The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood and the Duchess of Northumberland

When I found this book in the community library, I thought that it would prove to be a good breather from reviewing diary-themed picture books – and it seems like a light-enough YA lit for me to really sit through and write about.

The use of the Diary format in the narrative

Similar to the diary-themed books that I have just read for this month’s feature, Poison Diaries begins with a date (15^th of March) and a journal entry detailing the weather, a description of the surroundings and the environment, and an overall sense of the vastness of the place and the utter sense of alone-ness that Jessamine Luxton, the protagonist, feels. This is best seen in the first few pages of the book:

“I sometimes worry I might lose my speaking voice completely from lack of use. Let me test it. ‘Hello.’ ‘Hello?’ Feh! I sound like a frog. A tincture of lemon balm and anise would cure this broken voice of mine. Or someone to talk to. That would do it too.” (p. 9)

Not even halfway through the book, I thought that the diary-format did not seem as authentic as I had expected. There were quite a number of dialogues, which are hardly what you would strictly find in a journal. There is that struggle between maintaining the integrity of the first-person voice as evident in a journal entry OR telling a story the way it is ordinarily told sans the diary. Hence, apart from the first paragraph which is italicized in the initial section of each chapter, the rest of the narrative does not seem like something you would find out of the pages of a diary. Add the fact that somewhere close to the end, a twist happens (one which I would try hard not to ruin for you, dear readers), and a different voice in the poison diaries takes over. The inconsistency in the storytelling suggests a kind of looseness in the writing style that would need to be tightened further for it to be truly effective. I suppose the strength of this stylistic technique in weaving the story (diary-writing) was not really utilized to its fullest.

Characters and General Theme

There were only three major characters in the whole story. Thomas Luxton, the short-tempered, emotionally-distant apothecary – essentially a gardener who mixes herbs and uses them to cure ailments and strange illnesses – and frequently travels all around London to tend to the sick; Jessamine Luxton, the apothecary’s daughter who yearns for companionship and a being to connect with since his father is frequently called away, and though physically present he remains emotionally absent; and yes, the strangely handsome Weed who possesses a dark and brooding secret, haunted by his past, and tormented by his own demons.

A great deal of the story could be characterized as a coming-of-age tale (with a supposedly-gothic and surprisingly-supernatural twist somewhere close to the end) whereby Jessamine feels the first stirrings of attraction towards another. However, I find it just a tad too maudlin and gushy for my taste – but hey, I’m thirty-something (shhh) – perhaps, others would prefer this kind of narrative. It reminds me a little bit of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight – except that this one situates the storyline sometime during the 18^th century.

Strengths and Pitfalls

I like how the various plants were mentioned with such clarity and … yes, authenticity – if the diary-stylistic-technique was a little bit contrived, the knowledge about plants was not. I liked reading about foxglove, moonseed, oleander and very curious names of powerful plants that have the power to cure or kill a person. It lent the book a credible and unique quality to it, otherwise it would have been dismissed as another sappy teenage love story – that has twilight-ish components to it.

I also like the description of the grounds and the gardens and the historical significance of Hulne Abbey (where Jessamyn and her father live). Given such a view and such magnificent history behind any place, I am certain that the overwhelming urge to write something related to it would continually bug anyone who has a literary heart.

I think it started off really nicely – like most teenage-themed-gothic-bordering-on-supernatural novels, it has the capacity to engage one to read further (one could very-well dismiss and skip over some parts while jumping onto the twists and turns of the tale – however, this proved to be quite a herculean task especially as the story is about to end).

I found Weed’s talent unique – I am a fan of Heroes and other Supernatural series and this must be the one time that I came across his unique attributes. I just felt that the writing got too carried away near the end that it hardly seems believable any longer – whereas there was still an air of possibility [however remote] somewhere in the beginning.

Authors

The book is a collaborative effort between the Duchess of Northumberland/Mistress of Alnwick Castle (used as a film location from Harry Potter to Elizabeth to Becket to Blackadder – click here to be taken to their website) –

– and Maryrose Wood who has extensive playwrighting experience (she has performed, directed and written for theater) before she started concentrating on writing teen novels. Her website could be found here.

To have a clearer vision of what Poison Diaries is all about, I have included their promotional video here. From watching this short video clip and reading my review, I am sure you could form your own conclusion/opinion of whether it’s something that would tickle your fancy.

References for some of the images:

Hulne Abbey ruins (aerial view) – http://www.flickr.com/photos/43269907@N07/3996293500/

Rocks in Hulne Abbey – http://www.pbase.com/tomstorey/image/54569456

The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood

Amazon | Book Depository