Year of Wonders

1. Year of Wonders Geraldine Brooks Background Information Historical & Political Setting

2. Religion • England was Catholic until the late 1500’s when King Henry VIII split with the Catholic church because he was unable to have a marriage annulled in order for him to marry his mistress • Before this the Catholic church was not without its own problems. There was a great deal of corruption amongst the Catholic hierarchy and those with money and means fled London during the great plague epidemic in the 1300’s, leaving the poor to suffer

3. Religion • Protestants first emerged in the 1400’s • Protestants believe an individual has a direct relationship to God. • Catholics believe that the Priest is an intermediary between God and the individual. • The Protestants dislike the clear hierarchy of the Catholic church and believe it is up to the individual to look after themselves

4. Religion • Protestants believe that God will reward those who take care of themselves so they are strictly capitalists. • This is where the saying ‘protestant work ethic’ first came from! • The Catholic church is designed to be more community orientated in its structure and to look after those who are unable to look after themselves

5. Religion • The are many different types of protestant faith: • Lutheran • Methodist • Presbyterian • Seven Day Adventists • Uniting Church • The other primary religious faith at the time was Orthodoxy (Constantinople) • When Anna travels to Oran her description implies that the nation is Muslim

6. Puritans • The Puritans (examples include Quakers and the Amish) believe that suffering on earth will equate to reward in heaven • They disliked ‘The Book of Common Prayer’ used by most other varieties of protestants as they thought the language too elaborate and the word too gentle. • They also disliked it because it meant people could worship without a minister and thus banned it

7. Puritans • The Puritans spread their word to American when they travelled from England on the Mayflower in 1620 • Varieties of puritanism were common in England until the restoration period (1660)

8. Political History • After Henry VIII Queen Elizabeth won the throne and England became a Protestant country • James I followed her and then Charles I until 1649 • Oliver Cromwell was the leader of a group called the ‘Roundheads’ and he led the revolt against Charles I, establishing England as a puritanical nation after a civil war that occurred between 1642 and 1649

9. Political History • In 1662 Charles II came back from France, where he had been in exile and took over the throne • He established a parliament again and puritanical regimes fell from favour • England once again became a protestant country, with most people either of the Uniting Church or Presbyterian

10. Link to the Text • The old Reverend Stanley is a puritan and this is why he was effectively ‘banished’ from the village when Mompellion arrived • Mompellion was a far more moderate protestant and, to some extent, believed in a merciful God. It suggests he was Presbyterian • Because of the lack of scientific knowledge the general belief held by the people remained that the plague was ‘God’s wrath made manifest’ –something he had sent down to punish them for their sinful ways

11. God vs Nature • The period in England known as the restoration (late 17th century) marks the first time true and proper scientific investigation began to occur and religious explanations for life’s events stopped being accepted without question • The real explanation for the plague is that it is a bacterial disease spread by rats and fleas • The ‘plague sores’ (lumps) people broke out in are swollen lymph nodes and a sign of the infection • Plague still exists today in developing nations but there are a variety of strong antibiotics able to treat it