《黄热病 1793》

    The opening scene of Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel about the yellow fever epidemic* that ravaged Philadelphia in the late 18th century shows a hint of the gallows humor* and insight of her previous novel, “Speak.”

    Sixteen-year-old Matilda “Mattie” Cook wakes up in the sweltering summer heat on Aug. 16, 1793, to her mother’s command to rouse and with a mosquito buzzing in her ear. She shoos her cat from her mother’s favorite quilt and thinks to herself, “I had just saved her precious quilt from disaster, but would she appreciate it? Of course not.”

    Mattie’s wit again shines through several chapters later during a visit to her wealthy neighbors’ house, the Ogilvies. Having refused to let their serving girl, Eliza, coif* her for the occasion, Mattie regrets it as soon as she lays eyes on the Ogilvie sisters, who wear matching gowns, curly hair piled high on their heads. But thereafter, Mattie’s character development, as well as those of her grandfather and widowed mother, takes a back seat to the historical details of Philadelphia and environs.

    Well researched, Anderson’s novel paints a fine picture of the seedy waterfront, the devastation* the disease wreaks on a once lively city, and the bitterness of neighbor toward neighbor as those suspected of infection* are physically cast aside. (SD-Agencies)