About this title: In this work of historical fiction, 14-year-old Matilda Cook is caught in the 1793 Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic. When Matilda recovers from the illness, she attempts to find her missing mother and is taken in by a family friend--a freed slave named Eliza.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Scholastic Inc
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780439355254ISBN:0439355257
Description: Good. Paperback, some spine and edge wear, pages are clean and tight. In 1793, the Cook Coffeehouse outside of Philadelphia is a haven for those fleeing from the fever sweeping across the mosquito-infested city. Fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook has just lost her childhood playmate to the fever and struggles to keep her family and her family's business alive. read more
Description: Used. Tanning to pages and cover. Slight rubbing and bumping damage to corners and edges. Light scuffing. This book ships in padded mailer via USPS. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Scholastic Prof Book Div
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780439355254ISBN:0439355257
Description: A good reading copy only. Previous owners name inscribed inside front. Book has tanning or browning due to normal aging process. -, Trade PaperBack, Good / read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Scholastic
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780439356756ISBN:043935675X
Description: Good. 331-W Good Condition: A copy that has been read, but remains in good condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (including dust cover, if applicable). The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or be an ex-library item. Some pages or dust-jacket may have tiny tears. Books rated "Good" may have some notes, underlining, or highlighting. These books also may contain the previous ... read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Scholastic
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780439356756ISBN:043935675X
Description: Good. 179-Y-Add Books rated "Good" may have some notes, underlining, or highlighting. These books also may contain the previous owner's name, stamp, sticker, or gift inscription, or may be library discards. read more
Description: Fair. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
"In this story, a 14 year old Mattie Cook learns of the death of a childhood friend. This happens right in the beginning of the book, allowing the reader to become emotionally involved from the start. The story is based on the yellow fever of 1793. The setting of the story is Philadelphia, a coffeehouse that her mother and grandfather own. They decide to stay until the mother falls ill, Mattie is sent away. Country folk are afraid the plague will spread with the city people, so they refuse to let Mathilda and her grandfather enter the city. Mattie is struck with the fever but survives. Now immune to the fever, she becomes a nurse and tries to find her mother. Along the way the story tells of her experiences and lessons learned, making her a strong person. I did not know much about the yellow fever. I have read about it in history books. This book did a great job of interweaving facts into the story line to make the story informational, yet easy and fun to read. I also thought the story created great visuals for the reader. I had a clear vivid picture of the smells and sights of the city that fateful year. Excellent read, recommended.
On the heels of her acclaimed contemporary teen novel Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson surprises her fans with a riveting and well-researched historical fiction. Fever 1793 is based on an actual epidemic of yellow fever in Philadelphia that wiped out 5,000 people--or 10 percent of the city's population--in three months. At the close of the 18th century, Philadelphia was the bustling capital of the United States, with Washington and Jefferson in residence. During the hot mosquito-infested summer of 1793, the dreaded yellow fever spread like wildfire, killing people overnight. Like specters from the Middle Ages, gravediggers drew carts through the streets crying "Bring out your dead!" The rich fled to the country, abandoning the city to looters, forsaken corpses, and frightened survivors. In the foreground of this story is 16-year-old Mattie Cook, whose mother and grandfather own a popular coffee house on High Street. Mattie's comfortable and interesting life is shattered by the epidemic, as her mother is felled and the girl and her grandfather must flee for their lives. Later, after much hardship and terror, they return to the deserted town to find their former cook, a freed slave, working with the African Free Society, an actual group who undertook to visit and assist the sick and saved many lives. As first frost arrives and the epidemic ends, Mattie's sufferings have changed her from a willful child to a strong, capable young woman able to manage her family's business on her own. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell"
"In 1793, when yellow fever struck Philadelphia between August and October, it killed as many as 10,000 (1 in 4). President George Washington and most of the federal and city officials fled the city, as did residents who could. Those who couldn't leave got sick and died or locked themselves into their houses. Markets and other businesses closed, so no food could be found. Looters broke into empty homes and businesses, stealing whatever was left behind. When 16-year-old Mattie's mother gets sick, she sends Mattie out of the city with her grandfather, but along the way, Mattie's grandfather gets a cough and terrified people will not let them ride through the town. The farmer who was giving them a ride abandons them at the side of the road and takes the food and clothes they had packed for the journey. Then, stuck under a tree by the roadside, unable to go forward, and unable to travel the distance back to the city with her sick grandfather, Mattie is trying to find food and water when she passes out. Mattie too, has come down with yellow fever. This is an exciting historical fiction story with a spirited, delightful main character."
"Matilda Cook is the daughter of a widow and granddaughter of a war veteran. She helps run the coffeehouse that is her family's business along with her mother, a scullery maid and an African American woman for their cook. When the yellow fever hits Philadelphia, their scullery maid is one of the first who dies, a loss that Mattie felt deeply. Afraid for her child's safety, Mrs. Cook sends Mattie to the country, accompanied by her grandfather. He doesn't particularly approve of this action, as he says that:
"I didn't run from the redcoats, and I won't run from a dockside miasma. What is wrong with people? We suffered all kinds of diseases in our youth, but folk were sensible. They didn't squall like children, and hide in the woods!"
Less than a week after departing, Mattie contracts the yellow fever, and and luckily recovers. After returning to Philadelphia, Mattie finds that it has turned into a ghost city. Her grandfather is killed by robbers. And her cook, one of her best friends, is nowhere to be found, along with her mother. To add to her worries, she has found a fever orphan on the streets, and is determined to take care of her. The odds are very much against her, but we see the rest of the story, integrated into signs of Philadelphia recovering, and know that Mattie is really stronger than she knows.
One aspect of this book that I enjoy is that it is very well researched. Every bit of it is as historically correct as is possible, from the main events, to beliefs of the day. Laurie Halse Anderson also includes an appendix that helps readers put the story in context, although the book already does a very good job of it.
Mattie has a very vibrant personality, and has dreams of making the coffeehouse wildly successful. Mattie is very easy to connect to. She seems to be an average girl, except that she is living a few centuries ago. As I read the book, I found that she wanted to be a grownup, with the poise and power, and freedom to do what she wants to do. But, like children of today (including me), she does not want the responsibilities, which can be seen when she avoids chores as much as she can. Maturing very rapidly, she is not a flat character, and it is interesting to see how differently she dealt with situations from the beginning to the book compared to the conclusion of this historical story.
I believe that this book is especially appealing to younger children because of this tendency of the main character, and also for the slightly simpler language and plot than the books that I am accustomed to reading.
Laurie Halse Anderson has written a book that is appealing to all ages for its frank and honest account from the view of a young woman, almost in a kind of diary dialogue. It is very hard to put this book down, because of the fast pace, and the very interesting, twisting, unpredictable story. I loved this book for the way it was able to bring history to life, and would recommend for anyone.
As a reviewer, I recommend that for people ages 14 and up, this is a book that should be checked out of your library as it has a very simple plot and easily understood characters. However, as a reader, and student, I think this is a book that should be bought, because it is a wonderful educational tool through which to learn about the yellow fever."
"Can you imagine having everyone around you getting severely sick and/or dieing? In Fever 1793 there was an outbreak of yellow fever and it was minor at first. But then hundreds people were dieing of this sickness. Families that had someone get sick had to board up their house and survive with what they had and everyone else, who were chickens, fled before they didnt want to get sick. Life for fourteen year old girl, Mattie Cook, changed drastically. Her mother got sick with the fever so she had to leave her mother with Eliza, a black-women who worked for them, and travel with her gradnfather to the countryside. Along the way they get stopped by police for being suspected fever victims and the police wouldnt let them bring the fever elsewhere. So they were dropped off on the side of the road with no food or clothing. Mattie has to help tend to her grandfather who is getting sicker each day, while she starts experiencing a fever. She has to take care of two people in the search to return home to find her mother alive and reunite with her friend, Nathaniel. I thought this book was an interesting because it was a real eye-opener. I cannot imagine going through what Matttie went through. Losing family members and friends to yellow fever and having to provide for herself while trying to help other families suffering from lose, sickness, or hunger while trying to find her mother who went missing. This book was also really sad. People were dieing left and right. People would throw their dead family members out the window before anyone else in their house got sick with yellow fever. It was also sad because the orphanages were becoming overcrowded becasue everyone was losing their parents. Mattie was just walking down the street and found a toddler who lost her parents. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a historical fiction novel. It was sad at parts but I realized what life used to be like during hard times."
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