In the year 1793, the town of Philadelphia was hit with a horrible epidemic of yellow fever. Thousands fled the city as friends and neighbors began to die left and right. “Fever 1793” is a young adult historical fiction novel that tells the story of this bleak time in our nation’s history.
Mattie Cook is the only daughter of a woman who owns a coffee house in Philadelphia. Every day is spent preparing meals for their customers, cleaning up after the meals, and getting ready for the next day. Mattie has always had a hard time getting out of bed and being responsible for the things that fall under her stewardship, but everything in her world is about to change.
The Cooks first become aware of the sickness when Polly, their waitress, doesn’t show up for work. They later learn that she is dead from a rampant fever that is working its way through the dock areas. The people in town mistakenly believe that if they stay away from the docks, they’ll be fine, but they don’t know that the disease is actually transmitted by mosquitoes. Soon the sickness has spread through the town, and Mattie’s mother falls sick.
Mattie and her grandfather leave town and head for the country, at her mother’s insistence. Out there, surely they won’t get sick. But Grandfather falls ill on the journey and the farmer whose wagon they are in kicks them off, refusing to deal with anyone who is carrying the fever. Mattie takes care of him as best as she can out in the woods, but she then falls ill as well.
This book was fascinating. You really care about the characters as well as what is happening to them. I found it a well-done blend of historical fact and fictional emotions, and highly recommend it.
(This book was published in 2000 by Simon and Schuster.)
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