The Story of Eyam
Although the story of Elizabeth and her Riley boy is a work of fiction, the events that took place in the Derbyshire Dales in 1665 and 1666 are very real and an important piece of history, never to be forgotten.
The people of the village of Eyam made great sacrifices in voluntarily quarantining themselves in order to spare the neighboring villages from the outbreak of the Black Plague that took 260 lives from 76 of its families.
Three and a half centuries later, the town of Eyam still stands. Eyam’s residents are intent on preserving the memory of its village by telling the stories of their ancestors and of their heroic efforts in laying down their lives for their neighbors.
May we be forever mindful of their sacrifice and the countless generations they saved as a result.
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FACT: The author found she had ancestors from a village close enough to Eyam, they may very well have been among those spared because of Eyam's selflessness.
Note from the Author: Nine years ago, when I was in the midst of writing down my dreams about Riley and Joss, I would email what I'd written to myself, so I could add it to the manuscript. It was another era, before Dropbox and iCloud. That's another story, altogether. However, one day, I mistakenly sent it to someone else, followed by a short panic attack, and then an apology to the person with a request they delete the attachment. They were gracious and understanding.
But, then, as my imagination is loathe to do, I worried about my characters falling into the hands of dastardly plagiarizers. I realize now, that that was a reach, but at the time I was sufficiently panicky. So I Googled the names of my main characters to see if anything popped up.
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Holy moly! Who knew there was a famous plague site in England called the Riley Graves? Well, I'm sure everyone in Great Britain knew about it, but I'm a farm girl from Milo, Idaho, and I had never heard of it.
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My research began. I read everything I could find. I studied the different types of plague. I read about the strange treatments. I scoured maps, I studied the stories of Eyam's villagers.
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What did I find? I found the reason why Riley's mother had given him the name. I found the reason why she thought to sacrifice her life for the betterment of her family. It all spun together in my head, and flowed through the keys of my laptop, taking my heart with it as I imagined the lives of Elizabeth and her Riley boy, and modern-day Molly Cox in Stoney Middleton. It was a "coming full circle" experience for me, and I hope it means something to you as you read it.
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In the midst of my research, I found I had ancestors who lived only an hour's walk from Eyam in the 1600s. It was sobering to think that a dream of Jocelyn and Riley's characters, complete with names, ended up taking me on a journey to discover my own ancestry in a more personal way than names and dates on a pedigree chart. And even more sobering to think they could have been saved by Eyam's voluntary quarantine. Just like Riley and Jocelyn, I might be here today because of their bravery.
If you're interested to learn more about Eyam, you may want to begin here, at the Eyam Museum site:
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