The Arsenic Eater‘s Wife – Tonya Mitchell

Morning Loves!

It’s the weekend again. I feel like I’ve blinked and that was another week gone. It’s also nearly the end of my Easter break but we won’t talk about that. I wanted to share with you today I book I was reading deep into the night last night. It’s one of those that I couldn’t put it down because I was so invested in the narrative that I just had to know the outcome! I get to the end only to learn that it’s been inspired by a real historical event. I cannot wait to tell you about The Arsenic Eater’s Wife by Tonya Mitchell.

What’s it all about?

Set in Liverpool in 1889, the protagonist, Constance Sullivan is arrested for the murder of her husband, William Sullivan. His death isn’t natural and it is believed that he has been poisoned, the blame being laid at his wife’s feet. At just 26 years of age, Constance’s life is derailed.

Entwined together, the novel is structured to show Constance in prison, her trial for murder and the events leading up to her husband’s death. Time shifts about, it isn’t linear, and the people Constance thought she could trust surprise her when they give evidence. Her barrister, Sir Charles Kent desperately fights to prove her innocence, her outwardly idyllic marriage is presented in its truest light in the courtroom. After all, publicly they are the image of a perfect couple. However, nothing truly is what it seems.

‘She can’t believe it. She is on trial for the murder of her husband. Of William. How is it she continues to breathe when everything is upside down? It’s as if the world has cracked, the sky opened and rained fire.’

No secrets are going to be revealed in this review but this book is gritty, pacy and compelling. One by one, people come to share their experiences of Constance and William and the evidence appears pretty damming towards her. There is definitely motive and plenty of other characters certainly push a guilty verdict. Is Constance a murderer? Or a naïve, wronged woman? And what happens next? Well, you’ll have to read it to find out!

‘Women have never been judged by the same standards as men. Perhaps one day they will be considered on equal terms. But that day, she fears, is far in the future.’

Final Thoughts

The novel ends in 1904 and I genuinely felt the pace of the book was mere moments. As a reader, we are given everything and more in this book, like it says on the cover: obsession, deception, revenge. I was captivated by Constance’s story and I was even more delighted when my guesses were wrong. This is definitely a stand out book for me and one that I know many of you would enjoy. I absolutely loved it.

Enjoy the weekend everyone! I’m onto my next book.

Big Love xxx