An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy

This book takes readers through the yellow fever epidemic from the beginning when nobody paid much attention to the talk of fever down by the river to the height of the epidemic in which hundreds of people were dying everyday to the end when frost finally released the city from sickness. Each chapter features a page from the Federal Gazette newspaper that shows the progression of the epidemic and the public response to it. Detailed information about the major players in this tragedy is provided (i.e. Dr. Benjamin Rush) as well as discussion concerning the political and social events surrounding this outbreak and special attention is paid to medical beliefs and practices in the 18th century.

A thorough sources section at the end of the book points to further reading on a variety of topics including: firsthand accounts, yellow fever in fiction and nonfiction, medical practices in the 18th century, Philadelphia then and after, George Washington, Blacks in Philadelphia, mosquitoes, and other plagues.

This book works well when paired with Fever, 1793. Due to the nature of this subject this text and/or the study of this topic would be suitable for readers in the 6th grade and up.

Genre: Nonfiction

Murphy, J. (2003). An American plague: The true and terrifying story of the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. New York: Clarion Books.

Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Fourteen year old Matilda Cook lives in Philadelphia in 1793 and helps her widowed mother run a coffeehouse along with her grandfather who served under Washington during the Revolution. The whole city is turned upside down when an unseasonably warm summer leads to an overabundance of mosquitoes and an epidemic of yellow fever kills thousands. Mattie's mother is striken with fever and sends her daughter away to the country where people believe children will be safer in the open air. Over the course of the story, Mattie herself contracts the "pestilence" as they refer to the illness and is lucky enough to survive. She loses track of her mother not knowing whether she is alive or dead and has to bury her grandfather. Mattie's struggle then becomes staying alive as she must learn to care for herself and find enough food. Mattie's journey takes her from health to sickness and from childhood to adulthood. Readers sixth grade and up will appreciate Anderson's careful research of a terrifying period in American history.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Anderson, L.H. (2000). Fever, 1793. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.