Historical Non-fiction - An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793

Bibliography
Murphy, Jim. 2003. AN AMERICAN PLAGUE: THE TRUE AND TERRIFYING STORY OF THE YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC OF 1793. Clarion Books: New York. ISBN 0395776082

Plot Summary
In this Newberry Honor, National Book Award Finalist, and Robert F. Sibert Medal winning book, Jim Murphy recreates the devastation experienced by the city of Philadelphia in 1793 caused by an incurable outbreak of a disease known as yellow fever. Along with the yellow fever epidemic, Murphy details the major social and political events of the time, as well as medical beliefs and practices.

Critical Analysis
Murphy transports readers to the city of Philadelphia during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. He chronicles this terrifying time based on firsthand accounts both medical an non-medical. The ever present sense of fear and impending doom during the crisis is vividly expressed in the text. Murphy tells of a headstone of a yellow fever victim that bore the words "Stay Passenger where I lie/ As you are now so once was I/ As I am now so You shall be/ Prepare for Death and follow me."

Interweaved throughout the text are the social and political conditions of the time. Heroes such as the Free African Society whose life-saving efforts helped the infected while most Whites fled were still regarded with indignitity as a book published during the time villified Black nurses as extortionists. President George Washington's conflict with the French because of his refusal to support them in their war against Britain is also cited throughout the story. Murphy explains how the fever had a significant impact on the situation, quoting John Adams--"nothing but the yellow fever...could have saved the United States from a total revolution of government." The medical beliefs and practices of the time are also noted, such as bloodletting, removing blood from the body in an effort to cure patients. Although many of the medical treatments seem ludacris, they give us an intersting look into the world of medicine in the 18th century.

Archival artwork and photocopies of documents bring the story to life by helping the reader picture what the city was like back then. A comprehensive history in the book's final chapter details the yellow fever phenomenon. It gives the reader insight to other outbreaks, its causes, and ways it has tried to be prevented, although the fact that it has no cure is sure to make some readers uneasy. Source notes, acknowledgements, a note about the illustrations, and an index prove the accuracy of the book.

Review Exerpt(s)
BookList - "History, science, politics, and public health come together in this dramatic account of the disastrous yellow fever epidemic that hit the nation's capital more than 200 years ago."
Kirkus Reviews - "A mesmerizing account that will make readers happy they live in the 21st century."
School Library Journal - "Murphy chronicles this frightening time with solid research and a flair for weaving facts into fascinating stories"

Connections
*Other plagues that students can read about:
Farrell, Jeanette. INVISIBLE ENEMIES: STORIES OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES. ISBN 0374336075
Corine, Phyllis. THE BLACK DEATH. ISBN 1560062991
Marrin, Albert. DR.JENNER AND THE SPECKLED MONSTER: THE SEARCH FOR THE SMALLPOX VACCINE. ISBN 0525469222