The illness lesson / Clare Beams.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beams, Clare, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fathers and daughters--Fiction.

Fathers and daughters.

History.

Girls' schools.

New England.

Girls' schools--Fiction.

Diseases--Fiction.

Diseases.

Secrecy--Fiction.

Secrecy.

New England--History--19th century--Fiction.

Genre:

Fiction.

History.

Historical fiction.

Social problem fiction.

Physical Description:

271 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Doubleday, [2020]

Summary:

"In Ashwell, Massachusetts, at the farm of Samuel Hood and his daughter, Caroline, a mysterious flock of red birds descends. Samuel, whose fame as a philosopher has waned in recent years, takes the birds' appearance as an omen that the time is ripe for his newest venture. He will start a school for young women, guiding their intellectual development as he has so carefully guided his daughter's. Despite Caroline's misgivings, Samuel's vision - revolutionary, as always; noble, as always; full of holes, as always - takes shape. It's not long before the students begin to manifest bizarre symptoms. Rashes, fits, headaches, verbal tics, night wanderings. In desperation, the school turns to the ministering of a sinister physician - based on a real historic treatment - just as Caroline's body, too, begins its betrayal. As the girls' conditions worsen, long-buried secrets emerge, and Caroline must confront the all-male, all-knowing authorities around her, the ones who insist the voices of the sufferers are unreliable. In order to save herself, Caroline may have to destroy everything she's ever known."--Provided by publisher.

ISBN:

9780385544665

0385544669

9780857526311

0857526316

OCLC:

1091293260