Fever 1793 is the story of fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook and her coming-of-age experience during an outbreak of yellow fever in her city, Philadelphia. As this disease spreads, the city’s normal activities come to a halt and people must confront its deadly effects. This story not only follows Mattie through a time in her life when she realizes the need to grow up quickly, but it also sheds light on society as a whole – the way that humans react to crises, how class and race influence people’s experiences with disease, and the ramifications of limited medical knowledge during an epidemic. 

Big Ideas

• How a society responds to a crisis reveals the complexities of human nature.

• Race and class influence people’s experience with disease in ways that are not equitable. 

• Fever 1793 sheds light on the condition of the medical field during the late 18th century and how its limitations affected the spread and mortality of yellow fever. 

• Coming of age sometimes involves a shift in one’s perspective – a realization that growing up means facing challenges and taking on responsibilities more so than breaking free from rules and expectations.

• A first-person point of view offers readers a more intimate understanding of emotions like grief, frustration, fear, and gratefulness.