Fever 1793 (Anderson, Laurie Halse; 2000, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; 251 p., ISBN 9780689838583)
If the cover art with the close up of a yellowed eye does not grab you, the plot of this gripping novel will. The story opens with a description of protagonist Mathilda (Mattie) Cook waking up on a sweltering August day in Philadelphia, 1793. A buzzing mosquito—an ominous sign of the tragedy to come—provides the background noise as Mattie begins her morning routine of dressing and helping her widowed mother with chores. The Cooks run a coffee house, popular in Philadelphia during this period, as the author explains in the appendix. Her mother is all work and efficiency with no joy since Mattie’s father died. Her grandfather, a celebrated war hero, adds humor and the gift of storytelling to Mattie’s life while helping with the coffee house. But when their assistant, a young, healthy girl, dies suddenly from a fever, things go downhill fast.
The story follows the true account of the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia that killed 5,000 people in a matter of months. Each chapter begins with the date (the story moves ver y quickly, in part because the timeline is so short) and a quote from a Philadelphan from that time which corresponds with the progress of the fever’s plague. These details, along with mentions of actual politicians such as then President Washington, lend vivid color to this story that is already fascinating, thanks to Anderson’s concise, descriptive writing. Philadelphia was the nation’s capital at this time, and the images of people boarding up and abandoning their homes and, in some cases, their ill relatives, is especially striking given this fact.
In addition to addressing the health epidemic, the story also includes themes of family, budding love, and the emerging role of free African Americans in the country at this time. As with all of her books, this is a title to add to the bookshelf of any school library.
