The yellow fever epidemic affected a large chunk of the country and deeply impacted an entire generation of Philadelphians, including many famous historical figures such as Dr. The quotations weave a dense historical tapestry that suggests that Mattie's experience was in no way singular. According to estimates, between four and five thousand people died from the plague.Īnderson's remarkable research skills bring home the magnitude of the situation as each chapter is prefaced with rather moving passages from historical documents from the period: scraps of letters, diaries, and even novels. And the results were just as devastating as the novel reports. Mattie and her family are works of fiction, but the fever outbreak did indeed strike Philadelphia in the late summer of 1793. Anderson conducted loads of archival research for the book, and she gets all of the facts straight.
While Laurie Halse Anderson's thrilling young adult novel may at times have the feel of an apocalyptic zombie movie, the remarkable thing about it is that the events in Fever, 1793 are firmly grounded in historical fact. A true test of who she is, the fever will become one of the defining moments of Mattie's life. To win the battle, Mattie has to muster every ounce of her courage, strength, and morality. She must also fight the tide of panic and fear raging in the city – and within herself. Over the course of the novel, Mattie will experience intense personal loss and come face-to-face with death. It's kind of like the set of one of those apocalyptic movies, except, of course, it's all really happening. Once known for its brotherly love, Philadelphia is transformed into a nightmare of orphaned children, unscrupulous thieves, and mass unmarked graves. The outbreak of yellow fever, though, creates a dire situation (not at all related to hormones) in the city she calls home.
Her body is changing, she can't stand the sound of her mother's voice, and she has a mega crush on a cute painter guy named Nathaniel Benson. Mattie is, for the most part, just a normal teenager. Laurie Halse Anderson's Fever, 1793 is a novel about a fourteen-year-old girl named Matilda "Mattie" Cook who comes of age during the infamous yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793.
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