The Book of Madness and Cures
A Novel

Oh Dear.. I could begin with the positives, however few there are...but that would just put off the inevitable, that is, I really didn't like this book. Good, glad I got that out of the way. The premise was wonderful, everything was ticking my biblio boxes - the gorgeous cover, the Renaissance setting......more

Geez I really enjoyed this book. It just flowed so nicely and I really liked how she painted with words. It's such a pleasure to read words and see them in your imagination or feel them and truly understand their experience from that deep down sunken knowledge of what it feels like. It sounds easy t......more

Now that I've read this book, I don't understand some statements I've seen from other readers here. I don't think the protagonist lost her way or her focus. I also don't think she lost herself as an independent woman and a physician either. I liked the ending very much. I thought it was the best pos......more

I was so excited to finally receive The Book of Madness and Cures in the mail. It was a book I’d requested from the publisher and I was beside myself with excitement when it arrived. I love historical novels and, if you toss in a bit of medicinal lore sprinkled with early treatments for madness, you......more

Where I got the book: e-ARC from NetGalley. This was one of those lyrical novels where the words outshine the plot. Plot, indeed, was thin on the ground: Gabriella, a doctor of medicine in an era where women simply were not doctors, goes in search of her missing father. The search, naturally, takes h......more