A Parcel of Patterns

by Jill Paton Walsh

Overview

"A parcel of patterns brought the plague to Eyam. A parcel sent up from London to George Vicars, a journeyman tailor, who was lodging with Mrs. Cooper in a cottage by the west end of the churchyard.

So begins Mall Percival's account of how her village of Eyam struggled against the plague. George Vicars dies on September 6, 1665, and by the end of October, twenty-five more townsfolk have been buried. As the deaths continue, the villagers, including Mall, begin to panic—helpless to fight off the disease. Uncertain as to how it is contracted and passed from one person to another, Mall forces herself to make a sacrifice that radically changes her life—she decides to stops seeing Thomas Torre, a man from another village, the man she hopes to marry. In June of 1966, at their minister's urging, the entire village makes a pact to protect those who live in the surrounding countryside by staying within the boundaries of Eyam.

Although Mall longs to see Thomas, she remains steadfast in her resolution, until one day Thomas runs into the center of Eyam, knowing that he will not be allowed to leave, yet fearing that Mall has died. Mall and Thomas marry, but their happiness is short-lived. Finally, in October of 1666, the pestilence subsides. Mall, overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, decides to write a chronicle of all she has witnessed in Eyam, hoping that it will set her free.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374457433
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	09/28/1992
Series:	Aerial Fiction Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	191,411
Product dimensions:	4.12(w) x 6.79(h) x 0.41(d)
Lexile:	1230L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Jill Paton Walsh is the author of books for adults, young adults and children. Her novel Knowledge of Angels was short-listed for the Booker Prize. Her crime novels and mystery novels include The Attenbury Emeralds, A Presumption of Death, The Wyndham Case and A Piece of Justice, which was shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award. With Dorothy L. Sayers, she was co-author of Thrones, Dominations. Her novels for children and young adults include The Green Book. She lives in Cambridge, England.

Editorial Reviews

In 1665, a tailor in the village of Eyam received a parcel of cloth patterns from London, contaminated pieces that infected him with the plague. . .The author builds a novel that draws readers into the account related by Mall Percival, a young woman betrothed to Thomas Torre, who lives outside the village. . .[A] beautifully written, meaningful story.” —Boxed review, Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

In a boxed review, PW lauded this ``beautifully written, meaningful story''--based on a 17th-century English event--about suffering, heroism and cowardice during an outbreak of the plague in a Derbyshire village. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 7-12Talented British actress Brigit Forsyth becomes young Mall Percival to recount Jill Paton Walsh's touching story (FS&G, 1992 pap.) of life in medieval England following the Restoration and religious turmoil and through the death and devastation caused by the Bubonic plague. Her good diction and clear enunciation make it easy for listeners to follow the regional accents and varied levels of education of the speakers in the town. Her speech is steady and appropriately paced. There is no hesitation with the unusual sentence structure of the time period. The emotions of the characters are effectively portrayed; grief, fear, love, anger are naturally reflected in her voice and never seem artificial or contrived. The producer has made it easy for one to read along with the narration as the corresponding page numbers are printed on each side of the tapes. This excellent presentation will make it possible for a young lady of 1665 to visit with the youth of 1996.-Claudia Moore, W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA

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