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Fever 1793 by [Laurie Halse Anderson, Lori Earley]

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Laurie Halse Anderson

Fever 1793 Kindle Edition

by Laurie Halse Anderson (Author), Lori Earley (Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition

4,231 ratings

in Teen & Young Adult Diseases, Illnesses & Injuries Nonfiction eBooks

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It's late summer 1793, and the streets of Philadelphia are abuzz with mosquitoes and rumors of fever. Down near the docks, many have taken ill, and the fatalities are mounting. Now they include Polly, the serving girl at the Cook Coffeehouse. But fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook doesn't get a moment to mourn the passing of her childhood playmate. New customers have overrun her family's coffee shop, located far from the mosquito-infested river, and Mattie's concerns of fever are all but overshadowed by dreams of growing her family's small business into a thriving enterprise. But when the fever begins to strike closer to home, Mattie's struggle to build a new life must give way to a new fight-the fight to stay alive.

Reading age

11+ years, from customers
Print length

257 pages
Language

English
Grade level

5 - 9
Lexile measure

580L
Publisher

Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date

August 16, 2011
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ISBN-13

978-0689848919
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Life was a battle, and Mother a tired and bitter captain. The captain I had to obey.
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When I was eight, she got a letter saying her husband had been killed by a runaway horse.
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Eliza was the coffeehouse cook. Mother couldn’t prepare a meal fit for pigs.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

School Library Journal starred review Readers will be drawn in by the characters and will emerge with a sharp and graphic picture of another world.

The New York Times Book Review A gripping story about living morally under the shadow of rampant death.

VOYA A vivid work, rich with well-drawn characters.

The New York Times Book Review The plot rages like the epidemic itself.

About the Author

Laurie Halse Anderson is a New York Times bestselling author known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity. Her work has earned numerous ALA and state awards. Two of her books, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award finalists. Chains also received the 2009 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and Laurie was chosen for the 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award. Mother of four and wife of one, Laurie lives in Pennsylvania, where she likes to watch the snow fall as she writes. You can follow her adventures on Twitter @HalseAnderson, or visit her at MadWomanintheForest.com.

Amazon.com Review

On the heels of her acclaimed contemporary teen novel Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson surprises her fans with a riveting and well-researched historical fiction. Fever 1793 is based on an actual epidemic of yellow fever in Philadelphia that wiped out 5,000 people--or 10 percent of the city's population--in three months. At the close of the 18th century, Philadelphia was the bustling capital of the United States, with Washington and Jefferson in residence. During the hot mosquito-infested summer of 1793, the dreaded yellow fever spread like wildfire, killing people overnight. Like specters from the Middle Ages, gravediggers drew carts through the streets crying "Bring out your dead!" The rich fled to the country, abandoning the city to looters, forsaken corpses, and frightened survivors.

In the foreground of this story is 16-year-old Mattie Cook, whose mother and grandfather own a popular coffee house on High Street. Mattie's comfortable and interesting life is shattered by the epidemic, as her mother is felled and the girl and her grandfather must flee for their lives. Later, after much hardship and terror, they return to the deserted town to find their former cook, a freed slave, working with the African Free Society, an actual group who undertook to visit and assist the sick and saved many lives. As first frost arrives and the epidemic ends, Mattie's sufferings have changed her from a willful child to a strong, capable young woman able to manage her family's business on her own. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. Sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, her widowed mother, and her grandfather are eking out a living running a coffeehouse in the middle of bustling Philadelphia when they learn that their servant girl has died of yellow fever. Thus begins Matilda's odyssey of coping and survival as the disease decimates the city, turning the place into a ghost town and Matilda into an orphan. Anderson has carefully researched this historical event and infuses her story with rich details of time and place (each chapter begins with quotes from books or correspondence of the late-eighteenth century), including some perspective on the little-known role African Americans played in caring for fever victims. The dialogue in Fever is not as natural sounding as it was in Anderson's contemporary novel Speak (1999), which was a Printz Honor Book. But readers probably won't be disappointed by Anderson's writing or by her departure from a modern setting. Nor will teachers, who will find this a good supplement to their American History texts. Anderson tells a good story and certainly proves you can learn a lot about history in good fiction. An appended section gives more background. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Publishers Weekly

The opening scene of Anderson's ambitious novel about the yellow fever epidemic that ravaged Philadelphia in the late 18th century shows a hint of the gallows humor and insight of her previous novel, Speak. Sixteen-year-old Matilda "Mattie" Cook awakens in the sweltering summer heat on August 16th, 1793, to her mother's command to rouse and with a mosquito buzzing in her ear. She shoos her cat from her mother's favorite quilt and thinks to herself, "I had just saved her precious quilt from disaster, but would she appreciate it? Of course not." Mattie's wit again shines through several chapters later during a visit to her wealthy neighbors' house, the Ogilvies. Having refused to let their serving girl, Eliza, coif her for the occasion, Mattie regrets it as soon as she lays eyes on the Ogilvie sisters, who wear matching bombazine gowns, curly hair piled high on their heads ("I should have let Eliza curl my hair. Dash it all"). But thereafter, Mattie's character development, as well as those of her grandfather and widowed mother, takes a back seat to the historical details of Philadelphia and environs. Extremely well researched, Anderson's novel paints a vivid picture of the seedy waterfront, the devastation the disease wreaks on a once thriving city, and the bitterness of neighbor toward neighbor as those suspected of infection are physically cast aside. However, these larger scale views take precedence over the kind of intimate scenes that Anderson crafted so masterfully in Speak. Scenes of historical significance, such as George Washington returning to Philadelphia, then the nation's capital, to signify the end of the epidemic are delivered with more impact than scenes of great personal significance to Mattie. Ages 10-14. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10-The sights, sounds, and smells of Philadelphia when it was still the nation's capital are vividly re-created in this well-told tale of a girl's coming-of-age, hastened by the outbreak of yellow fever. As this novel opens, Matilda Cook, 14, wakes up grudgingly to face another hot August day filled with the chores appropriate to the daughter of a coffeehouse owner. At its close, four months later, she is running the coffeehouse, poised to move forward with her dreams. Ambitious, resentful of the ordinary tedium of her life, and romantically imaginative, Matilda is a believable teenager, so immersed in her own problems that she can describe the freed and widowed slave who works for her family as the "luckiest" person she knows. Ironically, it is Mattie who is lucky in the loyalty of Eliza. The woman finds medical help when Mattie's mother falls ill, takes charge while the girl is sent away to the countryside, and works with the Free African Society. She takes Mattie in after her grandfather dies, and helps her reestablish the coffeehouse. Eliza's story is part of an important chapter in African-American history, but it is just one of many facets of this story of an epidemic. Mattie's friend Nathaniel, apprentice to the painter Master Peale, emerges as a clear partner in her future. There are numerous eyewitness accounts of the devastation by Dr. Benjamin Rush and other prominent Philadelphians of the day. Readers will be drawn in by the characters and will emerge with a sharp and graphic picture of another world.
Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From AudioFile

Few today can appreciate the devastation of a flu epidemic that touches everyone, both directly or indirectly. Emily Bergl narrates this historical novel set in the late eighteenth century with enthusiasm. She assumes the persona of 14-year-old Mattie, who faces challenges with an indomitable spirit. Bergl sets a reasonable pace and avoids sounding maudlin even when a seemingly endless series of misfortunes occurs. She maintains a light touch and brings out the optimism and cheeriness of Mattie, as well as the resigned perseverance of many of the important people in her life. While interesting to children of many ages, this could also make history come alive for kids studying the post-Revolutionary War period. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Inside Flap

approx. 4 hours, 3 cassettes

It's late summer 1793, and the streets of Philadelphia are abuzz with mosquitoes and rumors of fever. Down near the docks, many have taken ill, and the fatalities are mounting. Now they include Polly, the serving girl at the Cook Coffeehouse. But fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook doesn't get a moment to mourn the passing of her childhood playmate. New customers have overrun her family's coffee shop, located far from the mosquito-infested river, and Mattie's concerns of fever are all but overshadowed by dreams of growing her family's small business into a thriving enterprise. But when the fever begins to strike closer to home, Mattie's struggle to build a new life must give way to a new fight-the fight to stay alive.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004ZZRZ7W
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (August 16, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 16, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2480 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 257 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #50,689 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4,231 ratings

About the author

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Laurie Halse Anderson

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Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous American Library Association and state awards. Two of her books, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award finalists. Chains also earned a spot on the Carnegie Medal Short List.

Laurie received the 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award given by the Young Adult Library Services Association division of the American Library Association for her "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature."

Mother of four and wife of one, Laurie lives in Northern New York State, an hour south of the Canadian border, where she likes to watch the snow fall as she writes. Right now she's finishing up her next YA novel and researching Ashes, which will conclude the adventure of Isabel and Curzon that readers enjoyed in her historical novels Chains and Forge.

You'll find loads more information about Laurie and her books on her website: http://madwomanintheforest.com/. You can follow her adventures on Twitter, http://twitter.com/halseanderson, on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/lauriehalseanderson, and on her blog, http://madwomanintheforest.com/blog/.

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Ilana Eisenhart

Realistic and moving

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2015

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I read this book with my daughter for her summer reading assignment. I think I enjoyed it more! I love historical fiction and this book was very interesting in describing the 1793 yellow fever plague in Philadelphia through the eyes of young 14 year old Mattie Cook. She lives with her mother and paternal grandfather. They run a coffee house in their house when the fever hits and empties the cities of its citizens, either through death or exodus to the country. This book depicts this very devastating time very realistically, while also making you care for Mattie and her family. I have always loved history and I love learning it through historical fiction. It is entertaining and informative at the same time. This book is appropriate for readers of all ages.

75 people found this helpful

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IAB

Excellent read

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2020

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My 7th grade grandson recommended this book to me. I was a little surprised that this was required reading for him during a pandemic at first but after reading it I realize there was something very uplifting in it. He and I discussed how far we’ve come in the treatment of illness. I think it was reassuring to him, and me as well, to see that we now have scientists and doctors and nurses that know so much more to help us.
For myself, I especially enjoyed the historical base of the story. My family is from Philadelphia. My grandparents lived through the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. I now have a better understanding of that as well. The names and places in the book are all familiar to me. In some cases I wasn’t sure of their exact place in history but this shown a light on people like Steven Girard and the contributions he and others made to help the city survive.
I don’t know why I hadn’t heard of this book or this epidemic before. I’m so glad that my grandson recognized that this would be of interest to me. We are a family of avid readers and sharing a book is always an added bonus.

7 people found this helpful

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Jeani Rector

Only written for children under 10

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2019

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So dumbed down. This must be a children's book. I don't know how the author can make such an exciting subject to be anything but. Beware: if you are over age 10, DO NOT BUY THIS CHILDREN'S BOOK.

19 people found this helpful

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Sarah K.

I loved this book myself when I was in 5th grade

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2017

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I loved this book myself when I was in 5th grade, so I bought it to read to my 5th graders in our small reading groups. The books came in excellent condition, and I think will become a favorite of my students as well as we read. Historical Fiction is great, and this book is well written to explain what was happening when people got sick with yellow fever in 1793.

29 people found this helpful

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AnnetteBReviews

Vivid Portrayal of Epidemic

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2020

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“The yellow fever outbreak that struck Philadelphia in 1793 was one of the worst epidemics in United States history. In three months it killed nearly five thousand people, 10 percent of the city’s population.”

Philadelphia, 16 August 1793. Matilda Cook lives with her mother and grandfather above their coffeehouse. Today, before the day is in full swing with their chores, they learn that they lost Polly, their serving girl, to fever. It happened very quickly, in a matter of hours.

“A week later, sixty-four people had died.” The grandfather is skeptical about all those deaths being blamed on fever. He insists, “Even a few hundred isn’t enough to call it an epidemic.”

“There are forty-thousand people living in Philadelphia.” Half of them left the city. Over three thousand are dead. “Those who don’t die of the fever are beginning to starve.”

Matilda, a dreamy girl, now needs to learn how to survive the plague.

Loved the character of Matilda. She is so opposite of her mother, who is a very hard worker and that’s what distinguished her from the early childhood. Matilda pours her thoughts how she feels about it.

The rage of fever is very real. “Bodies are piling up like firewood.” The doors are shut in your face as each family tries to stay alive behind their own walls. “The streets were ghosted, colorless and hushed.” Except lonely children without their mothers and thieves breaking into empty houses.

Loved the atmosphere of the coffeehouse, filled with “gentlemen, merchants, and politicians enjoying a cup of coffee, a bite to eat, and the news of the day.” Matilda’s grandfather, former army officer, is “the heart of all gossip and tall tales in the coffeehouse.” He is quite a character, which I enjoyed very much.

The storyline and the writing are very impressive. The plot is engrossing, moving the story forward as fast as the rage of epidemic.”

Historical fact, “In a few short weeks the city was transformed into a living nightmare, with the sick dying, the healthy paralyzed with fear, and the doctors helpless. (…) The brave people who stayed in the city and helped the sick were extraordinary.”

6 people found this helpful

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froggyk

Loved this!

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2019

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The first time in a long time that I couldn't put a YA book down! Mattie was entirely relatable as a character even in circumstances I've certainly not encountered myself (I'm not THAT old!). I chose this book to read with my teenaged niece as she loves American history, and I'm so glad I chose it. The story is engaging, believable, and comfortably educational. I felt like I was on the adventure with Mattie, and found myself rooting for her from beginning to end. Looking forward to reading other works by Ms. Anderson.

12 people found this helpful

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violet meadows

Fascinating Read

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2020

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I purchased this novel at the beginning of the pandemic and found it interesting to see how another virus affected life during another time in American History. I read it before my daughter (aged 10) as I thought it might be a little overwhelming as we are going through this right now. There are some scary realities that might be better for children to read after this has all passed. But great plotting and characters. A first rate historical novel for middle grade or young adults.

6 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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Froschkönigin

Geschichte einer fast vergessenen Epidemie

Reviewed in Germany on November 4, 2016

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Mattie (Matilda) ist beinahe fünfzehn und lebt mit ihrer verwitweten Mutter, dem Großvater und der freigekauften ehemaligen Sklavin Eliza in Philadelphia - im Jahre 1793 nicht nur die Hauptstadt der noch jungen Vereinigten Saaten, sondern mit etwa 40 000 Einwohnern auch deren größte Stadt. Philadelphia ist Handelsmetropole, günstig gelegen am Delaware. Diese Lage, das feucht-warme Klima des Spätsommers 1793, wird der Stadt zum Verhängnis. Es fängt relativ harmlos an - ein paar Fieberfälle, manche davon mit tödlichem Ausgang - nichts Ungewöhnliches für die Monate der Sommerhitze, so scheint es zunächst. Mattie ist anfangs ebenso unbesorgt wie die übrigen Bewohner und verfolgt ihren Traum, das florierende Cafehaus, das sie mit ihrer Mutter betreibt, zu einem der feinsten der Stadt auszubauen. Dann aber mehren sich die Fälle schwerer Erkrankungen. Das gefürchtete Gelbe Fieber greift rasant um sich und befällt arm und reich gleichermaßen. Bald ist auch Matties Familie unmittelbar betroffen, und es bleibt nur die Flucht aufs Land...

Laurie Halse Andersons "Fever 1793" erscheint, glaube ich, auf jeder Liste, die historische YA-Romane aufführt - nicht ohne Grund. Die Autorin hat die historischen Umstände und Fakten akribisch recherchiert und läuft nicht Gefahr, in Anachronismen zu verfallen - auch nicht, was ihre Protagonistin betrifft. Mattie ist eine selbstbewusste und moderne junge Frau, aber eben selbstbewusst und modern im Rahmen ihrer Zeit, sie benimmt sich nicht wie ein verkleideter Teenager aus dem 21. Jahrhundert. Insofern hat mir dieses Buch gut gefallen.
Man sollte sich aber darüber im Klaren sein - und das war ich aufgrund des Alters der Hauptperson nicht, als ich zu lesen begann - dass der Roman wohl für Leser unter 14 gedacht ist. Die Autorin möchte ihren jungen Lesern - und ihren Hauptpersonen, so scheint es - eindeutig nicht zuviel zumuten. Auch das hatte ich, nachdem ich "Wintergirls" gelesen hatte (eine ziemlich brutale Schilderung einer Magersucht-Erkrankung fast bis zum Tod der Protagonistin) nicht erwartet. Im Gegensatz dazu ist die Darstelllung des entsetzlichen Verlaufs der Gelbfieber-Epidemie, die ein Fünftel der Bevölkerung von Philadelphia das Leben kostete, recht verhalten. Zwar gibt es ein paar drastischere Beschreibungen des Krankheitsverlaufs - das aber wird dadurch wieder beschönigt, dass am Ende nur ein einziges Opfer unter den Personen, die der Leser genauer kennenlernt, zu beklagen ist, und dabei handelt es sich um eine Person, die ihr Leben gelebt hat. Eine etwas unmotiviert wirkende zarte Liebesgeschichte, die rührende Geschichte um ein kleines Waisenmädchen, und vor allem häufige Ausschmückungen mit zwei putzigen Haustieren, sorgen ebenfalls dafür, dass Andersons Buch eine etwas seltsame Mischung aus Katastrophen-Roman und Unterhaltung ist. Es ist trotzdem natürlich nicht schlecht, und manch Leser wird gerade daran Gefallen finden, dass am Ende alles gut wird, zumindest für Mattie und ihre Familie.
Vier Sterne gibt es nicht zuletzt für die Charakterzeichnung von Matties Großvater, einem Veteranen der Unabhängigkeitskriege mit "bärbeißigem Charme" - und vor allem von Eliza, mit deren Figur die Autorin der Leistung der Mitglieder der "Free African Society" ein Denkmal setzt, die selbstlos und mutig und teilweise über die eigegen Grenzen hinaus die Pflege erkrankter Mitbürger auf sich nahmen.

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Reader's Hollow

Well Researched & Entertaining

Reviewed in Canada on May 4, 2016

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The research was incredible. It drew the reader straight into the world of a girl on the cusp of being a woman in a time when equality wasn't much of a thought in people's heads. I think the author outlined the emotions, the struggle, and the setting behind the outbreak brilliantly.

Mattie Cook is said to shirk her chores in the description, but I just saw a kid. She still did everything she needed to and was surrounded by people she loved. She may have taken advantage of that, but that's normal.

When the outbreak hits the city of Philadelphia, Mattie is faced with the hard facts that she might lose those around her and it forces her to grow up fast. It's said that the yellow fever outbreak took 10% of that city, which is a devastating statistic.

I enjoyed watching Mattie grow and learn to make decisions for herself. I did find the wanderings with her grandfather to be a bit tedious. It was one minute of being fine, and then things began to happen very fast, and would recover fast -- almost like the scenes weren't needed. They didn't add to Mattie or her grandfather's journey, except to delay it some. Once they found their way back to the coffee house I found things to get interesting. Suddenly, Mattie had a lot to face, and dangers that weren't just a disease. People get ugly in times of strife, and the author revealed some of the things I'd fear if trapped in a time like that.

CONCLUSION

There were plenty of twists and turns, and I think young adult readers would take a lot from the novel. The research was well done, and pulled the reader into the headspace of a fourteen year old in an extreme, and real situation.

CriMacc

Carino per ragazzi di scuola media

Reviewed in Italy on March 10, 2015

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Mia figlia ha apprezzato. Non e' stata entusiasta ma ha gradito. La giovanissima protagonista cresce in fretta a causa della febbre gialla e impara a cavarsela da sola e a contribuire alla sopravvivenza fisica ed economica della sua famiglia.

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gabrielapauls

Interesting read!!

Reviewed in Mexico on July 27, 2021

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I found the historical aspect of the story really interesting. It was really easy to read and I was hooked to it from start to finish.