one woman buried 7 family members in one week).  David Paul uses the diary concept to insert actual accounts written by William into the story, which is good.  So, there is value here.  Unfortunately, though, the book fails to be as good as it could have been.  The diary entries seem rather long-winded and rather repetitive (X died today; Y died yesterday; Z will probably die tomorrow).  The entries seem overly detailed, too; I doubt someone writing would (or could) devote so much time to writing what was presented.  It was obvious that Paul wanted to get across the points of the story in a unique way, but in the end, he probably should have stuck with a straightforward telling.  He repeated himself, too, so this could have been done in a shorter book (though it was a quick read, anyway).

I visited Eyam today; if you get a chance, it's a nice hour or two out.  Several graves remain from that time, and a museum tells the story.  You can visit the boundary stones as well.  Check it out, and pray we never see a time like that again.

Rating: B-