I’m delighted to host JJ Marsh on my blog today to tell us about her new novel, SALT of the EARTH.
SALT OF THE EARTH is a historical fiction novel set in the early 1900s.
Overshadowed by world events such as the Great War and Russian Revolution, a quiet transformation took place which changed millions of past and present lives.
THE TRUE STORY
Tourists and climbers flocked to Switzerland during the ‘Golden Age of Alpinism’ in the late 19th century. The aim was to capture those towering peaks, whether by climbing, on canvas or in elegant prose. Another local feature drew crowds, but more as freak show than natural phenomenon: the mountain folk.
Brain fog, deafness and goitres, visible as huge swollen throats, had plagued Alpine valleys for centuries. Cretinism (then an official medical condition) was common. So much so that in Hergé’s Adventures of Tintin, Captain Haddock hurls an insult, calling someone a ‘crétin des Alpes’. Scholars and scientists assumed the fault lay with the people, blaming poor hygiene, unhealthy water or even inter-breeding. Until three Swiss country doctors made it their mission to cure the ‘blight of the Alps’. In 1915, Dr Heinrich Hunziker proposed a theory. The problem was not with the people but the earth. Glacial shifts over centuries had removed several strata of soil, and with it, iodine, an element essential for a healthy thyroid.
With scientific rigour and determination over three years, Dr Otto Bayard treated several remote villages with small doses of iodine-treated salt. His astonishing
results proved the deficiency theory beyond doubt. The final step was direct democracy in action. Dr Hans Eggenberger convinced people to act in their own interests. In 1922, the citizens of Appenzell Ausserrhoden Canton approved iodine fortification of table salt. The rest of the country soon followed. Within eight years, the malaise affecting many cantons lifted forever. When author JJ Marsh first read about this historical detail of her adopted country, she was stunned. “I couldn’t believe I’d never heard about it. Three men altered Swiss history, yet 100 years later, their names are practically forgotten. Despite knowing little about medicine, I knew it was an incredible story and had to tell the tale.”
THE RESEARCH
But digging into the past wasn’t always easy. “Documents of that time were hand-written, often in archaic German or French and often further complicated by the habit of cross-hatching. This is where one finishes writing from top to bottom, turns the paper to the right and continues writing horizontally across the existing text. People did this to save on paper and postage.” “My most startling finding was that iodine deficiency is not a thing of the past. Plant- based diets and reduction of dairy intake mean we’re consuming the absolute minimum. My loveliest discovery was that the thyroid is often called also called ‘the butterfly in the throat’. Hence the cover.”
PRAISE FOR SALT of the EARTH
“Meticulously researched and beautifully written, this fascinating novel tells the little-known story of a life-changing medical breakthrough in the tumultuous times of WWI.” – Clare Flynn, author of The Pearl of Penang
“A powerful and heart-breaking tale of a cure for one of history;s most devastating ailments.” – Liza Perrat, author of The Bone Angel trilogy
BUY THE BOOK https://geni.us/AMZ_Salt_of_the_Earth
About the author:
Jill grew up in Wales, Africa and the Middle East, where her curiosity for culture took root. After graduating in English Literature and Theatre Studies, she worked as an actor, teacher, writer, director, editor, journalist and cultural trainer all over Europe. Now settled in Switzerland, she writes historical fiction.
