A PLAGUE - A VILLAGE - A LOCKDOWN

1665, Eyam, Derbyshire.
'Here I have set down all that I know of the Plague'

It is 1665 and Mall Percival is a shepherd girl living in a Derbyshire village. She tends her flock, spends time with her best friend and teaches her young suitor to read. But one day a parcel of patterns, meant for a new dress for the pastor's wife, wings its way from London.

The parcel carries an infection that spreads with horrifying speed. Herbal teas and open windows are the only defence against the sickness. Yet the villagers make a brave and selfless decision: to isolate themselves from the rest of the country. It is a lockdown that saves the neighbouring towns, but at heart-breaking cost to Mall's world.

Based on the true events of the village of Eyam, this is the story of a courageous sacrifice that saved Derbyshire and beyond from a deadly virus.

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WHITBREAD PRIZE*

'A pocket masterpiece' Guardian

Readers love A Parcel of Patterns

'I couldn't put it down'

'Brought me to tears too many times to count'

'If you think social distancing is hard in the Coronavirus pandemic, read this wonderful novel based on the true story of the village of Eyam'

A pocket masterpiece * Guardian *
A masterly tale -- Lucy Mangan
If ever there was a book to make us thankful to live in modern times, have scientific cures and the NHS, this is it. Jill Paton Walsh catches the voices of long ago, in the unbroken narrative of one likeable girl: 'author' of the story. Punctuated by exquisite glimpses of Nature, beautiful and raw, and of joyous first love, the account lays bare the horror of a remorseless epidemic. Even knowing the historical facts, we go on hoping, crossing our fingers, holding our breath. The archaic language, jolting at first, feels familiar by the end and adds to the authenticity of the heroine's account. The message to the reader - if indeed there is one - feels important: be grateful for small mercies...and glad to be alive -- Geraldine McCaughrean
A beautifully written, meaningful story * Publishers Weekly *
[Jill Paton Walsh] had an unpatronising literary style and was ambitious about what children would enjoy * Guardian *

Jill Paton Walsh (1937-2020) was an award-winning author of many books for children, young adults, and adults including The Green Book, A Parcel of Patterns, the Booker Prize shortlisted Knowledge of Angels, and the Whitbread Prize winner The Emperor's Winding Sheet. She completed Dorothy L. Sayers's unfinished Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane mystery manuscript, the international bestseller Thrones, Dominations, and continued Sayers's series with A Presumption of Death, The Attenbury Emeralds, and The Late Scholar.

She held numerous posts connected to literature, including an Arts Council Creative Writing Fellowship, acting as a Whitbread Prize judge, and serving on the committee of the Society of Authors. She contributed articles and reviews to many journals. In 1996 Walsh was awarded a CBE for services to literature and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.