Everything Is Poison
Play sample
  • Published: 11 February 2025
  • ISBN: 9780593855874
  • Imprint: Dutton
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $49.99

Everything Is Poison

Formats & editions
EBook
14 Jan 2025
Audiobook
14 Jan 2025
Audiobook
14 Jan 2025
Hardback
11 Feb 2025
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A Blood Water Paint-style historical YA in prose and verse from New York Times bestselling author Joy McCullough.

This historical novel in prose and verse tells the story of a deadly secret hiding in plain sight and of the women who risk everything to provide care for those with nowhere else to turn, perfect for fans of Blood Water Paint and The Lost Apothecary.

Early Seventeenth-Century Rome
For as long as she can remember, Carmela Tofana has desperately wanted one thing: to be allowed behind the counter of her mother’s apothecary in Campo Marzio, Rome. When she turns sixteen, she’s finally allowed into the inner sanctum: the workroom where her mother, Giulia Tofana, and two assistants craft renowned remedies for their customers. But for every sweet-smelling flower extract in the workroom, there’s another potion requiring darker ingredients. And then there’s Aqua Tofana, the apothecary’s remedy of last resort for husbands who are just as deadly as any disease. In all Carmela’s years of wishing to follow in her mother’s footsteps, she never realized one tiny vial could be the death of them all.
  • Published: 11 February 2025
  • ISBN: 9780593855874
  • Imprint: Dutton
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $49.99
Categories:

Also by Joy McCullough

Enter the Body
Great or Nothing
We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire
Blood Water Paint
See all

Praise for Everything Is Poison

Praise for Joy McCullough

"Haunting ... [Blood Water Paint] does not read like historical fiction. It teems with raw emotion, and McCullough deftly captures the experience of learning to behave in a male-driven society and then breaking outside of it."—The New Yorker

"An impassioned, lushly described account of a young woman who refuses to dwell in secret shame. Blood Water Paint fits smoothly into the current conversation surrounding the #MeToo movement."—Chicago Tribune

*"Intense, unrelenting, and inspiring."—Kirkus, starred review

"Radically creative... This provocative book could inspire all kinds of fresh approaches to the plays, not to mention lots of engaging writing projects for students."—Washington Post

Praise for La Tofana's Poison Emporium, McCullough's play based on the same material

"A world premiere play, set in the 1650's, that resonates so much with today? That's what we currently have from Macha Theatre Works with their production of 'La Tofana's Poison Emporium.' While this piece presents an actual murderess/savior from history, it also deftly correlates to the woes of today and presents them with humor and heart." —Broadwayworld.com