Reading "Year of Wonders"... can't help but think this..

This weekend I read a book my mother-in-law lent me, a historical novel about the plague in 1666. In it a "heroine" suffers burying her husband and sons, bears the burden of the eventual dark hearts of her other family members, and comes through this ordeal both stronger and wiser.

But, while I enjoyed reading this novel, I can't help but note the following (I do realize this story is fictional; my beef is only with the plot):

1. The main character goes from being a complete illiterate whose confidence is hampered by childhood abuse by her alcoholic father, to someone capable in herbal-healing, mid-wifery, and reading in not just English, but also some Latin. She does all this in what, 2 years? I do realize this is supposed to be the extraordinary story of a woman, but I can't help but think this: her incredible transformation is hard to believe.

2. The plague comes to her village via a box of infected cloths. The tailor working with these cloths, who also happens to be the tenant at the heroine's house, becomes the first plague victim and tells her to "burn-it-all" before passing. Does she burn everything like she is supposed to? No. Having seen the horror of the condition as it kills the tailor, she still lacks the wits to destroy the "plague seeds", as is his last wish-and goes on to distribute the garments made with these diseased cloths to the people in her village, 2/3 of whom end up dying. OK, I know that in real life, it probably would not have been enough to completely stop plague by burning victims' belongings, but it likely would have helped. And anyways, this is a novel. But, I can't help but think this.... if she really is "extraordinarily" intelligent, as she has to be to learn about herbs and latin and reading in a short time, then wouldn't she have figured out "plague things with oozy puss things = VERY BAD & MUST BE DESTROYED"?!