by Jennifer McVeigh, 2013
Historical Fiction. Great Book. Late 1800’s England, South Africa, diamond mines, smallpox epidemic. Young woman, Frances Irvine, left with no options when her father dies, travels to South Africa to marry Edwin Matthews, a young doctor. On the ship on the way down, she meets and falls in love with William Westbrook, cousin to a rich diamond mine tycoon. She realizes, way too late, that he is a horrible, terrible, despicable person. Her husband, meanwhile, is single-handedly trying to prevent a smallpox epidemic in the town of Kimberley, but no one will believe him. He is gentle, loving, courageous; everything that William Westbrook is not, and she realizes as she is dying from the smallpox that supposedly doesn’t exist, after she has left William Westbrook and returned to Kimberley. Edwin and his helper, the beautiful Sister Clara, nurse her back to health. Edwin tells her in a letter to return to England. She does not want to. She goes to a farm in the Karoo, where she lived with Edwin when she first arrived. She works, for the first time in her life, for the Dutch farmers; cooks, cleans, takes care of their children. The cottage where she and Edwin lived is empty except for the piano he bought her. She would never play it for him. She remembers his kindnesses to her and has so many, many regrets. OH MY – she had a lot to learn. She takes little Piet to the cottage and plays the piano. The Karoo is in the midst of a terrible drought. The day the rains finally come, no one can find Piet. She runs to the cottage as the hail starts. Terrible hail. Piet is caught in it and she saves him. While sitting in the dark cottage with hail falling 3′ thick, Edwin appears. He nurses her and Piet and saves them both. Then he disappears at 5:00 a.m. the next morning, without saying goodbye.
Last few paragraphs:
“Then, one day, two months after the storm, a letter arrived for her. She recognized the handwriting. It was from Edwin. Her hands shook as she tore open the envelope.
“‘Frances. Forgive me for taking so long to write to you We have had enough false starts, and I wanted to settle things in Cape Town first. My work in Kimberley has earned me the respect of some, and they have asked me to take up a position in the government here. There is a house with a view of the sea, and a fig tree in the garden. You once asked me if we could start again. If you are still willing, then don’t write back. Leave Rietfontein and get the next coach to Cape Town.’
“She put down the letter and smiled. The drought was over, and the rains had come. Her work here was done. She would begin packing her bags immediately.”
The Author’s Note at the end tells how she came to write the book. Taken from real life, from a doctor’s diary she found in the British Library: “…it told of the extraordinary story of a smallpox epidemic that had ravaged the diamond-mining town of Kimberley. Extraordinary because – reading on – it became clear that the epidemic had been covered up by the great statesman, Cecil Rhodes, to protect his investment in the mines.”
REALLY GREAT BOOK!!!
Did a Google search on smallpox: “Smallpox was a deadly, contagious disease caused by the variola virus, characterized by high fever and a severe, pus-filled skin rash. Transmitted through direct contact or respiratory droplets, it killed 30% of infected individuals. The disease was officially eradicated in 1980 via global vaccination, with the last natural case in 1977.and a severe, pus-filled skin rash.”
Key Details
- Cause: The Variola virus (Variola major was the most common/severe form).
- Symptoms: Initial symptoms included high fever, fatigue, head and body aches, and vomiting. A distinctive rash appeared 2-3 days later, starting on the mouth/face and spreading to the limbs, eventually forming pustules and scabs.
- Transmission: Spread person-to-person through direct, prolonged contact or contaminated items (fomites).
- Eradication: A global vaccination campaign, intensified in 1967 by the World Health Organization (WHO), eradicated the disease, with the final case reported in Somalia in 1977.
- Last Case: The last natural case was in October 1977; the disease was declared eradicated in 1980.
- Treatment/Vaccine: No specific treatment exists, but the vaccine (using a related vaccinia virus) was highly effective.
Smallpox is the first and only human disease to be completely eradicated.”