The Apothecary's Daughter

I just loved this book for many reasons. The plot contained some surprises that caught me totally off guard, as well as demonstrating the emotional and spiritual growth of “Lilly,” who weathered many storms along the way.

The Apothecary's Daughter by Julie KlassenI got this book a while ago as a Kindle Freebie from Amazon, and it took a while for my interest in reading it to generate.But I will say, I am glad I did read it!The book focuses on the life of Lillian Haswell, the daughter of an apothecary (go figure...) who has been helping her father out in his shop since her mother left suddenly years before. Lillian was forced to become the lady of the house and watch after her younger brother after her mother's mysterious and sudden departure, but she has always longed for more. More than just the inside of an apothecary's shop.One day, the chance presents itself when Lillian's aunt and uncle come to visit. They wish to meet her brother, hoping that as they have no children, they could leave their vast fortune to him. But they are sadly disappointed to find out that Lillian's little brother, Charlie, though very sweet, is what they refer to as "feeble-minded" and thus not a suitable heir. However, upon meeting Lilly, they decide to take her under their wing, and Lilly departs to London to spend time in society.The change is huge for Lilly, parties, balls, dancing, the requirements of proper society, but she has her chance to experience more than the world she has known. She even begins to find clues about the whereabouts of her mother and the cause for her mysterious departure when she receives word that her father has fallen ill and she is needed desperately at home.So Lilly makes the choice, knowing that leaving at this point virtually ensures she will have no chance at making a strong marriage, but her duty to her father is too strong for her to ignore... Now back in the world of the apothecary, Lilly faces another challenge: she is in a world of men, where women are not allowed to practice.Lilly works hard to make it appear that her father is in control while secretly doing his apothecary work, and she also has men vying after her heart.Will Lilly find contentment in a life she once wished to leave? Or will her secret work as an apothecary be her downfall?Read, The Apothecary's Daughter to find out!I must say I enjoyed this book overall. I knew very little of the apothecary's world before reading it, and the way that Julie Klassen describes things did not make me feel lost, but rather helped me understand the background.It was also easy to empathize for Lilly. Torn between her home life and wanting adventure, but not finding contentment there...she just does not know where she belongs or how to fit in. I also admired her strong sense of duty to her father.My only criticism would be the book was long, and in that, it felt long at points. I cannot pinpoint exactly what made it drag, but here and there it did. It wasn't a book that I just couldn't put down, occasionally I just had to put it down and take a break. But nonetheless, I enjoyed it.While I don't recommend this book as a speed read, I recommend it as a great historical fiction read!4 out of 5 stars!

Drawn in by dynamic dialogue, I quickly became intrigued by Lilly’s longing for her absent mother and her relationships with father, younger brother and the apprentice working in her fathers apothecary shop. An invite to London originally offered to her brother transferred to Lillian. Romantic triangles multiplied..Klassen offered a fragrant insight into apothecary remedies while presenting London and village fashions of the Regency era. Reading on Kindle, I had opportunity to open Wikipedia snippets that explained plants, foods, and carriages of the time. Those who regularly read books set in this era may not need to look up as many as as I did. LOL

This story is an English period romance with a delightful mixture of daunting circumstances and inspiring victories that leaves you feeling that we can rise above any situation with perseverance and prayer. I must say that the sparse insertions of Christian aspects & practices was a little disappointing to me, but it is very wholesome, & proves you don't need to include sex & obscenities to create a very good, believable & compelling story. Julie Klassen's characters, setting & story line are so detailed & believable, you feel like you're actually taking part rather than just reading about it. Her details of life in those days & of the apothecary's trade show that she has done her homework, & I am pleased but not surprised by its many above average ratings.Living in the tiny, quaint village of Bedsley Priors would lead you to expect the characters' lives to be idyllic & nearly perfect as well, but this is definitely not the case. Mr. Haswell is an apothecary whose wife has left him three years previously for reasons largely unknown & with no clue when or if she will ever return..He has struggled alone to raise & care for their two children while running his busy apothecary shop, the only one in the village. His lovely young daughter Lilly has been a quick study in the apothecary business, with excellent abilities & memory. Unknown to Lilly, her father's young apprentice with whom she has practically grown up has fallen in love with her. He tries to show, & even to tell her, but his shyness & feelings of inadequacy prevent him from making his feelings known. Lilly's brother Charlie, though a bit too slow mentally to become an apothecary delights in gardening & watching things grow.An invitation for Lilly to stay with her aunt & uncle in London brings some big changes both to Lilly herself & to her family, giving her a taste of life's finer things, as well as some fine romantic possibilities. It also forces her to face some difficult situations & make some tough decisions, culminating with her necessity to return home to discover her family & the shop in great turmoil. Just when it seems there is no way out, God "makes a way where there seems to be no way" to help set things right again. While the end of the story was what I expected & hoped for, some surprising plot twists prevented the "I knew it" feeling, & also kept this charming story interesting & compelling from beginning to end. I highly recommend it, especially for fans of English period fiction.

This was such a brilliant book. It was clever, full of fascinating history, emotion, wonderful characters and sense of time and place. I will definitely be reading more of Julie Klassen's work. Wonderful!!!

It was enjoying to read a story about people practicing a known profession but about which so little is known. The heroine seemed to have been spoiled for choice of a husband!!!! Since all of her her suitors were ready to marry her!!! The mystery behind Rosa Halswell's disappearance was well used as its current runs underneath the story till the end. I wish the author had told us who she left everything behind for. The story actually makes us realise the value of things in our life we take for granted.

A lovely read that is positive and well written. I highly recommend and will definitely read more by Julie Klassen

The first Julie Klassen book I read and fell in love with her writing style. I've purchased every single book she's put out since then and haven't been disappointed. This is still one of my favourites since I've always been fascinated with apothecary's and natural healing. A great read, but warning, you won't be able to put it down.

Die Geschichte der Tochter des Apothekers spielt in England im Jahr 1810 und der Leser begleitet die jugendliche Lilly auf ihrem Weg zu einer jungen Frau. Als Apothekerstochter hilft Lilly ihrem Vater schon von Kindesbeinen an bei der Pflege des Kräutergartens, der Zubereitung von Arzneien und auch bei Krankenbesuchen. Als intelligentes Mädchen mit einem herausragenden Gedächtnis eignet sie sich dadurch allerlei Fähigkeiten an; als Mädchen ist es ihr jedoch nicht erlaubt, die Apotheke ihres Vaters eines Tages weiterzuführen. So nutzt sie die Gelegenheit, mit Verwandten nach London zu gehen und wird dort in die feine Gesellschaft eingeführt mit dem Ziel, einen passenden Ehemann für sie zu finden. Dann, nach knapp zwei Jahren bekommt sie einen Brief aus ihrer Heimatstadt - enthalten ist ein mysteriöser Hilferuf....Mehr will ich hier gar nicht schreiben, um dem Buch nicht die Spannung zu nehmen. Die Geschichte liest sich sehr gut, der Spannungsbogen wird bis zum Ende gehalten. Man rätselt auch das gesamte Buch mit, welcher von Lillys Verehrern denn nun ihr Herz erobern wird. Gut gefallen mir auch die christlichen Werte, die vermittelt werden und die Wichtigkeit der Beziehung zu Gott, besonders in der zweiten Hälfte des Buches.Das Schriftbild ist sehr schön und kann auch nicht geändert werden. Jedes neue Kapitel ist mit einem Vers gekrönt, einem medizinischen Rat, einer Weisheit o.ä.Es sind einige Formatierungsfehler enthalten, immer wieder mal sind zwei Worte zusammengeschrieben, ab und zu schleicht sich das letzte Wort eines Satzes an den Anfang. Zunächst war ich irritiert über letzteres, aber man erkennt das sofort und somit hängt man das Wort halt einfach wieder an. Für die Formatierungsprobleme möchte ich keine Punkte abziehen, da sie das Lesevergnügen meines Erachtens nach nicht beeinträchtigen.