Sarah Gilchrist has fled London and a troubled past to join the University of Edinburgh's medical school in 1892, the first year it admits women. She is determined to become a doctor despite the misgivings of her family and society, but Sarah quickly finds plenty of barriers at school itself: professors who refuse to teach their new pupils, male students determined to force out their female counterparts, and—perhaps worst of all—her female peers who will do anything to avoid being associated with a fallen woman.
Desperate for a proper education, Sarah turns to one of the city’s ramshackle charitable hospitals for additional training. The St Giles’ Infirmary for Women ministers to the downtrodden and drunk, the thieves and whores with nowhere else to go. In this environment, alongside a group of smart and tough teachers, Sarah gets quite an education. But when Lucy, one of Sarah’s patients, turns up in the university dissecting room as a battered corpse, Sarah finds herself drawn into a murky underworld of bribery, brothels, and body snatchers.
Painfully aware of just how little separates her own life from that of her former patient’s, Sarah is determined to find out what happened to Lucy and bring those responsible for her death to justice. But as she searches for answers in Edinburgh’s dank alleyways, bawdy houses and fight clubs, Sarah comes closer and closer to uncovering one of Edinburgh’s most lucrative trades, and, in doing so, puts her own life at risk…
An irresistible read with a fantastic heroine, beautifully drawn setting, fascinating insights into what it was like to study medicine as a woman at that time, The Wages of Sin is a stunning debut that heralds a striking new voice in historical fiction.
Source: library
Sarah has been sent away from London by her family after a scandal which has unfortunately followed her to Edinburgh. Under the ever-watchful eye of her aunt, she is allowed to attend medical school at the university though they're only doing it to appease her and bide their time until they can get past the scandal and find her a possible suitor. Sarah has no interest in marriage, only her studies. Her ambition to become a doctor will not be thwarted by naysayers, her fellow students who often ostracize her due to the rumours, or even the professors who openly sneer at their female students. As a volunteer at a hospital in the sketchier part of town, she sees a different kind of life that its people lead. One day a young girl named Lucy comes in for assistance but is eventually turned away. Sarah doesn't give her much thought until she shows up as a corpse at her school. She's convinced the girl was murdered and is bent on finding her killer.
There's so much story in here and I couldn't help but think some of the social tensions in Victorian Edinburgh of 1892 were similar to that of what's happening today. Sarah and her fellow female students are not accepted by their male counterparts. They're subjected to pranks and crude behaviours and the professors don't defend them. There's very much a boys-will-be-boys attitude and a belief that if these women want to enter the male-dominated medical field they need to learn how to accept hazing from the men. Women are seen as feeble-minded and even Sarah's aunt thinks it's ghastly that women are pushing for social change. Sound familiar? Sarah is also plagued by the rumours dogging her and once again, it's the woman who bears the brunt of any scandal even when the man is the predator or equally to blame. Male privilege is abound throughout and she has to fight it with regularity. But Sarah has carried herself with as much dignity as she can, balancing her own sensibilities with the expectations of her aunt and uncle. Lucy's case tugs at her because she feels a certain kind of kinship with her. They're both women turned away by their families and left to deal with the consequences of the horrors done to them.
I liked how Sarah is this spunky, inexorable character. She's had to defend herself and/or advocate for herself because so often there's been no one in her corner. She takes that grit and applies it to her studies and to this mystery of Lucy's death. However, she is still young and green so her attempts at detective work go awry several times. For example, she's quick to judge and jump to conclusions, therefore making premature accusations that do backfire on her. But I think she'll develop some finesse in that area and her skills will get sharper as the series continues. I enjoyed this novel and the second book, The Unquiet Heart releases in May, so you know what I'll be reading soon!
~ Bel
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