



Eleanore of Avignon
A Novel
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- 11,99 €
Publisher Description
A Library Reads Pick!
An Amazon Best Book of the Month!
An Aardvark Book Club Pick!
Rich with unforgettable characters, gorgeously drawn, and full of captivating historical drama, Eleanore of Avignon is the story of a healer who risks her life, her freedom, and everything she holds dear to protect her beloved city from the encroaching Black Death
Provence, 1347. Eleanore (Elea) Blanchet is a young midwife and herbalist with remarkable skills. But as she learned the day her mother died, the most dangerous thing a woman can do is draw attention to herself. She attends patients in her home city of Avignon, spends time with her father and twin sister, gathers herbs in the surrounding woods, and dreams of the freedom to pursue her calling without fear.
In a chance encounter, Elea meets Guigo de Chauliac, the enigmatic personal physician to the powerful Pope Clement, and strikes a deal with him to take her on as his apprentice. Under Chauliac’s tutelage she hones her skills as a healer, combining her knowledge of folk medicine with anatomy, astrology, and surgical techniques.
Then, two pieces of earth-shattering news: the Black Death has made landfall in Europe, and the disgraced Queen Joanna is coming to Avignon to stand trial for her husband’s murder. She is pregnant and in need of a midwife, a role only Elea can fill.
The queen’s childbirth approaches as the plague spreads like wildfire, leaving half the city dead in its wake. The people of Avignon grow desperate for a scapegoat and a group of religious heretics launch a witch hunt, one that could cost Elea—an intelligent, talented, unwed woman—everything.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A woman fights against the odds to become the physician she was born to be in this impeccably researched historical fiction debut. We begin in medieval France, where men hold all the power and religious radicalism is everywhere. Eleanore is a healer who’s tried to conceal her talents since her midwife mother was branded a witch. But after a chance encounter with the pope’s personal physician, Guigo, leads to an apprenticeship, Elea becomes the midwife to an exiled Italian queen—just as the Black Death is beginning to devastate Europe. We loved that this fascinating and comprehensive novel is inspired by real people. We couldn’t get enough of the burgeoning relationship between Elea and Guigo—one based on humour, support, and mutual respect. Perfect for fans of Maggie O’Farrell and Pat Barker, Eleanore of Avignon is filled with captivating details about religion, medicine, and the lives of women in this difficult historical time.