A Suspicion of Toads
A Suspicion of Toads (or The Curse of the Toads) is a novel set in England 1682. The story follows the life of a young boy called Reuben, whose grandmother has been hanged for witchcraft.
Plot summary
In the book there are two timesets. One follows Reuben's life before his Grandmother (Sarah Mearback) who was hanged for witchcraft, and the other follows his life afterwards. The story is told from a third-person narrative perspective.
At the beginning of the book Reuben is walking down a road. A man called Doctor Flyte passes him by in his horse pulled cart and offers a ride. Reuben accepts the offer and they set off introducing themselves. On the cart is Doctor Flyte who says he is a medicine man and Baggs who is his assistant.
They stop off at a town called Longford, where Reuben receives a cloak and is fed. It is now apparent that Doctor Flyte is keeping him under his hospitality. While sleeping in a barn for the night a dog appears. In the morning they set off and the dog follows the cart to their next destination.
The book then jumps backwards in time. Sarah Mearback is hired by a woman called Annie Purseglove to deliver her daughter's first baby. The baby is Delivered successfully but it has a birthmark. The mother and various other characters are concerned, even though Sarah Mearback assures them nothing has gone wrong, and Meg Silver is convinced the mark looks like a toad, which used to be closely related to witchcraft and the devil. The women blame Sarah Mearback.
The book resumes from where it left off in the present. They are travelling when Reuben learns that he cannot escape because he owes them for their hospitality. He also learns that to repay the debt he has to be an assistant to Doctor Flyte.
The book jumps back again to where it left off in the past. Sarah Mearback is blamed for the death of an old man when a black cat jumps at him outside Sarah's cottage. The old man has a heart attack, but Meg Silver is convinced that Sarah Mearback transformed Reuben into a cat, who then pounced on the old man.
The book returns to the present, when they arrive at the next village, Clodbury. Reuben names the dog Shadow when he sees it has followed him. The point of this visit is Clodbury fair, where Doctor Flyte pulls off his scam for the first time in front of Reuben. Doctor Flyte sets up his school, advertising "Flyte's Fantastic Formula". He then impresses a crowd by "guessing" people's illnesses or problems simply by touching them (Reuben later discovers that Flyte was reading hand signals from Baggs as he had already socialised with them. Baggs then wears an eyepatch, pretending to have gut problems. Doctor Flyte gives him some of his medicine and he acts as if the pain has gone completely. The crowd pays for the "medicine" which is only water with a few spices and herbs mixed in. Reuben is fooled by this but is disgusted when he is told it was all faked.
The book goes back to the past. At this point there has been a trial and Sarah Mearback has been found guilty of witchcraft. The book returns to the present briefly when they arrive at Flyte's hideout. Then the book is in the past again. Sarah Mearback's cottage is seized from Reuben by Meg Silver, but as revenge when Meg Silver asks if the cottage is cursed Reuben tells her that it is, even thought he knows it isn't.
The book jumps to the present. Baggs is fishing when Doctor Flyte and Reuben get into a fight. Baggs gets excited, forgetting AbOUT the fishing rod. The hook gets stuck in Baggs' cheek. Doctor Flyte cuts it out badly with a knife leaving a large wound. Doctor Flyte later tells Reuben about Doctor Brittlebank, a proper doctor who prevents his scams from working. He asks Reuben to create a potion which will kill him as he thinks Reuben has inherited witchcraft from his grandmother Sarah. Reuben, knowing this is impossible, creates a "potion" in a ceremony which he makes up as he goes along.
The book jumps back for the last time. Sarah Mearback is hanged for witchcraft.
Back in the present Doctor Flyte has set off to the village, confident that Dr Brittlebank will die and business will be successful. Baggs' wound gets badly infected but Reuben prevents his death by using a bandage and some bread to cover the wound. Reuben attempts to escape by telling the story of his kidnapping to a young woman but Doctor Flyte explains to her that he is his father, showing the woman his birthmark and then Reuben's similar birthmark as proof. In the village Reuben demonstrates to the crowd because Baggs is still in bad condition. He eats a fake toad's leg made of dough and pretends that he is dying. Doctor Flyte gives him a dose of medicine and he is miraculously healed. However, Doctor Brittlebank interrupts, stopping people buying the medicine. He explains the scam to the crowd but Doctor Flyte offers him the potion that Reuben made as proof his medicine works. Doctor Brittlebank drinks the whole bottle in one go and suddenly fakes his death, shouting that he has been poisened. The crowd are angry and Doctor Flyte is forced to leave. As the cart rides hastily away Reuben escapes into the woods. He confronts Shadow again, who has followed him from Clodbury. Doctor Flyte finds Reuben and takes him to the wagon where he is tied up. Reuben learns that their has been a rivalry with Doctor Flyte and Doctor Brittlebank since when they were children. Doctor takes Reuben to a hole in the ground called Cal's Couldren where he plans to [...] Reuben. Reuben threatens to curse Baggs, which stops him pushing him into the couldren. While Doctor Flyte and Baggs fight Reuben attacks Doctor Flyte. Doctor Flyte ends up falling into the hole, but has a grip on a rock. He calls out to Reuben telling Reuben that he is his son and he should save him. However Doctor Flyte falls to his death. Dr Brittlebank finds Reuben and Baggs and offers to look after them. He explains that Doctor Flyte was not Reuben's father but in fact Baggs' father. Shadow, follows Reuben up to Doctor Brittlebank's house but runs away in the night.
Characters in "A Suspicion of Toads"
- Reuben - A young boy looked after by his grandmother Sarah Mearback
- Sarah Mearback - An old, quiet woman interested in medicine and the healing powers of herbs and plants.
- Doctor Flyte (Bartholomew Flyte) - A man who claims to be a doctor. Travels with Baggs.
- Baggs - An orphan who ended up becoming Doctor Flyte's assistant
- Meg Silver - A superstitious woman who constantly accuses Sarah of witchcraft
- Shadow - A dog that follows Reuben intently but for no apparent reason.