Fever 1793
Ratings by: Keri
Language: 0
Violence: 2
Sexual Content: 1
Adult Themes: 3
Title: Fever 1793
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Ratings Explanation
Violence: An old woman ,fearful of catching the fever, hits Mattie with her cane, knocking her to the ground. The local doctor bleeds Mattie’s mother in hopes of curing her. Two men break into the coffeehouse looking for food and money. Mattie defends herself with her grandfather’s sword by wounding one of the men. The intruders injure her grandfather, causing his death.
Sexual Content: Mattie admires a young apprentice named Nathaniel. She wonders what he would think of her standing in the creek with her underclothes. Mattie kisses Nathaniel on the cheek.
Adult Themes: Incredible devastation from the yellow fever epidemic. Dead bodies are everywhere waiting for burial. Many children are orphaned and many parents loose their children. As the fever runs its course, the person can have violent fits, vomit blood, and sometimes go mad. Mattie is with her grandfather when he dies. She must figure out what to do with his body. Mattie’s mother cannot be found. She is left wondering if she is an orphan. Some mention of the racial prejudice of the time.
Synopsis
A young teenage girl, Mattie Cook, lives above the coffeehouse run by her mother and paternal grandfather. She spends her days avoiding chores while her mother works tirelessly with their African-American cook, Eliza. Rumors have been spreading of a fever spreading through America’s then capital city, Philadelphia. Shortly thereafter, her worn out mother contracts the disease and requests that Mattie be taken immediately to the country to avoid the plague. Against her will, Mattie is escorted by her grandfather. He becomes ill on the journey and although it was not yellow fever, frantic townspeople forbid them to enter their gates. Both are thrown from the wagon, leaving Mattie to care for her grandfather with no food or water. While doing so, Mattie contracts yellow fever and is taken to a hospital. She spends days suffering and eventually recovers. She and her grandfather return home in hopes of finding her mother alive. They find that the city is mostly abandoned. Only a few people have remained, shut up in their homes suffering from the fever or trying to avoid it. The smell of death and disease is everywhere and there are too many bodies to bury properly. Wheelbarrows are used to carry the dead to a large mass grave. Mattie’s mother is missing and her grandfather is still ill. After a run- in with two thieves, her grandfather dies and Mattie must face life alone. While searching for answers, she finds their old cook Eliza, who takes her in. Mattie joins Eliza and the Free African Society in caring for the sick. Mattie’s attitude towards work matures as she tirelessly serves the suffering. Relief from the fever finally comes with the first frost and Mattie and the city begin to heal.
I heard recently that boiling water hardens eggs and softens carrots. Trials have a similar effect on people’s hearts. Reading this book was taking a step back in time when people were tried to their very core. The story line grabbed me because Mattie Cook was human like the rest of us and decided to take the worst and do with it the best she could.
Categories: Grades 4-5, Grades 6-7, Historical Fiction