The Illness Lesson is set in the confines of a progressive nineteenth century school for young ladies, run by academic Samuel Hood, his daughter Caroline, and young colleague David. The aim of the school is to teach the girls as boys would be taught, veering away from the traditional etiquette lessons and embroidery techniques and towards critical thinking, literature, and science.

When one of the girls, Eliza Bell, begins to suffer mysterious fainting fits and develop unidentifiable rashes, the tutors initially suspect that she is faking her symptoms, but when the other girls, and Caroline herself, gradually begin to succumb, it seems that mass hysteria may be afoot, and outside help must be called in...

I loved the premise of this book, and the author does a great job of instilling a sense of unease and claustrophobia, with the appearance of the mysterious red birds named 'trilling hearts' adding an almost haunting presence. However, as an exploration of the female experience of illness, this fell short for me. The book was very slow to start ,and the characters - other than Samuel and Caroline - barely fleshed out.

After a long build up, the book is brought to a sudden close that felt very abrupt to me, and left me wanting, especially after the last few difficult chapters.

On the whole, I enjoyed the book while I was reading it, but I wasn't in any rush to get back to it between breaks. It was like wading through treacle in places, and I would've liked to have seen a lot more character development, particularly with the students.

Thank you to NetGalley, who provided me with a free ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Illness Lesson takes place at a progressive 19th century school for young ladies, where the students begin to show signs of a mysterious affliction. Are the girls faking? Is it a psychosomatic contagion? Or are they really sick? And what’s up with the creepy red birds appearing on the grounds like freaky little harbingers?

As a piece of historical fiction, this was well-written with a compelling premise and almost-gothic setting. For the first half I was enjoying this and really quite absorbed in it. But as the book went on it began to fall apart. The characters didn’t quite come to life (the students in particular were mostly indistinguishable from each other). By the end, the novel’s themes were rather muddled and I could not work out what this book was trying to say. It’s difficult to explain why without giving spoilers, but let’s just say that the central visual metaphor of the red birds was connected to the girls’ plight in a way that left me rather confused.

In addition, some disturbing abuse occurs late in the book, and there just wasn’t enough time allotted to examining the ramifications of this. It was almost used as a plot device to bring the book’s events to a close, and I was disappointed not to delve deeper into how this affected the characters involved.

Reading The Illness Lesson, it’s hard not to think about the ways women’s health concerns today are still misunderstood, misdiagnosed, disbelieved, under-researched and even dismissed outright. I’d like to see more fiction tackling this topic, but The Illness Lesson fell short of its potential for me. 3 stars.

Ashwell, Massachusetts, 1871. In a time where women are raised to become wives and mothers, Samuel Hood, his friend David and his daughter Caroline decide to start a school for girls, teaching them to be critical thinkers. At the same time a population of tiny red birds, Trilling Hearts, flock the area.
The girls are perfect students, soaking up knowledge, while the birds continue to show up in the most unexpected ways.
All is well until one of the girls starts having falling fits. Pretty soon all the girls get sick. A doctor is called in and diagnoses 'hysteria' before even really examining the girls.

This book drew me in from the start and I finished it in one sitting. The writing is exquisite, fast paced, exciting and kept me in class as well as exploring the gorgeous surroundings. It has mystery, intrigue and its characters are well rounded, indepth, each one unique and beautifully portrayed.

But then the treatment starts. So brutally invading it made me sick and that nausea stayed with me throughout the final chapters. Chapters I found rushed compaired to the first three quarters of the book, which were very descriptive. What started as a hugely impressive read, suddenly inflated and left me confused.
I still don't know what ignited the illness, if the treatment cured the girls and how these tiny red birds fit in, other than being symbolic.
Definitely a beautiful story that deserves another read to fully comprehend it all.

Thank you Netgalley and Doubleday for the ARC.

A strange and novel read which has gripped me tightly.

Caroline Hood lives with her father Samuel, a philosopher and essayist, who decides to set up a school for young ladies – soon the Trilling Heart school is open with a small number of live-in scholars. Most notable among them Eliza Pearson Bell, daughter of Miles Pearson, one time associate of Samuel Bell, but now much maligned by him.

The trilling hearts of the school’s name are rare birds, not seen for decades, but currently populating the local area. They have stunning red feathers and build incredibly structured nests; they’re sometimes described as beautiful, but just as often as creepy.

Somehow the girls at the school including Caroline seem linked to the birds, the birds’ activity seems to capture the girls’ behaviour and imagination. Before long the girls are exhibiting physical symptoms – rashes, fainting, twitching – is this linked to the birds? Is it contagious? Is it just normal everyday life? A doctor is brought in who diagnoses ‘hysteria’ – the book becomes very uncomfortable at this point but reading her acknowledgements, Clare Beams has clearly done much research into this subject. If only the world had #MeToo at that point, and women were allowed to be stronger.

A highly unique read, very highly recommended.

Love this book. Until the end! Someone needed to edit it but if you ignore that - it is brilliant. I loved the characters and the mystery birds, making their girl shaped nest. As the author's introduction mentions it is very timely. Also sad and naive.

The Illness Lesson was a captivating read. The prose was a delight, and its style added to the sense of historical period. The story posed many questions, such as the connection between body and mind and the rights of women over their own bodies. Meanwhile, the arrival of the birds and the part they played created an interesting metaphor. I found myself caught up in the world and the action, always eager to turn the page to see how things would progress. Overall this was both a gripping and a thought-provoking read and definitely a book that will stay in my mind for a long time. A solid 4.5 stars.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.