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Fever 1793
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Fever 1793 (2000) (edit title/settings)

by Laurie Halse Anderson (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

In Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character Mattie (a.k.a Matilda) faces and experiences the fever epidemic of 1793. Her friend Polly dies, and soon her mother is sick in bed and she is forced to flee to the country with her grandfather but on the way grandfather gets sick and... read more

Summary edit see section history

Mattie Cook is just a normal kid that lives above the family coffeehouse with her mother and grandfather. When one of the kitchen helpers dies of yellow fever, her mother makes Mattie stay in the house and debates sending her to the country where the air is pure. The small outbreak turns... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Mattie Cook is just a normal kid that lives above the family coffeehouse with her mother and grandfather. When one of the kitchen helpers dies of yellow fever, her mother makes Mattie stay in the house and debates sending her to the country where the air is pure. The small outbreak turns into an epidemic and when Mattie's mother gets the fever Mattie and her grandfather are sent to the country. On the way there, they are stopped because grandfather got sick and they are thrown out of the wagon so everyone else could keep going. Mattie has to take care of grandfather while he is too weak to do anything for himself (he doesn't have yellow fever just some other virus). On her way back from fetching water, Mattie comes down with the fever and is immediately taken to Bush Hill where she makes a full recovery then returns to town with grandfather. they find out that mother left for the country and the coffeehouse had been robbed of all its food and when the second set of robbers come they kill grandfather. Mattie is out of hope when she walks down the streets and meets a little girl named Nell who's mother died of yellow fever, so Mattie decides to take Nell with her. While Mattie and Nell are walking, Mattie sees Eliza, the other kitchen helper at the coffeehouse who lives with her brother and his two boys and decides to take Mattie and Nell to her house. when Mattie and Eliza leave the house one day, the kids get sick so they take them to the coffeehouse and nurture them back to health then Mattie re-opens the coffeehouse and mother returns.

Characters edit see section history

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Quotes edit see section history

  • “I threw my arms around him and planted a big kiss on his cheek. He pulled back in surprise. "Do you do that whenever the president comes into town? If so, then I'll take a job working for him."”
    Nathaniel Benson and Mattie Cook
  • “I had to taste the candy, of course, to make sure it was not stale. I was so vigilant that I tasted several pieces.”
    Mattie Cook

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Organizations edit see section history

  • Free African Society: Organization designed to assist newly freed slaves to become acclimated to the broader society and its rules.

First Sentence edit see section history

I woke to the sound of a mosquito whining in my left ear and my mother screeching in the right.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Each chapter has a date and a quote.

1. August 16th, 1793 "The city of Philadelphia is perhaps one of the wonders of the world." -Lord Adam Gordon Journal Entry, 1765
2. August 16th, 1793 "the first and most principal to be, a perfect skill and knowledge in cookery...because it is a duty well belonging to women." -Gervase Markham The English House Wife, 1668
3. August 16th, 1793 "Oh then, the hands of the pitiful Mother prepared her Child's body for the grave..." -Letter of Margaret Morris Philadelphia, 1793
4. August 16th, 1793 "Diet Bread: One pound sugar, 9 eggs, beat for an hour, add to 14 ounces flour, teaspoon rosewater, one teaspoon cinnamon or coriander, bake quick." -Amelia Simmons American Cookbook, 1796
5. August 24th, 1793 "A low voice and soft address are the common indications of a well-bred woman." -Hannah More The Young Lady Abroad or Affectionate Advice on the Social and Moral Habits of Females, 1777
6. August 30th, 1793 "Directions to the housemaid: Always when you sweep a room, throw a little wet sand all over it, and that will gather up all the flue and dust." -Hannah Glasse The Art of Cookery, 1747
7. August 30th, 1793 "Wit is the most dangerous talent you can possess. It must be guarded with great discretion and good-nature, otherwise it will create you many enemies." -John Gregory A Father's Legacy to His Daughters, 1774
8. September 2nd, 1793 "<I> smelled the breath of death for the first time since all this hardship began, <and> was scared." -Diary of J. Henry C. Helmith Philadelphia, 1793
9. September 2nd, 1793 "He's the best physician that knows the worthlessness of most medicines." -Benjamin Franklin Poor Richard's Almanac, 1733
10. September 6th, 1793 "The patient is to be placed in a large empty tub, and two buckets full of water, of the temperature 75 or 80 degrees Fahrenheit's thermometer,...are to be thrown on him." -Dr. Adam Kuhn Philadelphia, 1793
11. September 7th, 1793 "Great numbers of the citizens have shut up their houses and fled into the country..." -Letter of Ebenezer Hazard Philadelphia, 1793
12. September 8th, 1793 "Our inhumane neighbors, instead of sympathizing with us tauntingly proclaim the healthfulness of their own cities..." -Letter of Ebenezer Hazard Philadelphia, 1793
13. September 10th, 1793 "American ladies require a peculiar mode of education." -Dr. Benjamin Rush Speech to the Young Ladies Academy of Philadelphia
14. September 13th-20th, 1793 "Hot, dry winds forever blowing,/Dead men to the grave-yards going:/Constant hearses,/Funeral verses;/Oh! what plagues-there is no knwoing!" -Philip Freneau Pestilence:Written During the Prevalence of a Yellow Fever, 1793
15. September 22nd, 1793 "Wives were deserted by husbands, and children by parents. The chambers of diseases were deserted, and the sick were left to die of negligennce. None could be found to remove the lifeless bodies. Their remains, suffered to decay by piecemeal, filled the air with deadly exhalations, and added tenfold to the devastation." -Charles Brockden Brown Arthur Mervyn; or Memoirs of the Year 1793
16. September 24th, 1793 "He who sitteth upon the Pale Horse, He whose name is Death, will be sent through the streets of Philadelphia." -Quaker prophecy Philadelphia, 1793
17. September 14th, 1793 "I cannot anticipate nor limit the period, when the devastation and horror too long experienced in this miserable place will have an end." -Letter of John Walsh, clerk Philadelphia, 1793
18. September 25th, 1793 "I think the malady is becoming more alarming, more than one-half <of Philadelphia> has emigrated." -Letter of John Walsh, clerk Philadelphia, 1793
19. September 26th, 1793 "Shafts of death fly closer and closer to us everyday." -Dr. Benjamin Rush Letter, 1793
20. September 27th, 1793 "Doctors raving and disputing, death's plae army still recruitin'." -Philip Freneau Pestilence:Written During the Prevalence of a Yellow Fever, 1793
21. September 27th, 1793 "...at other places we found a parent dead, and none but little innocent babes to be seen, whose ignorance led them to think their parent was asleep..." -Richard Allen and Absalom Jones A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia in the Year 1793
22. September 27th, 1793 "Yeseterday was the worst day yet. Even those who are not sick have eyes tinged with yellow. More doctors are ill and dying." -Dr. Benjamin Rush Letter, 1793
23. September 28th, 1793 "There is great distress in the city for want of cash. Friendship is nearly entirely banished from the city." -Dr. Benjamin Rush Letter, 1793
24. October 1st, 1793 "We set out to see where we could be useful-The black people were looked to. We then offered our services in the public papers, by advertising that we would remove the dead and procure nurses." -Richard Allen and Absalom Jones A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia in the Year 1793
25. October 14th, 1793 "All is thick and melancholy gloom." -Letter of Dr. Benjamin Rush Philadelphia, 1793
26. October 23rd, 1793 "I think there is now that kind of weather fermenting which we so much want and has often been wished for." -Letter of John Walsh, clerk Philadelphia, 1793
27. October 30th, 1793 "Blessed be God in the change of weather. The disease visibly and universally declines." -Dr. Benjamin Rush Letter, 1793
28. November 10th, 1793 "Many stores are lately opened and the city exhibits a scene of increasing trade and bustle." -Letter of John Walsh, clerk Philadelphia, 1793
29. November 10th, 1793 "The yellow fever the growth of great cities in our nation." -Thomas Jefferson Letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, 1800

Epilogue- December 11th, 1793 "...<We> are devoutly to acknowledge that kind Providence...hath restored our city to its useful state of health and prosperity." -Petition of Citizens to the Council of Philadelphia

Appendix

Acknowledgements

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Laurie Halse Anderson (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Steve Scott

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2000
ISBN: 0689848919
Page Count: 243

Classification edit see section history

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

This should book should be considered for middle grade. Appropriate grades levels from a mature 4th grader and up. This is a great book if you would like your child to read about at time in history that was very influential to American history. This book is a great example of historical fiction. Would be a great read aloud book with your child. Some deaths/ gory parts. Grade Level Equivalent: 7.6 Lexile® measure: 580L DRA: 60

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