The virgin cure book

The virgin cure by ami mckay penguin random house canada. Its narrated by ada moth fenwick, an 11 or 12yearold girl trying to survive after her mother sells her to be a rich womans personal servant. Following in the footsteps of the birth house, her powerful debut novel, the virgin cure secures ami mckays place as one of our most beguiling storytellers. In south africa, where she lives, the myth of the virgin cure especially as a treatment for aidsstill exists, particularly in rural areas. Anthropologist suzanne leclercmadlala says the myth is a potential factor in infant rape by hivpositive men in south africa. Stevie godson is a columnist for the south african newspaper the daily dispatch, a former books page editor, and a copyeditor. Mckay, whose debut novel the birth house made headlines around the world, returns with. From the author of the number one canadian bestseller the birth house comes the story of a young girl abandoned to the streets of postcivil war new york city. Spoiler alert the discussion questions focus on various characters, themes and plot points of the novel. As a young child, moths father smiled, tipped his hat and walked away from her forever. With the virgin cure, the longawaited followup to her bestselling 2006 debut, the birth house, ami mckay once again examines an element of the lives of girls and women history often ignores.

The virgin cure is a historical novel set in the lower east side of late 19thcentury new york city. The virgin cure by ami mckay harper 2012 319 pages. This time, she examines power imbalances between the sexes through the prism of the socalled virgin cure for syphilis, an insidious 19thcentury myth with no socioeconomic boundaries and a. Mckay supplements moths firstperson narrative with marginal notes and newspaper reports provided by a female doctor in fact, the authors greatgreatgrandmother about everything from the plight of vagrant children to the virgin cure, a ghastly belief that having sex with a virgin will cure. Thats because ami mckays concluding commentary is just as important and just as haunting as her sophomore novel itself.

Book trailer for ami mckays novel, the virgin cure. In addition to young girls, who are presumed to be virgins because of their age, people who are blind, deaf, physically impaired, intellectually disabled, or who have mentalhealth disabilities are sometimes raped under the erroneou. Mckays harsh yet hopeful second novel after the birth house explores how womens lives were shaped by their socioeconomic status in the. Goodreads members who liked the virgin cure also liked. To escape her employers cruelty, moth flees to the streets and finds. I am moth, a girl from the lowest part of chrystie street, born to a slumhouse mystic and the man who broke her heart. Ami mckay a novel set in the tenements of lower manhattan in 1871. Discuss the devastating myth of the virgin cure not only how it took hold in the new york of this novel, but how it continues today in parts of our world. Ami mckay in 19th century new york, a destitute women sends her 12yearold daughter, moth, to become a livein servant of a wealthy woman. Ami mckays novel, the virgin cure, is a story of poverty and its crushing weight on hundreds of thousands of people in manhattan during the 1870s. Discuss the title of this novel and the different ways it relates to the story within its pages. This story is full of life, and the will of a young girl to find a better way in the world than the one she knows is so strong on every page.

Born into the tenements, moths father smiled, tipped his hat and walked away from her forever. Set in victorian new york in the year 1871, as a crowded, sweltering summer of riots and poverty comes to a close, 12yearold moths journey is just beginning. Mckay, whose debut novel the birth house made headlines around the world, returns with a resonant tale inspired by her own greatgreatgrandmothers experiences as a pioneer of womens. In the midst of a deadly blizzard, eighteenyearold rex shellenberger scours his fathers pasture, looking for helpless newborn calves. The virgin cure by ami mckay reading guidebook club. The virgin cure book central rappahannock regional.

The muchanticipated followup to the birth house, the virgin cure. Though people are more educated about the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, the virgin cure myth currently maintains influence in africa, egypt, and other former european colonial countries. Fiction, historical the late 1800s have long provided fodder for historical fiction authors given that the time was rife with conflicting social mores, a wide economic divide, and the yet undefined role of women beyond marriage. This time, mckay veers away from life in rural canada to give us a peek into the seedy sexual economy and violence underpinning new york citys gilded age. Mckay, whose debut novel the birth house made headlines around the world, returns with a resonant. The virgin cleansing myth also referred to as the virgin cure myth, virgin rape myth, or simply virgin myth is the belief that having sex with a virgin girl cures a man of hivaids or other sexually transmitted diseases. Moth is a 12yearold girl growing up in the tenements of lower east side manhattan in 1871, born to a slumhouse mystic and the man who broke her heart. As with the virgin cure myth, virginity tests are also.

The heroine of ami mckays sobering novel the virgin cure is sold into servitude by her mother but escapes to the streets, begging and thieving to survive. One summer night, twelveyearold moth is pulled from her bed and sold as a servant to a finely dressed woman. Her new novel, the virgin cure, is inspired by the life and work of her greatgreatgrandmother, dr. A series of betrayals lead moth, at only twelve years old, to the wild, murky world of the bowery, where eventually she meets miss everett, the owner of a brothel simply known as the infant school.

In 2001, 150 people gathered in cape town to protest the. The reading guide for the birth house was such a huge success that weve posted one for the virgin cure as well. As a young child, moths father smiled, tipped his hat and walked away from. The virgin of small plains nancy pickard, 2006 random house 368 pp. The summer she turned twelve, her mother sold her as a servant to a wealthy woman, with no intention of ever seeing her again.

For instance, consider the various characters who live secret lives, or the importance of fortunetelling, or the role of the old stuyvesant pear tree in the lives of early immigrants. It is this betrayal suffered at the hands of her own. Book of the month club blue ribbon pick i am moth, a girl from the lowest part of chrystie street, born to a slumhouse mystic and the man who broke her heart. Mckay, whose debut novel the birth house made headlines around the world, returns with a resonant tale inspired by her own greatgreatgrandmothers experiences as a pioneer of. So begins the virgin cure, a novel set in the tenements of lower manhattan in the year 1871.

Wiersemai am moth, a girl from the lowest part of chrystie. The discussion questions posted below are for use by book clubs and individual readers alike. The virgin cure by ami mckay published by knopf canada publication date. The virgin cure book ottawa public library bibliocommons. Fake cures for aids have a long and dreadful history npr. Find books like the virgin cure from the worlds largest community of readers. The virgin cure book club kit fiction book club kit. But the value tied to a girls virginity is not entirely driven by a desire toward her innocence and purity, but rather driven by a rumoured myth of a virgin cure the belief that a man with disease could cure himself by deflowering a virgin, of which the novel is aptly titled. Miss moth fenwick of christie street in the bowery, the citys most deprived neighborhood where there is never enough of anything, shelter, food, or heat. How does ami mckay use mystery and hidden secrets in the virgin cure. The shocking history of virgin tests and cures ancient.

And so for this spring into books giveaway hop, i will be offering a brand new, hardcover copy of the book the virgin cure and a signed book plate by ami mckay. Sarah fonda mackintosh, a pioneer in womens and childrens health care in. With the virgin cure, the longawaited followup to her bestselling 2006 debut, the birth house, ami mckay once again examines an element of the lives of. It is this betrayal suffered at the hands of her own mother. The virgin cleansing myth is the belief that having sex with a virgin girl cures a man of hivaids or other sexually transmitted diseases.

Over a decade ago, rumors spread in south africa that sex with a virgin could cure hivaids. Sold away by her mother, moth becomes a pickpocket on the streets of the lower east side and becomes involved in a world of danger and violence. The virgin cure book club kit halifax public libraries. Set on the streets of lower manhattan in 1871, the virgin cure is the story of moth, a girl abandoned by her father and raised by a mother telling fortunes to the citys desperate women.

The muchanticipated followup to the birth house, the virgin cure secures ami mckays place as one of our most powerful storytellers. Wiersemai am moth, a girl from the lowest part of chrystie street, born to a. Created by ross creek teen academy alum, sarah smith. Mckay, whose debut novel the birth house made headlines around the. If you missed the twitter chat with bestselling author, ami mckay, you can read the transcript complete with personal photos from ami. Buy a cheap copy of the virgin cure book by ami mckay. From the author of the number one canadian bestseller the birth. This time, she examines power imbalances between the sexes through the prism of the socalled virgin cure for syphilis, an insidious 19thcentury myth with no socioeconomic boundaries and a trail. This was signed by ami mckay when i was privileged to meet her at the rh blog fest in february 2012.