Dr. Gabriella Mondini, a strong-willed, young Venetian woman, has followed her father in the path of medicine. She possesses a singleminded passion for the art of physick, even though, in 1590, the male-dominated establishment is reluctant to accept a woman doctor. So when her father disappears on a mysterious journey, Gabriella's own status in the Venetian medical society is threatened. Her father has left clues -- beautiful, thoughtful, sometimes torrid, and often enigmatic letters from his travels as he researches his vast encyclopedia, The Book of Diseases. After ten years of missing his kindness, insight, and guidance, Gabriella decides to set off on a quest to find him -- a daunting journey that will take her through great university cities, centers of medicine, and remote villages across Europe. Despite setbacks, wary strangers, and the menaces of the road, the young doctor bravely follows the clues to her lost father, all while taking notes on maladies and treating the ill to supplement her own work. Gorgeous and brilliantly written, and filled with details about science, medicine, food, and madness, The Book of Madness and Cures is an unforgettable debut.
★★★★☆
At fifteen, Gabriella Mondini lost her grandfather to the plague. Now at thirty, she is a doctor in 16th century Venice, Italy. The daughter of a doctor, for years now her work has been largely confined to womens' health cases, the Italian Guild of Physicians pretty much only acknowledging her professional existence as a courtesy to her much respected father. But awhile back, Gabriella's father went on a research trip he never came back from, and now the Guild is flat out stating to her that if she does not find her father and bring him back, she will not be allowed to practice medicine at all in the city she so loves. On the very same day in 1590 that Gabriella receives this news from the Guild, a letter from her father arrives, essentially saying, "I don't plan to return ever, don't come find me." Well, obviously she can't leave it at that, so Gabriella gathers up all the letters she's received from him over the years and uses clues within them to try to piece together where he might currently be. If she can convince him to come back, not only can she hold on to her job and hopefully mend the frayed bonds between herself and her parents, but maybe they can also finish the book they were working on --- a compendium of diseases and possible cures of the time.
Setting out to track him down, her travels take her across not only Italy, but also the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, and Africa. Along the way, she crosses paths with some of her father's colleagues and travel acquaintances who give her interesting perspectives on who he's been as a traveling man. Some of these accounts are not the most flattering.
Gabriella's story takes place several decades after the start of the Reformation period, but we get hints within the plot that even after so many years have passed, the heated emotions stirred up by that event are still very much present. Not only must our main character keep vague about her personal religious beliefs, but she often has to disguise herself (including all that red hair!) as a man to keep from being rounded up as a suspected witch! Women who confess to having any sort of knowledge of herbal medicine are especially at risk.
While the reader might not find the tightest frame of a plot here (it is, at heart, a travel story after all), the prose itself is often quite lush and beautiful. Though there might not be always the most exciting scenes within Gabriella's travels, there is something to be said for the introspective quality of the family themes explored here. Though for different reasons, Gabriella has a complicated bond with both of her parents. Naturally, she looks up to her father, having followed in his footsteps professionally, and while he does profess an honest, fatherly love for her, there is also a level of frustrating emotional distance... as well as rumors of madness within him, possibly genetically passed down. What does that mean for Gabriella's own mind?
"Nothing stands still, not even sorrow."
Then there's her relationship with her mother. At first glance, the mother can come off as unfairly short-tempered with her daughter, but I did end up feeling some sympathy for the mother. We learn that shortly into her married life she becomes a scared teen mother. Then her husband starts to show the early signs of his "moon madness", leading him to distance himself from what was was initially looking to have all the earmarks of a truly happy, loving marriage. Then he abandons the family. Now we have the daughter running off to find him, leaving mom all alone. She's not always the nicest person to her daughter, but deep down, I can see where some of the lashing out stems from. And that letter from Gabriella --- heartbreaking! --- "I'm not the daughter you wished, and you're not the mother I longed for, so there's a sad balance between our sorrows. Candor could give us a fulcrum towards change, if you wish it."
All the little interlude sections of Gabriella working on the diseases and cures book as she travels made me incredibly grateful to live in this time of significant medical advancements (compared to the 16th century, that is). The descriptions of "cures" were quite entertaining though --- menstrual cycles described as "women's lunar pain" (something about that description I actually kinda like ... also, now I kinda want to track down some of that seemingly all-purpose Water of Rue LOL)
....or the "Horn of Unicorn", of which Gabriella's father wrote in his notes, "While I question the origins of the so-called Horn of Unicorn (who has ever seen such a creature?), I do not doubt its efficacy." --- love it!
But yes, praise be that I was born in a time where there's no fear of women practicing holistic medicine having to worry about being rounded up and burned at the stake for witchcraft, where doctors no longer use maggots as their go-to infection killer (not saying I don't understand the sound science behind wanting to use that particular method...just...maggots! Blech!), and where it's now unheard of for Christmas to be banned from being celebrated.
And lucky for Gabriella that she has her work to keep her mind occupied, because poor girl's personal life gives a whole new layer to the term "unlucky in love," at least for a good chunk of the book. But oooo, when Hamish rolls up... damn if he isn't smooth with that one letter: "Let me peruse the words of the volume hidden within your chest, the library of your passions, distractions, virtues, and reflections...."
NOTE TO ANIMAL LOVERS: Mules and horses DO NOT FARE WELL in this story! There is also one brief scene that mentions / describes the process of butchering pigs.
* I received a copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program.
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