The House is on Fire
| Industrial Age |
|---|
 The House is On Fire |
American History > Industrial Age > Disasters
Richmond, Virginia 1811. It’s the height of the winter social season, the General Assembly is in session, and many of Virginia’s gentleman planters, along with their wives and children, have made the long and arduous journey to the capital in hopes of whiling away the darkest days of the year. At the city’s only theater, the Charleston-based Placide & Green Company puts on two plays a night to meet the demand of a populace that’s done looking for enlightenment at the front of a church.
On the night after Christmas, the theater is packed with more than six hundred holiday revelers. In the third-floor boxes, sits newly-widowed Sally Henry Campbell, who is glad for any opportunity to relive the happy times she shared with her husband. One floor away, in the colored gallery, Cecily Patterson doesn’t give a whit about the play but is grateful for a four-hour reprieve from a life that has recently gone from bad to worse. Backstage, young stagehand Jack Gibson hopes that, if he can impress the theater’s managers, he’ll be offered a permanent job with the company. And on the other side of town, blacksmith Gilbert Hunt dreams of one day being able to bring his wife to the theater, but he’ll have to buy her freedom first.
When the theater goes up in flames in the middle of the performance, Sally, Cecily, Jack, and Gilbert make a series of split-second decisions that will not only affect their own lives but those of countless others. And in the days following the fire, as news of the disaster spreads across the United States, the paths of these four people will become forever intertwined.
Based on the true story of Richmond’s theater fire, The House Is on Fire offers proof that sometimes, in the midst of great tragedy, we are offered our most precious—and fleeting—chances at redemption.
Emily's Review
I really enjoyed this book. I grew up about 30 miles outside of Richmond but had never heard of this incident before. Set in 1811, this story is about the Richmond Theater Fire, one of the worst urban disasters in the US at that time. We follow four characters, which helps to show a wide range of moments and events from that night and the days following. I think my favorite thing was that I recognized a lot of the places mentioned in the story.
I found all of the characters to be compelling. We follow a recent widow, an enslaved woman, an enslaved man, and a stagehand. Through their eyes, we experience the events of the fire and the days immediately following. Each character brings something different to the story and I enjoyed reading from all of them.
The story itself was riveting. It jumps right into the fire from the beginning, and the pace keeps up the whole book. There is never a good time for a disaster like this, but certainly, 1811 was a bad time to get injured in a fire. One thing I found rather shocking was that there were so many more women who died compared to men because they were trampling over everyone to get out and the women were unable to escape. I suppose when you live in a period when women had very few rights and were easily replaceable, men don't have to be chivalrous.
This was a fascinating story and very well written. I highly recommend it!
Other Similar Books
Other suggestions on the subject of Disasters.
- The White House is Burning (by: Sutcliffe, Jane, War of 1812, Disasters, MG, UMG)
- The Great American Dust Bowl (by: Brown, Don, Great Depression, Dust Bowl, Disasters, UMG, YA)
- The House is on Fire (by: Beanland, Rachel, Antebellum South, Disasters, Escaped Slaves, A)