Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Fever 1793: Yellow fever sweeps through Philadelphia, challenging young Mattie to the core in this historical fiction novel for young teens.

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. Simon & Schuster, 2002 (reprint). 272 pages.

• Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12
• Recommended For: Ages 10-15

Timing is everything, as they say. This is true for readers: when we read a book has a lot to do with our enjoyment of said book. Had I read Fever 1793 when it first came out, I would have enjoyed it. But I doubt I would have resonated with it in quite the same way as I did reading it after our recent pandemic panic.

Mattie Cook is a hard-working young woman, helping her widowed mother (and her grandfather) run their coffee house in Philadelphia in 1793. Mattie has big plans for their humble coffee house, resents her mother’s intrusion into her life (like many adolescents), and adores her beloved grandfather. Philadelphia is humming along with “new nation” zest, fresh off the exciting events of the American Revolution. And then … yellow fever breaks out. Seemingly overnight, the bustling, thriving city turns into a wasteland as rich residents flee, thousands die from fever, and shops get boarded up. Those outside the city begin to boycott the city, leaving those within desperate for the foodstuffs that the market used to offer. When Mattie’s own mother takes sick, Mattie is ordered to flee the city with her grandfather. That journey goes horribly wrong, and Mattie is stuck in the sick city, scraping by as best she can on her own in their old coffee house, fending off looters and those bent on wreaking destruction. If only the frost would come and kill the dreaded disease.

Mattie Matures Through Hardship

What we know now, that Mattie’s generation didn’t, is that yellow fever is carried by mosquitoes. The symptoms certainly match up: the disease began and was stronger by the water, and the fever waned abruptly after the frost killed the mosquitoes. But thousands died from the epidemic, decimating the city. Doctors with varying degrees of knowledge, skill, and actual medicine “treated” patients in wildly differing ways; some no doubt hastened their patients’ deaths. Mattie has to face death intimately, grapple with ethical conundrums, care for those who are sick, and seek the welfare of her family even while wondering if they survive. If she can keep the coffee house afloat, will it support her mother and grandfather, assuming they survive and return? And what of young Nathaniel, who is clearly interested in Mattie, and who wants to paint for a career?

Young readers today will find Mattie’s circumstances far more dire than our own experiences during 2020, but the palpable uncertainty—and even fear—of those first few weeks and months of covid will come back as they read of Mattie’s experiences. We find a terrific testimony of hard work and perseverance in the way Mattie handles her challenges. Her friendship with Eliza (a Black servant) leads to opportunities to serve the less fortunate, and Mattie rises to the occasion, working tirelessly to serve others. She matures quite a bit over the course of the novel, and the book ends on a note of promise. Throughout Mattie’s story, she evidences a basic Christian faith, quoting Psalm 23, praying, and other simple testimonies.

Considerations:

• Death: Lots of people die (most are relatively unknown to the reader). And Mattie must confront the reality of death, both her own and that of her family/friends.
• Sickness: Similarly, lots of people get sick and suffer. It’s not graphic.
• Language: One “d–d”; a couple of times, Mattie says, “Oh dear God” but it can be construed as a prayer. In fact, Mattie does pray several times throughout the book. Other characters on occasion say similar phrasings, but it’s unclear whether they are praying or simply upset/grieving.

Overall Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0

• Literary/Artistic Rating: 4.0
• Worldview Rating: 4.0

Read more about our ratings here.

Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader

• Book Review: Fever Year by Don Brown (graphic novel that examines the Spanish Flu epidemic)
• Book Review: The Betrayal of Maggie Blair by Elizabeth Laird (historical fiction set during the time of the Covenanters)
• Book Review: Black Bird, Blue Road by Sofiya Pasternack (another historical fiction novel that grapples with death)

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