When his apprentice, John Keats, abandons medicine for poetry, Thomas Hammond is devastated. But can the master apothecary learn something valuable about life from his poetic apprentice before it’s too late?

Picture of the cover of Mr Hammond and the Poetic Apprentice by Mellany Ambrose

Mr Hammond and the Poetic Apprentice, fiction inspired by medical history.

I’m very excited to report my novel is in the semifinal of The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award for Indie Authors 2024

Available in store at House of Books Muswell Hill and The Owl Bookshop Kentish Town and from the Wellcome Collection bookshop, at The Wellcome Collection on Euston Road.

Also available at Burgh House Hampstead in their shop. Check their website for opening times.

Can be ordered from bookshop.org and most bookshops in store or online

Apothecary jar with Wyvern from the Hoffbrand Collection Royal College of Physicians

John Keats and Medicine

Who was Thomas Hammond?

Apothecray jar from the Hoffbrand Collection Royal College of Physicians

Apothecary Jars from the Hoffbrand Collection ©Royal College of Physicians

Latest Blogs
The Letters of John Keats
The Letters of John Keats

I read the Letters of John Keats when I was writing my novel Mr Hammond and the Poetic Apprentice.

Which Medicines Worked?
Which Medicines Worked?

When John Keats trained as an apothecary, medicines were made from plants, heavy metals or other natural products,

Why did they bleed patients?
Why did they bleed patients?

Many reviews of my novel mention how readers were fascinated by the descriptions of medicine 200 years ago.

For more on the Hoffbrand Collection of Apothecary Jars at the Royal College of Physicians follow the link

English Delftware Apothecary Jars and their Contents The Victor Hoffbrand Collection by Alan Humphries, Henry Oakeley and Victor Hoffbrand