Book Review of “A Parcel of Patterns”

Though this book by Jill Patton Walsh appears small, each page is a bounty of rich words that spin a true story in Puritan times, told from the viewpoint of Mall, a fictional character in the 1660’s.
Mall lives in the small village of Eyam, located in Derbyshire England. Her life is fairly simple, the most complex facets it contains being when a ewe in her flock of sheep has birth complications, and her fear that her father will not approve of the man she has fallen in love with. Then when an innocent appearing parcel of patterns appears on the doorstep of one of the village residents, the whole village is plunged into a traumatic experience beyond what they would have dared conceive, even in their nightmares. For the innocent parcel of patterns purchased from London had carried with it that terrible disease, the plague. It spreads rapidly through the village, people falling sick with it and dying at an appalling rate.

The two parsons of the village hold opposing views of the reasons why people fall sick with the plague. One believes that people are struck ill by the wrath of God, a punishment for concealed wickedness of heart. The other believes that we cannot comprehend why God does what He does, but that it is not punishment that people are dying. He thinks that exposure to the plague is why villagers are becoming sick. But in his attempt to get as far away as possible from the Puritan idea that if you are righteous, God will protect you from all calamities, he seems to be implying that God won’t protect you at all.
Out of fear, most of the villagers’ side with the parson who tells them that repentance will protect them from harm.
What view would you hold, if you were a villager of Eyam? Would you agree with either parson?
I would definitely not recommend this book for children, but rather for young adults about age 13 and up. The details of the plague are so gruesome that I had to take a break from reading it at one point. I had grown sick of people falling sick. It was gripping enough however, that I soon picked it up where I had left off and completed it. It held my attention to the very end and is a well wrought piece of informative historical fiction.

Story Starting Ideas:

• Research Puritans in the 1660’s and Puritan beliefs.
• Write a story from the first-person viewpoint of a resident in a Puritan village. Does this person agree or disagree with the teaching of the village parson?
• Write a simple story of everyday life in a Puritan village.
• Go deeper and research Quaker’s beliefs and how Puritan’s treated Quakers in 1666. Not pretty, is it? Perhaps you can write about a Quaker in exile because of his/her beliefs.

You can purchase this book on Amazon