Summary

Chapter 1 is set in 1791 and narrated by Nella, an apothecary. The archaic use of the word "apothecary" refers to a person who makes and dispenses drugs. Nella’s mother had also been an apothecary, but she had dispensed only medicines that would help women. It was only when Nella took over the shop after her mother’s death that she began dispensing poisons. The stories of all of those women were recorded in a registry that was started by Nella’s mother. Nella noted that the registry did not tell the story of Frederick, the man who had made her barren and caused her to start dispensing poison.

Nella was disturbed when she read a letter from a servant requesting poison to kill her mistress’s husband. Nella heard bells that reminded her of a constable’s chains, and she reminded herself that...