The pharmacist's wife - Vanessa Tait

Love. Desire. Vengeance. A deadly alchemy.

When Rebecca Palmer's new husband opens a pharmacy in Victorian Edinburgh, she expects to live the life of a well-heeled gentlewoman. But her ideal is turns to ashes when she discovers her husband is not what he seems. As Rebecca struggles to maintain her dignity in the face of his infidelity and strange sexual desires, Alexander tries to pacify her so-called hysteria with a magical new chemical creation. A wonder-drug he calls heroin. 

Rebecca's journey into addiction takes her further into her past, and her first, lost love, while Alexander looks on, curiously observing his wife's descent. Meanwhile, Alexander's desire to profit from his invention leads him down a dangerous path that blurs science, passion, and death. He soon discovers that even the most promising experiments can have unforeseen and deadly consequences...

Paperback, 400 pages
Published April 5th 2018 by Atlantic Books
Historical fiction
For review

My thoughts:
This was horrible, I mean what was done to her! Poor Rebecka.

She is newly married to pharmacist Alexander. And he is always tinkering with new recipes. And he has ideas. Sigh, what a man! He is of the lie back and think of England variety. Any emotion from a woman is wrong. But she really tries to make it a happy marriage. What else can she do. Her husband is her keeper.

And then the horrible part. He gives her heroin and says it will make her feel better. And then thing is, he really thinks so. It is not the first drug that was used as a cure it all. Heroin! Of course she gets addicted and he just watches. Because after all, what a great experiment. Horrid man!

Though I must say, for a woman with no choices, she really gets a backbone. And she has ideas and she deserves so much more than this idiot of a man.

There is also questions about her husband, Doubts, flashbacks to her one true love and the dark side of addiction.

Men were not as clever as they thought. Heroin! I can not say it enough.

Interesting.