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The Apothecarys Daughter Editorial Reviews
Source: Product Description
Lillian Haswell, brilliant daughter of the local apothecary, yearns for more adventure and experience than life in her father's shop and their small village provides. She also longs to know the truth behind her mother's disappearance, which villagers whisper about but her father refuses to discuss. Opportunity comes when a distant aunt offers to educate her as a lady in London. Exposed to fashionable society and romance--as well as clues about her mother--Lilly is torn when she is summoned back to her ailing father's bedside. Women are forbidden to work as apothecaries, so to save the family legacy, Lilly will have to make it appear as if her father is still making all the diagnoses and decisions. But the suspicious eyes of a scholarly physician and a competing apothecary are upon her. As they vie for village prominence, three men also vie for Lilly's heart.
The Apothecarys Daughter Customer Reviews:
Average Rating: 4.5 (165 reviews)
Rating: 4 (Wonderful, Beautiful story...) Was helpful to 205 from 210 votes
In the village of Bedsley Priors, Lillian Haswell is known by all as the apothecary's daughter; intelligent and dutiful; she assists her father in nearly every aspect of his profession. From growing herbs to prescribing certain remedies, to running errands for him. Mr. Haswell is full of regret that his son Charlie cannot follow in his footsteps, but young Charlie is a bit slow. Instead he must rely on his daughter. While Lilly has a knack of remembering everything and is gifted in the field of medicine, she dreams of traveling, seeing the world- but most of all, finding her mother. Years prior Mrs. Haswell left her husband and children, promising to return, however she never did. So when Lilly's aunt and uncle invite her to stay in London with them, she believes that her dreams are becoming a reality. Nearly two years pass when she is called home. She finds her home in disarray, her father ill, her brother working elsewhere and their own little shop closed. Despite her yearning to go back to London, Lilly does her duty and works diligently to bring their apothecary's shop back to it's former glory. What follows, I never would have guess, but I'll not spoil it for you.
After reading Klassen's former novel, "Lady of Milkweed Manor" I was eagerly awaiting her next work and was not left disappointed. While I still prefer "Lady of Milkweed Manor," "The Apothecary's Daughter" claimed my attention from morning to late afternoon, until I finished it. Lilly was an engaging heroine; bright and intelligent. The only disappointment that I felt was that her father hadn't realized what a jewel he had for a daughter until almost the end. Of course one must keep in mind that this story is based in the Regency Era and that the medical profession was forbidden to women. I was completely surprised by the author's choice in who Lilly ended up with. I was certain it would be once character and it turned out to be someone completely different. Another shock was the secrets behind Mrs. Haswell's disappearance and Mr. Haswell's own past. I promise you, like Klassen's other book, you won't finish this story without tears.
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Rating: 5 (A must read for English historical readers) Was helpful to 5 from 5 votes
There is nothing I like better in this world than a well written historical novel set in England, and The Apothecary's Daughter was a wonderful treat. Scene one and the drama drew me in like an anglophile to a free trip to England. What fascinating details on the world of apothocary's in this time period. Lots of tension, unexpected twists and turns, and a perfect heroine--not passive, not a domineering wench, just right, sensible, strong minded, and a intriguing thread of romance weaved in throughout the story made this a delightful book I'll read again.
Rating: 5 (Julie Klassen never disappoints!) Was helpful to 30 from 31 votes
I thoroughly enjoyed Klassen's previous title, 'The Lady of Milkweed Manor', so I was eager to read her next title. The Apothecary's Daughter is an amazing book. The author's attention to even the minutest historical detail is fantastic.
Julie Klassen's characters are so detailed and fleshed out that you feel you actually know these people. You want to be involved with their lives. Her books are so deep, not like other Christian Fiction. Some of those are just fluff with scriptures thrown in. This author goes deep into the heart of things.
I am eagerly looking forward to her next book and I've only just finished this one. Her books are so good that you can't wait to finish but hate to finish.
Rating: 5 (Another Fabulous Historical Tale of a Courageous Woman) Was helpful to 0 from 0 votes
Another incredible piece of historical fiction with strong characters from second published author Julie Klassen. Without a doubt, Klassen is on my favorite author's list. Both Lady of Milkweed Manor (her first book) and The Apothecary's Daughter were so enjoyable.
Each chapter starts with a quote of various pharmaceutical and apothecary means as well as a few others and it really sets the scene. It is something she also used in her first book, and I truly believe that it adds an incredible important element to the way her story is told. This book is divided up into sections that works quite well. It is a long book and fabulously so, I did not want it to end.
The one qualm that I did have, is that the last section is very dark to me. Everything that can go wrong is going wrong and it was a little much to experience all at once, when the rest of the book was much more light heart-ed. I feel kinda like if there was so more happiness in there with the dark toward the end that it would have worked better. Then it ends abruptly exactly as a perfect ending as it could be. My opinion would have been to draw it out with more details and more "happy" within the dark cloud, rather than having everything fixed in a last chapter and epilogue. But then we readers cannot get everything we want when fabulous authors are limited to just 400 pages or so.
Good points and bad, my overall opinion is that the story is fabulous. My favorite portion of all is where the name for the book came from. It makes me teary eyed. And you will just have to go read it to find out why.
Once again a winner from Julie in my opinion, and I desperately cannot wait for more books from her in the future!
Rating: 5 (Heartwarming) Was helpful to 0 from 0 votes
Ms. Klassen has done it again. She's brought us a story with beautiful, real characters, faults and all. She's kept us guessing right to the end as to who will win Lilly's heart but it really wasn't that hard to guess who that winner might be. And then a few surprises along the way! I like the way she brings God into it without making it preachy and making the characters real and not cookie-cutter and sickeningly sweet. I can't wait for her next one.
