Fever 1793

Description

US Laurie Halse Anderson began work on Fever 1793 in 1993 after she came across an article in her local newspaper commemorating the epidemic that had devastated Philadelphia two centuries before.  The acclaimed author of Speak, which was a National Book Award Finalist and a Printz Honor book lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two daughters. approx. 4 hours, 3 cassettes
It’s late summer 1793, and the streets of Philadelphia are abuzz with mosquitoes and rumors of fever. Down near the docks, many have taken ill, and the fatalities are mounting. Now they include Polly, the serving girl at the Cook Coffeehouse. But fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook doesn’t get a moment to mourn the passing of her childhood playmate. New customers have overrun her family’s coffee shop, located far from the mosquito-infested river, and Mattie’s concerns of fever are all but overshadowed by dreams of growing her family’s small business into a thriving enterprise. But when the fever begins to strike closer to home, Mattie’s struggle to build a new life must give way to a new fight-the fight to stay alive.

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