Mattie Cook, a fourteen-year-old girl who lives with her
mother and grandfather, tells this story of the epidemic of yellow fever in the
summer of 1793 in Philadelphia. She has
already experienced the loss of her father when she was younger, and she loses
other family members to the deadly disease. 
Heavy responsibility is thrust onto her at this early age, and she
already works full-time in the family-run coffee house. She goes through a series of adventures and
crises, and she shows her strength and growing maturity as she deals with each
in turn.

This novel
for children is a little self-consciously educational, but it does contain
plenty of useful information. We learn
about the living conditions and eating habits of eighteenth century
Philadelphia, the contrast between the city and the country, the social
conventions of trades people and the well-to-do, and the problems of
crime. Most interesting for me was the
state of medicine and the competing theories about how to treat yellow
fever. The treatment proposed by
Benjamin Rush, now often thought of as a pioneer in the treatment in the
mentally ill, turn out to be wrong and dangerous. The book ends with a useful glossary of names and terms to
explain more systematically some of the historical details that arise in the
main text. It could be a helpful
resource for children doing historical projects at school.

In recent
months many people have worried about the possibility that we will face an
epidemic of disease caused by terrorism, and Fever 1793 gives at least
some sense of how people come to terms with devastating loss of life and the
uncertainty about how to avoid and cure the disease. Maybe those who are familiar with Speak,
Anderson’s contemporary young adult novel dealing with rape, might expect this
book to go into some detail concerning the emotions that Mattie experiences,
but they would be mostly disappointed. 
Mattie of course experiences fear, sadness, and worry, but she bounces
back quickly from even major setbacks. 
She is an admirable role model, but there’s little hint of the despair,
panic and anger that most people today might expect to see should we have to
confront a comparable epidemic today.

Still, Anderson’s book is a good
read, and children and teens who might enjoy historical drama will probably
find Fever 1793 worth reading.

The unabridged
audiobook, ready by Emily Bergl, lasting a little under six hours, is
done well. Of course, it would be
easier to copy down information from a book than a recording, and if you need
to go back to the story after reading it to look up a detail, the book would
again be more convenient than the recording. 
(It might have been useful for the publishers to at least include the
glossary in a separate pamphlet with the audiobook package.) Nevertheless, it’s an enjoyable listen, and
would be especially good way to pass the time on long journeys.

Link:

Listen to a
RealAudio excerpt from Fever 1793

© 2001 Christian Perring. First Serial Rights.

Christian Perring,
Ph.D., is Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College,
Long Island. He is editor of Metapsychology Online Review.
His main research is on philosophical issues in psychiatry.
He is especially interested in exploring how philosophers can
play a greater role in public life. He is available to give talks
on many philosophical or controversial issues in mental health.

Categories: Fiction