Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Simon & Schuster UK (2013), Edition: UK ed., 400 pages
Description
Mary Beth Keane, named one of the 5 Under 35 by the National Book Foundation, has written a spectacularly bold and intriguing novel about the woman known as "Typhoid Mary," the first person in America identified as a healthy carrier of Typhoid Fever. On the eve of the twentieth century, Mary Mallon emigrated from Ireland at age fifteen to make her way in New York City. Brave, headstrong, and dreaming of being a cook, she fought to climb up from the lowest rung of the domestic-service ladder. Canny and enterprising, she worked her way to the kitchen, and discovered in herself the true talent of a chef. Sought after by New York aristocracy, and with an independence rare for a woman of the time, she seemed to have achieved the life she'd aimed for when she arrived in Castle Garden. Then one determined "medical engineer" noticed that she left a trail of disease wherever she cooked, and identified her as an "asymptomatic carrier" of Typhoid Fever. With this seemingly preposterous theory, he made Mallon a hunted woman. The Department of Health sent Mallon to North Brother Island, where she was kept in isolation from 1907 to 1910, then released under the condition that she never work as a cook again. Yet for Mary-proud of her former status and passionate about cooking-the alternatives were abhorrent. She defied the edict. Bringing early-twentieth-century New York alive-the neighborhoods, the bars, the park carved out of upper Manhattan, the boat traffic, the mansions and sweatshops and emerging skyscrapers-Fever is an ambitious retelling of a forgotten life. In the imagination of Mary Beth Keane, Mary Mallon becomes a fiercely compelling, dramatic, vexing, sympathetic, uncompromising, and unforgettable heroine.… (more)
Media reviews
Keane evokes the atmosphere of the bustling and booming New York of the time to life as she details both Mary’s day-to-day life and the work of “sanitation engineer” Dr. George Soper, who uses basic detective work and the scientific method to trace the infections back to her. It’s this
Show More
“one-two punch” the makes the novel so compelling.
Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member -Cee-
The early twentieth century saw many medical discoveries and advances. It was a learning process… slow and riddled with mistakes and the unknown. One of the issues concerning the medical community was the person at large who was healthy and unknowingly carried a disease – like typhoid - which
An excellent and interesting account of a woman living on the edge in New York City is based on research and fleshed out to portray a life of struggle, strength, love, trauma, and abuse at the hand of the Department of Health. Mary Mallon had a gift for cooking and loved the work which paid well and gave her a sense of value. However, many suspicious cases of typhoid outbreaks were traced back to her, directly, through the preparation of food by her and consumed by her clients.
This was a new theory. It was frightening and incredible. Mary was caught in the middle of the evolving medical controversy. Author Mary Beth Keane evokes the emotions and crisis in the life of a woman on the run. Mary’s life of poverty in NYC is portrayed in detail, colored with the hard decisions and actions of a woman alone. Enlightening, heart-breaking, and engaging read… recommended.
Show More
spread to others. The story of "Fever: A Novel" is that of Mary Mallon. Typhoid Mary.An excellent and interesting account of a woman living on the edge in New York City is based on research and fleshed out to portray a life of struggle, strength, love, trauma, and abuse at the hand of the Department of Health. Mary Mallon had a gift for cooking and loved the work which paid well and gave her a sense of value. However, many suspicious cases of typhoid outbreaks were traced back to her, directly, through the preparation of food by her and consumed by her clients.
This was a new theory. It was frightening and incredible. Mary was caught in the middle of the evolving medical controversy. Author Mary Beth Keane evokes the emotions and crisis in the life of a woman on the run. Mary’s life of poverty in NYC is portrayed in detail, colored with the hard decisions and actions of a woman alone. Enlightening, heart-breaking, and engaging read… recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member pbadeer
Keane's research for this novel was not only impressive, she also demonstrated the ability to translate those details into a very readable and enjoyable work.
The legend of "Typhoid Mary" was about the extent of my knowledge on the Typhoid epidemics from the early 20th century. This work, although
While I enjoyed the book overall, through the first half of it, I found myself wishing the author would have started a little earlier in the narrative. As the book begins, Mary has already been identified as an asymptomatic carrier of Typhoid, and the first half deals primarily with her arrest and immediate aftermath. Eventually Keane does start filling in the back story, albeit in a slightly awkward manner, so the full history is eventually unveiled. Unfortunately, a portion of this history includes Typhoid Mary's boyfriend - a story line which seemed superfluous at best. Admittedly, without this addition, the result would have been significantly shorter. But I am a strong believer in quality over quantity, and a shorter/tighter story would have made for a stronger work.
Overall, however, Keane has an excellent writing style and the sheer readability of her text kept me going.
The legend of "Typhoid Mary" was about the extent of my knowledge on the Typhoid epidemics from the early 20th century. This work, although
Show More
a fictionalized version, did a great job of exploring the bigger picture of what was happening during this time and more specifically addressing what made her so interesting to both the public and researchers. While I enjoyed the book overall, through the first half of it, I found myself wishing the author would have started a little earlier in the narrative. As the book begins, Mary has already been identified as an asymptomatic carrier of Typhoid, and the first half deals primarily with her arrest and immediate aftermath. Eventually Keane does start filling in the back story, albeit in a slightly awkward manner, so the full history is eventually unveiled. Unfortunately, a portion of this history includes Typhoid Mary's boyfriend - a story line which seemed superfluous at best. Admittedly, without this addition, the result would have been significantly shorter. But I am a strong believer in quality over quantity, and a shorter/tighter story would have made for a stronger work.
Overall, however, Keane has an excellent writing style and the sheer readability of her text kept me going.
Show Less
LibraryThing member aoibhealfae
I have heard a lot of promising thing about the book. Its about Typhoid Mary(!) and I always read articles about her and I enjoy dramatization of actual people related to medical science. But, I'm plain disappointed by this book. It was a romanticized life of Mary Mallon although a bit dull and
Compared to "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", Rebecca Skloot had a better understanding as she is scientifically-educated and able to give a greater understanding of the complications revolving the HeLa controversies at it added layers of depth about the complexities of the issues in addition to that she was involved with the Lacks family and the book was realistic enough to be considered as non-fictional. She also explore the problem through several lenses and one of it, definitely not romanticizing the situation. But Keane only offer a plain fictionalization of the era, she skim about the significance of Mary among the scientific society because narratively the story only spin about what the character felt when she was being demonized by the public health society and she is but in turn the book play around the romanticized history around the character and the settings rather than going in depth about it.
Plus, she did cause these deaths by her ignorance and cause more deaths because she persist in her ignorance although she was informed first hand of her role as a Typhoid carrier. Rather than explore various characterization which stem from her nurtured way of thoughts and upbringing that perhaps it can give a sense of depthness to her as a realistic flawed human being. The book seem to be preoccupied in spending its time exploring the romantic elements of Mary Mallon.
Mary Mallon is a scientific enigma of her time and that was as interesting as the depth of her characterizations but I felt the book overplayed the emotional part of her character and it was extremely diverting. I also studied pastry and bakery for a year and from that experience, there was a lot of literary elements you could do to give more flair to Mary's characterization. There was no culinary passion in this Mary. The book skim on that integral part that made me understand why Mary still continue on with her food service. I don't feel it clicked to me that she only did all of it to be stubborn and opinionated because that was too one dimensional to describe this once living woman. The book didn't make me feel Mary was a good cook either. In fact, the book did poorly on her motives to continuously feed people. I don't think it was that simplistic need to feed people. She could have work as a grocery store if she was that altruistic. Cooking itself need some artistic skills and also require a scientific one too. You have to learn the right way to cook, the subjective taste and the talents in need. The book made Mary's cooking ability as dull like she's a food processor. Mary is a smart and independent woman and if she had the right education, she would be a marvelous woman of science herself or even a chemist because personally, food science is a legit science itself. If you know how to cook, you're scientifically talented as it is. How I know about this? My late grandmother is similar to her in some ways. She had struggled and life is bad and turbulent in Singapore at that time, she also make bad decisions with her love life and she's a good cook and gave birth to kids who end up being smart and also a scientists and great cook too. I know perfectly well how this situation could have been played in real life and I do sympathize with Mallon and wish things could play out different for her.
Mary Mallon was smarter than this book did on her. It tried to reason around her behaviours but always fall into being portrayed as "emotionally driven". I still don't feel the book was right about her motivation to continue to cook.
I get that this book employ literary methods from someone with mostly literary background and can be appreciated by those without scientific background surrounded with the Typhoid Mary issue. But Mary Mallon is a person of significance in science because of her existence that touched all expect of medical issues, epidemiology and human rights. Keane could have done the book better if she discuss this expect more with the world Mary lived in rather than the geographical era accuracy about the fashion, culture and era-specific attitudes. The book could have been better for me if it played about humanizing all the characters more rather than attempting to make Mary as a sympathetic character. I did note that the book didn't come with its own references so it does made it hard to know which part is real or not. In the end, its still a historical fiction that didn't make much an impact to me when it should.
And in the end, I didn't think the author even understand what a Salmonella really is.
Show More
dreary but the main focus of this book wasn't a good representative of her situation. In fact, the attempt to humanize Mary and demonized the doctors involved pretty much reduced the the narrative value of the story. Compared to "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", Rebecca Skloot had a better understanding as she is scientifically-educated and able to give a greater understanding of the complications revolving the HeLa controversies at it added layers of depth about the complexities of the issues in addition to that she was involved with the Lacks family and the book was realistic enough to be considered as non-fictional. She also explore the problem through several lenses and one of it, definitely not romanticizing the situation. But Keane only offer a plain fictionalization of the era, she skim about the significance of Mary among the scientific society because narratively the story only spin about what the character felt when she was being demonized by the public health society and she is but in turn the book play around the romanticized history around the character and the settings rather than going in depth about it.
Plus, she did cause these deaths by her ignorance and cause more deaths because she persist in her ignorance although she was informed first hand of her role as a Typhoid carrier. Rather than explore various characterization which stem from her nurtured way of thoughts and upbringing that perhaps it can give a sense of depthness to her as a realistic flawed human being. The book seem to be preoccupied in spending its time exploring the romantic elements of Mary Mallon.
Mary Mallon is a scientific enigma of her time and that was as interesting as the depth of her characterizations but I felt the book overplayed the emotional part of her character and it was extremely diverting. I also studied pastry and bakery for a year and from that experience, there was a lot of literary elements you could do to give more flair to Mary's characterization. There was no culinary passion in this Mary. The book skim on that integral part that made me understand why Mary still continue on with her food service. I don't feel it clicked to me that she only did all of it to be stubborn and opinionated because that was too one dimensional to describe this once living woman. The book didn't make me feel Mary was a good cook either. In fact, the book did poorly on her motives to continuously feed people. I don't think it was that simplistic need to feed people. She could have work as a grocery store if she was that altruistic. Cooking itself need some artistic skills and also require a scientific one too. You have to learn the right way to cook, the subjective taste and the talents in need. The book made Mary's cooking ability as dull like she's a food processor. Mary is a smart and independent woman and if she had the right education, she would be a marvelous woman of science herself or even a chemist because personally, food science is a legit science itself. If you know how to cook, you're scientifically talented as it is. How I know about this? My late grandmother is similar to her in some ways. She had struggled and life is bad and turbulent in Singapore at that time, she also make bad decisions with her love life and she's a good cook and gave birth to kids who end up being smart and also a scientists and great cook too. I know perfectly well how this situation could have been played in real life and I do sympathize with Mallon and wish things could play out different for her.
Mary Mallon was smarter than this book did on her. It tried to reason around her behaviours but always fall into being portrayed as "emotionally driven". I still don't feel the book was right about her motivation to continue to cook.
I get that this book employ literary methods from someone with mostly literary background and can be appreciated by those without scientific background surrounded with the Typhoid Mary issue. But Mary Mallon is a person of significance in science because of her existence that touched all expect of medical issues, epidemiology and human rights. Keane could have done the book better if she discuss this expect more with the world Mary lived in rather than the geographical era accuracy about the fashion, culture and era-specific attitudes. The book could have been better for me if it played about humanizing all the characters more rather than attempting to make Mary as a sympathetic character. I did note that the book didn't come with its own references so it does made it hard to know which part is real or not. In the end, its still a historical fiction that didn't make much an impact to me when it should.
And in the end, I didn't think the author even understand what a Salmonella really is.
Show Less
LibraryThing member susiesharp
We have all heard of Typhoid Mary, but do any of us really know her story I know I didn’t. This is historical fiction so I’m sure liberties were taken in the telling of the story but that did not in any way stop this from being a fascinating read. Mary is an Irish immigrant, a cook and lives
When Mary is first approached by Dr. Soper, you can’t help but wonder as she did if he is just making this all up to make a name for himself and using Mary for his own ends and honestly right up to the very end I wasn’t sure, was it just coincidence that some of the families Mary worked for got sick, people were getting sick elsewhere too so how was it Mary’s fault? This is just one of the questions that will really make you think while reading this book. I still don’t quite understand why Mary only infected people when she was cooking and how that didn’t happen every single time she cooked, she cooked for many families that never got sick. Even though Mary isn’t the most likeable person in the world you still can’t help but feel for her, here she is doing her job living her life and out of nowhere comes this man who calls himself a doctor telling her she is infecting people with typhoid and should come with him for tests. Now in the 1900’s or 2000’s what woman is going to take this man’s word and just go away with him, I too would have thought he was nuts!
When Mary is picked up by the police on Dr. Soper’s orders she fights it, she just can’t understand, she is not sick so how can she be passing it on to others, and you can’t help but sympathize with her, would you have thought any different? When she is taken to North Border (a small island with a hospital with TB patients) which was something I couldn’t understand, was Mary immune to every disease out there? Why weren’t they worried about her catching TB when they put in the hospital there? They did eventually build her a cabin, which would have said to me guess what you’re not leaving! Mary is fighting all of this tooth and nail and still I couldn’t help but empathize with her. She finally gets a lawyer who is trying to get her released , but all the doctors that testify during the court proceeding seem to make Mary out as feral child who needs supervision or a wanton murderer making people sick on purpose, and of course there is always a dig about her living arrangements. Needless to say this court hearing doesn’t go in Mary’s favor so she is hauled back to North Border.
A couple years later when she is finally released there are very specific stipulations, No Cooking, and she must check in with the Dept. of health every three months. Well we have learned by now how stubborn Mary is and she doesn’t believe anything these doctors are saying about her, she is good for a little while but she does love to cook and one thing leads to another and Mary does go back to cooking and everything is fine for awhile until things aren’t anymore and Mary finally has to face the facts of her life.
Mary and her live-in boyfriend Alfred have a volatile relationship and is on again off again whenever he gets to drinking too much, but Mary loves him, this was just an added element of this book to tell us of her relationship but it was a good story even if their relationship was dysfunctional, it tells us about Mary and what kind of woman she was.
I could not stop reading this book and am now going to read some others about Mary because I found her and her case fascinating. I am left with some question; Do you think this kind of thing could happen now? Do you think it does? How do you think the press would have handled this situation in the present day? Would you have thought as Mary did? Or would you have seen the truth and not gone back to cooking? It is really hard to step into someone’s shoes and say well I would have handled this differently, I would have listened to the doctors (when actually Soper was NOT a doctor) or would you have vehemently denied it like Mary did, I myself would have run as Mary ran when they first tried to bring her in, and when you have been completely isolated from everything and everyone you know and held a virtual prisoner, when in your mind there is nothing wrong with you would you have gone back to the job you loved?
Ok, can you tell I loved this book and that it really brought up so much to think about, I think this book will become a must have for bookclubs , and I will be recommending to anyone who asks (or doesn’t) for my opinion. This book tells a great and fascinating story, gives a great “feel” for the time period and setting and will leave you thinking about it for a long time after you are done.
What are you waiting for? Go pre-order this one NOW!
5 Stars
I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher Simon & Schuste
Show More
with a man without being married to him, so even before the Dept. of health comes for her she has a few strikes against her, it being the very early 1900’s. The author not only tells us about Mary but also gives a slice of life of New York City in the early 1900’s, the class structure, the housing, the jobs and even a horrifying glimpse at the triangle fire.When Mary is first approached by Dr. Soper, you can’t help but wonder as she did if he is just making this all up to make a name for himself and using Mary for his own ends and honestly right up to the very end I wasn’t sure, was it just coincidence that some of the families Mary worked for got sick, people were getting sick elsewhere too so how was it Mary’s fault? This is just one of the questions that will really make you think while reading this book. I still don’t quite understand why Mary only infected people when she was cooking and how that didn’t happen every single time she cooked, she cooked for many families that never got sick. Even though Mary isn’t the most likeable person in the world you still can’t help but feel for her, here she is doing her job living her life and out of nowhere comes this man who calls himself a doctor telling her she is infecting people with typhoid and should come with him for tests. Now in the 1900’s or 2000’s what woman is going to take this man’s word and just go away with him, I too would have thought he was nuts!
When Mary is picked up by the police on Dr. Soper’s orders she fights it, she just can’t understand, she is not sick so how can she be passing it on to others, and you can’t help but sympathize with her, would you have thought any different? When she is taken to North Border (a small island with a hospital with TB patients) which was something I couldn’t understand, was Mary immune to every disease out there? Why weren’t they worried about her catching TB when they put in the hospital there? They did eventually build her a cabin, which would have said to me guess what you’re not leaving! Mary is fighting all of this tooth and nail and still I couldn’t help but empathize with her. She finally gets a lawyer who is trying to get her released , but all the doctors that testify during the court proceeding seem to make Mary out as feral child who needs supervision or a wanton murderer making people sick on purpose, and of course there is always a dig about her living arrangements. Needless to say this court hearing doesn’t go in Mary’s favor so she is hauled back to North Border.
A couple years later when she is finally released there are very specific stipulations, No Cooking, and she must check in with the Dept. of health every three months. Well we have learned by now how stubborn Mary is and she doesn’t believe anything these doctors are saying about her, she is good for a little while but she does love to cook and one thing leads to another and Mary does go back to cooking and everything is fine for awhile until things aren’t anymore and Mary finally has to face the facts of her life.
Mary and her live-in boyfriend Alfred have a volatile relationship and is on again off again whenever he gets to drinking too much, but Mary loves him, this was just an added element of this book to tell us of her relationship but it was a good story even if their relationship was dysfunctional, it tells us about Mary and what kind of woman she was.
I could not stop reading this book and am now going to read some others about Mary because I found her and her case fascinating. I am left with some question; Do you think this kind of thing could happen now? Do you think it does? How do you think the press would have handled this situation in the present day? Would you have thought as Mary did? Or would you have seen the truth and not gone back to cooking? It is really hard to step into someone’s shoes and say well I would have handled this differently, I would have listened to the doctors (when actually Soper was NOT a doctor) or would you have vehemently denied it like Mary did, I myself would have run as Mary ran when they first tried to bring her in, and when you have been completely isolated from everything and everyone you know and held a virtual prisoner, when in your mind there is nothing wrong with you would you have gone back to the job you loved?
Ok, can you tell I loved this book and that it really brought up so much to think about, I think this book will become a must have for bookclubs , and I will be recommending to anyone who asks (or doesn’t) for my opinion. This book tells a great and fascinating story, gives a great “feel” for the time period and setting and will leave you thinking about it for a long time after you are done.
What are you waiting for? Go pre-order this one NOW!
5 Stars
I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher Simon & Schuste
Show Less
LibraryThing member Cariola
A few years ago, I read Anthony Bourdain's biography of "Typhoid Mary," an Irish immigrant cook who unknowingly started an epidemic in early twentieth-century New York. Fever also focuses on Mary Mallon, but, being fiction, it gives her character more depth and creates empathy for the way she was
Kean covers Mary's forcible arrest and hospitalization, her exile to an island hospital for consumptives, her suit to be allowed to return to a relatively normal life--as long as she promises never again to work as a cook. She also provides a colorful yet sympathetic portrait of life for the working class in New York, ca. 1900-25. And then there is Mary's complicated relationship with Alfred, her German lover, with whom she has lived since the age of seventeen. I found this novel well written and engaging and recommend it to those interested in historical fiction of this period.
Show More
hounded, isolated,villainized, and humiliated. Kean's story's antagonist is a Dr. Soper, the researcher who tracked down Mary as a healthy typhoid carrier and determined that the bacilli were passed on through her cooking. Never having been ill herself, Mary finds it hard to believe that she could be the source of the disease that had killed two of her employers' children and several others and had sickened a number of her coworkers. But in quieter moments, she ponders all the deaths she had attended in Ireland and on the ship crossing the Atlantic, and the death of an employer's toddler whom she had grown to love. Kean covers Mary's forcible arrest and hospitalization, her exile to an island hospital for consumptives, her suit to be allowed to return to a relatively normal life--as long as she promises never again to work as a cook. She also provides a colorful yet sympathetic portrait of life for the working class in New York, ca. 1900-25. And then there is Mary's complicated relationship with Alfred, her German lover, with whom she has lived since the age of seventeen. I found this novel well written and engaging and recommend it to those interested in historical fiction of this period.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ellenflorman
In this historical novel, author Mary B. Keane introduces us to Mary Mallon better known to history as Typhoid Mary. It is the heartbreaking story of a poor Irish immigrant who, through no fault of her own, is discovered to be an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid. She was a talented cook who cooked
Show More
for the wealthiest and most prestigious families in the New York area. She doesn't believe that she is spreading typhoid and often cares for those who fall sick. She is arrested and isolated on an island off of Manhattan where there is a hospital for the dying. We also meet the man with whom she spends most of her life, a German immigrant named Alfred. They love each other, but he is an alcoholic and, after being in a horrific fire, becomes a drug addict. Saddest of all is that toward the end of her life, Mary finally begins to realize that she was a typhoid carrier. You really are rooting for Mary, however, hers was not a happy life. The book was well written and engaging and I would recommend it. Show Less
LibraryThing member ltcl
Mary Mallon was a good Irish woman who loved her man, was kind and loyal to her friends, worked hard as a cook for the many families who hired her and carried around a terrible curse. Every one knows the name - Typhoid Mary but few know the truth behind the name. Mary Beth Keane paints a very
In Fever we get a real sense of the frustration and loneliness she went through while imprisoned on North Brother Island. Her life was a struggle to stay away from the hordes of doctors who demanded testing, questioning eyes of the New York City Health Department and what it must have taken to turn her back on her one true talent and passion - cooking. Any one who enjoys historical fiction will relish this look at turn of the century New York and gain a much clearer picture of this burdened woman.
Show More
realistic picture of this poor woman who infected many people with the deadly typhoid virus. Mary was immune to the disease but was a carrier and passed the disease through her cooking. In Fever we get a real sense of the frustration and loneliness she went through while imprisoned on North Brother Island. Her life was a struggle to stay away from the hordes of doctors who demanded testing, questioning eyes of the New York City Health Department and what it must have taken to turn her back on her one true talent and passion - cooking. Any one who enjoys historical fiction will relish this look at turn of the century New York and gain a much clearer picture of this burdened woman.
Show Less
LibraryThing member GarySeverance
Fever is a very good historical novel of a woman who was loved and hated throughout her adult life. Mary Mallon was a hard-working Irish immigrant living in the crowded working class sections of New York at the turn of the 20th Century. Trained by her grandmother to be a housekeeper, Mary did
On the ship from Ireland to New York and in her domestic and cooking placements by a temporary worker business in the United States, Mary recalled incidents in which people near her became ill, and typhoid fever seemed to be a disease that respected no class barriers. Mary was a kind person who risked her own health to nurse sick people close to her at her work sites. Her live-in partner, Alfred, did not develop symptoms of typhoid fever. She did not realize that she was a carrier of typhoid “germs” and was infecting members of the families who employed her.
The Department of Health was very concerned about growing incidence of typhoid fever, and a “medical engineer” by the name of Dr. Soper was an aggressive investigator with the agency. He made the connection with Mary’s work history and the deaths of her clients and took steps to have her quarantined at North Brother Island in the East River where at first she was housed with tuberculosis patients. Mary’s story was picked up by a New York newspaper, and a reporter nicknamed her, “Typhoid Mary.”
The story of Typhoid Mary is very interesting with a focus on the moral dilemma plaguing Mary Mallon for her entire life. She suspected before the Department of Health investigation there was an unlikely coincidence between her activity and the illness and death of people she contacted. When she learned that typhoid fever was spread through improper hand washing after defecating, Mary was very careful in her personal hygiene and thoroughly cooking all foods in order to destroy the typhoid germs. But, it was very difficult to admit to herself that she was the cause of infection and death of more than ten people.
Mary’s relationship with her alcoholic mate Alfred and her isolation on North Brother Island are creatively portrayed by Mary Beth Keane. Ms. Keane’s style of writing is consistently realistic and straight forward with interesting descriptions of the physical and social conditions in New York in the last of the 1800s and the early part of the 1900s.
Show More
domestic work for wealthy families in the New York area. On occasion, she was asked to fill in for cooks and discovered a passion for creating dishes that were pleasing to her employers. From cleaning mansions and doing laundry, Mary became a good cook sought out by the upper class families.On the ship from Ireland to New York and in her domestic and cooking placements by a temporary worker business in the United States, Mary recalled incidents in which people near her became ill, and typhoid fever seemed to be a disease that respected no class barriers. Mary was a kind person who risked her own health to nurse sick people close to her at her work sites. Her live-in partner, Alfred, did not develop symptoms of typhoid fever. She did not realize that she was a carrier of typhoid “germs” and was infecting members of the families who employed her.
The Department of Health was very concerned about growing incidence of typhoid fever, and a “medical engineer” by the name of Dr. Soper was an aggressive investigator with the agency. He made the connection with Mary’s work history and the deaths of her clients and took steps to have her quarantined at North Brother Island in the East River where at first she was housed with tuberculosis patients. Mary’s story was picked up by a New York newspaper, and a reporter nicknamed her, “Typhoid Mary.”
The story of Typhoid Mary is very interesting with a focus on the moral dilemma plaguing Mary Mallon for her entire life. She suspected before the Department of Health investigation there was an unlikely coincidence between her activity and the illness and death of people she contacted. When she learned that typhoid fever was spread through improper hand washing after defecating, Mary was very careful in her personal hygiene and thoroughly cooking all foods in order to destroy the typhoid germs. But, it was very difficult to admit to herself that she was the cause of infection and death of more than ten people.
Mary’s relationship with her alcoholic mate Alfred and her isolation on North Brother Island are creatively portrayed by Mary Beth Keane. Ms. Keane’s style of writing is consistently realistic and straight forward with interesting descriptions of the physical and social conditions in New York in the last of the 1800s and the early part of the 1900s.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ellasmeme
We've all heard the term "Tyhoid Mary," but truth told, I didn't know the real story behind it. Mary Mallon is an Irish immigrant in New York City at the turn of the century, when little was understood about bacteria and health standards. This novel is an insightful study of those times and reads
Show More
like a true account. of how being a carrier of the dreaded sickness impacted her life. Show Less
LibraryThing member melaniehope
One of my favorite things about this book, was the author's ability to take someone who has often been sneered at in the press and completely humanize her. I have heard the term Typhoid Mary before, but I really was not familiar with the background story of Mary Mallon. This fictionalized version
Mary Mallon is an Irish immigrant working as a cook in the early nineteen hundreds. Working in the upper class households of that time, she leaves behind a trail of disease. Unbeknownst to Mary, she is a asymptomatic carrier of typhoid. Unfortunately, she spreads sickness through her cooking, something that she makes her living at and loves to do.
In order to keep New York's citizens safe, Mary is forced into isolation for 3 years on North Brother Island. She eventually gains her freedom and is allowed to leave, but under the strict order that she is continually tested and is never to cook again. Mary eventually returns to the kitchens and later learns the dire consequences of her actions.
The book was such a great read, because the author did a wonderful job of capturing what may have been Mary's thoughts throughout this ordeal. Why would she stop cooking; something she loved and was great at, because some medical engineers said she spreads disease? Mary never once was sick. Many of her employers and friends that she cooked for never developed typhoid. The story perfectly captured the inner struggle that Mary most likely was experiencing at the time. Beautifully written and a very satisfying read. I highly recommend this book! I received this book as part of the Librarything Early Reviewers.
Show More
of the book was brilliant.Mary Mallon is an Irish immigrant working as a cook in the early nineteen hundreds. Working in the upper class households of that time, she leaves behind a trail of disease. Unbeknownst to Mary, she is a asymptomatic carrier of typhoid. Unfortunately, she spreads sickness through her cooking, something that she makes her living at and loves to do.
In order to keep New York's citizens safe, Mary is forced into isolation for 3 years on North Brother Island. She eventually gains her freedom and is allowed to leave, but under the strict order that she is continually tested and is never to cook again. Mary eventually returns to the kitchens and later learns the dire consequences of her actions.
The book was such a great read, because the author did a wonderful job of capturing what may have been Mary's thoughts throughout this ordeal. Why would she stop cooking; something she loved and was great at, because some medical engineers said she spreads disease? Mary never once was sick. Many of her employers and friends that she cooked for never developed typhoid. The story perfectly captured the inner struggle that Mary most likely was experiencing at the time. Beautifully written and a very satisfying read. I highly recommend this book! I received this book as part of the Librarything Early Reviewers.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bookgirljen
Typhoid Mary. We've all heard of her, but how many of us really know her story? An Irish immigrant with a talent for cooking who, unfortunately, is also a healthy carrier of Typhoid fever, spreading the illness through the food she cooks for the wealthy families she works for.
It was difficult to
With the help of a young lawyer, Mary finally wins her release, on the condition that she promise to never cook for anyone again. It is here that I begin to feel more sympathy for Mary. The one thing that she is talented at doing, cooking, is the one thing she should never do again. She tries to do other things, but circumstances seem to always lead her back to baking and cooking once again, and Mary becomes the queen of denial, telling herself that this couldn't possibly hurt anyone, or that baking is not the same is cooking. You get the sense that deep down inside, Mary knows she shouldn't be doing what she is doing, but she's good at pulling the wool over her own eyes.
Mary's life is not comfortable - she is a working-class woman in early-20th century New York, and the author does a tremendous job of describing what that was like. In addition to all this, Mary's relationship with her companion, Alfred, was strained by her time on the island. She has difficulties finding a place to live. It seems that this one thing, her status as a carrier of the fever, is slowly breaking apart her life in all areas.
My only issue with this book was the way the author jumped from past to present and back again. It was sometimes difficult to keep track of where in time we were. But overall, I enjoyed this novel, and would recommend it if you enjoy historical fiction.
It was difficult to
Show More
feel sympathy for Mary in the beginning of this fictionalized account of her life, as she was incredibly stubborn and refused to believe she could be making people sick. I was frustrated with her inability to understand what she had been doing, and the anger she displayed in the face of her circumstances. Her unreasonableness (which was really denial and panic and fear) led her to both be ostracized in the press, and forcibly removed to an island in the Hudson River to live in isolation, and prevent her from further infecting people.With the help of a young lawyer, Mary finally wins her release, on the condition that she promise to never cook for anyone again. It is here that I begin to feel more sympathy for Mary. The one thing that she is talented at doing, cooking, is the one thing she should never do again. She tries to do other things, but circumstances seem to always lead her back to baking and cooking once again, and Mary becomes the queen of denial, telling herself that this couldn't possibly hurt anyone, or that baking is not the same is cooking. You get the sense that deep down inside, Mary knows she shouldn't be doing what she is doing, but she's good at pulling the wool over her own eyes.
Mary's life is not comfortable - she is a working-class woman in early-20th century New York, and the author does a tremendous job of describing what that was like. In addition to all this, Mary's relationship with her companion, Alfred, was strained by her time on the island. She has difficulties finding a place to live. It seems that this one thing, her status as a carrier of the fever, is slowly breaking apart her life in all areas.
My only issue with this book was the way the author jumped from past to present and back again. It was sometimes difficult to keep track of where in time we were. But overall, I enjoyed this novel, and would recommend it if you enjoy historical fiction.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Bookmarque
Because there is no information from the author on exactly how she researched Mallon's life and circumstances, I can't get a handle on what is fact and what is author license. Soper and other authority figures are mere sketches, daubed with light menace. Mostly it's Mary's character, attitude and
In the book, Mary is absolutely defiant. She doesn't believe that she has killed anyone. She maintains she never had typhoid fever. She thinks germs are made up -
"Do you know what a germ is?" they'd asked her, like she was a child sitting for an examination. Only later, back in her hut, [on North Brother] face-down on her cot, the rush of Hell Gate just twenty-five yards from her gable, would she try to make sense of what they told her about invisible microbes that floated in the air, that traveled up the nose and into the mouth. So many years later, it still sounded like a fairy tale meant for children, a little world too small for the human eye to see, or like religion, in that they were asking her to believe such a thing existed without giving her a chance to look at it, hold it, understand it." p 232
Just why she thinks people are telling these lies about her and keeping her prisoner isn't clear, but she's adamant that she's never been sick and isn't making people die. The first incidents can be chalked up to ignorance and accident, but later when she actively hides her activities, decides baking is different from cooking and takes a cooking job under a false name; now it's criminal. She knows she shouldn't do it even if she doesn't believe she's causing disease.
As a person, I grew to like her. Keane does a great job of showing her pitiable circumstances without making us pity her (apart from what the Dept. of Health puts her through). The part about seeing the beautiful blue hat, deciding she deserved such a beautiful hat, saving up and buying it is very touching and makes me feel so spoiled by my modern life, education and circumstances. But Mary is not going to knuckle under. She goes her own way and doesn't bow to social convention all that much. Through lies and subterfuge she gets her first jobs as a cook because as much as she wants it to, her talent alone won't do it. After she gains a reputation as a cook work comes easily and she's able to shoulder the burden of rent, food and other necessities for both she and Alfred, her long-time boyfriend. Their story is told without the trappings of sappy romance and is presented believably. Alfred loves her, but is basically a loser; unskilled and with a tendency to drink up his paycheck. But he doesn't beat her, patronize her, cheat or otherwise treat her badly and I think he did love her even if he did succumb to the lure of another home-life with Liza. The sneaking way he left her and her son was pretty craven though. Not content with taking his own money out of the house, he took the kid's too. Low.
If one believes in Karma, he got his in the end. Severely burned in a fire, he ends his days as a junkie, hooked on morphine. By this time he and Mary have been reunited and she does her best to get his "medicine" even though there are new laws and regulations and it isn't as easy as it once was. Sad how many addicts were so innocently created.
Writing-wise, Keane is descriptive without choking sentences down to meaninglessness. Dialog seems genuine and colloquial for the time. There are a lot of introspective moments with Mary and some of them do seem to put a drag on the proceedings. There's no sense of the chase since Mary is hardly aware of the authorities on her trail until they pop up in her kitchen. All we're left with is her sense of being trapped and then she fights or flees. Or sometimes both. There is a terrific sense of community with her neighbors and Mary is quite helpful in her own quiet way. She is shy of putting herself out there, but when push comes to shove she gets things done with as little compromise of her own standards as possible. I liked that about her. Maybe in the production version of this book, Keane will share more of her research and how she built Mary's character, actions and circumstances from real sources. I think that would be very helpful to the reader in understanding what really happened.
Show More
actions during her time as the now infamous Typhoid Mary. As written I didn't like her at first. She's willfully obstructive and deliberately puts others at risk. I felt bad about what happened to her, how it happened really, but she didn't feel responsibility. Not for the deaths and sickness she caused. She was tortured by the illness in others and did her absolute best to help, but she felt no responsibility for it and it was that willful ignorance that irritated me even though I know it wasn't her fault. That she couldn't help but feel she was innocent. The way they treated her (according to the book) was pretty appalling. Forcibly taken from her place of employment, put through batteries of humiliating tests and finally secluded on an island in the East River. The fact that she was without rights or power is terrible. Her impenetrable ignorance didn't help.In the book, Mary is absolutely defiant. She doesn't believe that she has killed anyone. She maintains she never had typhoid fever. She thinks germs are made up -
"Do you know what a germ is?" they'd asked her, like she was a child sitting for an examination. Only later, back in her hut, [on North Brother] face-down on her cot, the rush of Hell Gate just twenty-five yards from her gable, would she try to make sense of what they told her about invisible microbes that floated in the air, that traveled up the nose and into the mouth. So many years later, it still sounded like a fairy tale meant for children, a little world too small for the human eye to see, or like religion, in that they were asking her to believe such a thing existed without giving her a chance to look at it, hold it, understand it." p 232
Just why she thinks people are telling these lies about her and keeping her prisoner isn't clear, but she's adamant that she's never been sick and isn't making people die. The first incidents can be chalked up to ignorance and accident, but later when she actively hides her activities, decides baking is different from cooking and takes a cooking job under a false name; now it's criminal. She knows she shouldn't do it even if she doesn't believe she's causing disease.
As a person, I grew to like her. Keane does a great job of showing her pitiable circumstances without making us pity her (apart from what the Dept. of Health puts her through). The part about seeing the beautiful blue hat, deciding she deserved such a beautiful hat, saving up and buying it is very touching and makes me feel so spoiled by my modern life, education and circumstances. But Mary is not going to knuckle under. She goes her own way and doesn't bow to social convention all that much. Through lies and subterfuge she gets her first jobs as a cook because as much as she wants it to, her talent alone won't do it. After she gains a reputation as a cook work comes easily and she's able to shoulder the burden of rent, food and other necessities for both she and Alfred, her long-time boyfriend. Their story is told without the trappings of sappy romance and is presented believably. Alfred loves her, but is basically a loser; unskilled and with a tendency to drink up his paycheck. But he doesn't beat her, patronize her, cheat or otherwise treat her badly and I think he did love her even if he did succumb to the lure of another home-life with Liza. The sneaking way he left her and her son was pretty craven though. Not content with taking his own money out of the house, he took the kid's too. Low.
If one believes in Karma, he got his in the end. Severely burned in a fire, he ends his days as a junkie, hooked on morphine. By this time he and Mary have been reunited and she does her best to get his "medicine" even though there are new laws and regulations and it isn't as easy as it once was. Sad how many addicts were so innocently created.
Writing-wise, Keane is descriptive without choking sentences down to meaninglessness. Dialog seems genuine and colloquial for the time. There are a lot of introspective moments with Mary and some of them do seem to put a drag on the proceedings. There's no sense of the chase since Mary is hardly aware of the authorities on her trail until they pop up in her kitchen. All we're left with is her sense of being trapped and then she fights or flees. Or sometimes both. There is a terrific sense of community with her neighbors and Mary is quite helpful in her own quiet way. She is shy of putting herself out there, but when push comes to shove she gets things done with as little compromise of her own standards as possible. I liked that about her. Maybe in the production version of this book, Keane will share more of her research and how she built Mary's character, actions and circumstances from real sources. I think that would be very helpful to the reader in understanding what really happened.
Show Less
LibraryThing member motivatedmomma
I was lucky enough to receive this as an Early Reviewer and as I started to read the first few pages of Mary Beth Keane's Fever I quickly became absorbed into the story of Mary Mallon, aka, Typhoid Mary. The first known asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever, Mary was an Irish immigrant who came to
Keane was named one of the "5 under 35" authors t by the National Book Foundation in 2011 and this book definitely makes her an author that I will put on my reading list in the future!
Show More
the United States when she was 14 and started working as a laundress. She eventually progressed to cook and ended up working for many wealthy families. Unfortunately, many of the people she cooked for died. You can tell the author has done extensive research on Mary and definitely humanizes the woman behind the name. You feel Mary's pain and isolation when she is quarantined on the remote North Brother Island for much of her life. (check out Keane's website for some fascinating historical facts & photos) The book also gives us a wonderful depiction of the immigrant experience in New York City in the early 20th century. I think this book would make a great selection for anyone who likes historical fiction and book clubs because there is so much to discuss, particularly, should Mary have lost her freedom?Keane was named one of the "5 under 35" authors t by the National Book Foundation in 2011 and this book definitely makes her an author that I will put on my reading list in the future!
Show Less
LibraryThing member bonsam
Typhoid Mary's story told in an engrossing page turner. Mary Beth Keane's well written book on the life of Mary Mallon and the turn of the century epidemic in NY known as typhoid fever is also a story of the depth of medical knowledge of the day - alarmingly primitive it seems and the class
Show More
structure and prejudices of the times. Show Less
LibraryThing member shelleyraec
Fever is a fascinating novel that mixes historical fact and a fictional narrative to tell the tale of ‘Typhoid Mary’, the woman held responsible for several deadly outbreaks of the disease in the US around the turn of the nineteenth century.
In 1907, Mary Mallon was arrested at the direction of
There was little sympathy at the time for Mary Mallon, who caused the illness of as many as 50 persons, the death of three and likely more. Mary Beth Keane attempts to humanise Typhoid Mary in this novel and illustrate the possible thought process of the woman accused of willfully spreading deadly disease. I am familiar with only the basics of the case (see Wikipedia for an outline) so I am not sure where exactly Keane’s imagination merges with known facts but the author brings some balance to the prevailing view of the ‘evil’ woman who fought the Health Deapartment every step of the way, and later flaunted their decree she was never to cook again.
Mary does prove to be a sympathetic character in Fever, even though she has a temper and a tendency to make poor decisions. Keane focuses on the period between Mary’s arrest and her second period of exile, sharing the details of Mary’s ordinary day to day life with her common law relationship with Alfred Breihof, a feckless drunk who was often unemployed. Personally I found the chapters focusing on her relationship, or following Alfred, a distraction from Mary’s story though it does add depth to her character. Still, I was far more intrigued by Mary’s reaction to her vilification as Typhoid Mary. It’s understandable that Mary would find it difficult to believe Dr Soper’s claims that she was the cause of Typhoid outbreaks, especially given it was a common disease whose cause and mode of transmission was unknown. Accused of creating a trail of illness and death Mary fought the medical establishment, dodging the Dr Soper, refusing testing and denying her culpability. It is also clear that Mary was victimised by the Health Department which took advantage of her status to impose unreasonable demands on her. Despite several larger outbreaks being traced to other asymptomatic carriers soon after Mary’s arrest, she was the only one arrested and forcibly exiled, mainly it seems because the other identified carriers were men with family and money, who could not be as easily bullied.
Mary’s case raises interesting moral and ethical questions about public health and safety, asking for example, if the rights of one individual outweigh the safety of many. It is also a fascinating glimpse of medical knowledge and sanitation in the early 1900′s. Remarkably most of the cases of Typhoid fever could have been avoided with the simple act of hand washing.
Fever is also a vivid portrait of New York City at the turn of the century and particularly of the lifestyle of the ‘servant’ class. From streets heaped with garbage to rooms crowded with tenants, basic hygiene and sanitation was practically non existent, encouraging diseases that could have been easily eradicated.
The provocative tale of an enigmatic historical figure, Fever is a compelling read. Keane skillfully infuses historical fact with imagined personality to creating an entertaining and intriguing tale which should appeal to a wide audience.
In 1907, Mary Mallon was arrested at the direction of
Show More
the Department of Health. A forty year old, unmarried, Irish immigrant cook she stood accused of spreading Typhoid, a bacterial disease transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, among the New York households she worked for over a period of several years. Her role was identified by Dr George Soper, a health researcher who discovered that Mary was the link between outbreaks, despite the fact she remained asymptomatic. Mary felt victimised by the state who tried to force her to have surgery to remove her gallbladder (thought at the time to be the host of the disease) and when that failed exiled her to North Brother Island, a Quarantine hospital in the middle of the East River where she eventually spent over 30 years in isolation until her death in 1938.There was little sympathy at the time for Mary Mallon, who caused the illness of as many as 50 persons, the death of three and likely more. Mary Beth Keane attempts to humanise Typhoid Mary in this novel and illustrate the possible thought process of the woman accused of willfully spreading deadly disease. I am familiar with only the basics of the case (see Wikipedia for an outline) so I am not sure where exactly Keane’s imagination merges with known facts but the author brings some balance to the prevailing view of the ‘evil’ woman who fought the Health Deapartment every step of the way, and later flaunted their decree she was never to cook again.
Mary does prove to be a sympathetic character in Fever, even though she has a temper and a tendency to make poor decisions. Keane focuses on the period between Mary’s arrest and her second period of exile, sharing the details of Mary’s ordinary day to day life with her common law relationship with Alfred Breihof, a feckless drunk who was often unemployed. Personally I found the chapters focusing on her relationship, or following Alfred, a distraction from Mary’s story though it does add depth to her character. Still, I was far more intrigued by Mary’s reaction to her vilification as Typhoid Mary. It’s understandable that Mary would find it difficult to believe Dr Soper’s claims that she was the cause of Typhoid outbreaks, especially given it was a common disease whose cause and mode of transmission was unknown. Accused of creating a trail of illness and death Mary fought the medical establishment, dodging the Dr Soper, refusing testing and denying her culpability. It is also clear that Mary was victimised by the Health Department which took advantage of her status to impose unreasonable demands on her. Despite several larger outbreaks being traced to other asymptomatic carriers soon after Mary’s arrest, she was the only one arrested and forcibly exiled, mainly it seems because the other identified carriers were men with family and money, who could not be as easily bullied.
Mary’s case raises interesting moral and ethical questions about public health and safety, asking for example, if the rights of one individual outweigh the safety of many. It is also a fascinating glimpse of medical knowledge and sanitation in the early 1900′s. Remarkably most of the cases of Typhoid fever could have been avoided with the simple act of hand washing.
Fever is also a vivid portrait of New York City at the turn of the century and particularly of the lifestyle of the ‘servant’ class. From streets heaped with garbage to rooms crowded with tenants, basic hygiene and sanitation was practically non existent, encouraging diseases that could have been easily eradicated.
The provocative tale of an enigmatic historical figure, Fever is a compelling read. Keane skillfully infuses historical fact with imagined personality to creating an entertaining and intriguing tale which should appeal to a wide audience.
Show Less
LibraryThing member amandacb
I won this book for Early Reviewers and became captivated, especially when I learned the author is the same who wrote the book about Tom Thumb's wife (which I also won via ER). Keane brings to life a much-despised and much-maligned historical figure of whom many do not know, Typhoid Mary, and
Show More
fleshes out her personal history so that readers can know the person behind the history. What I learned I did not like, and Mary, to me, remained an ignorant and careless person throughout her life. The last few lines of the book, I admit, did make me cry, a rather remarkable feat for such an odious woman. Show Less
LibraryThing member alekee
Reading about Mary Mallon, you feel the injustice that was done to her. Yet, if it were my child or relative that died, I certainly would feel differently.
She was stripped of her life, literally, and put on an island in the Hudson River, North Brother Island. Left with very little contact, to the
Mary is a spunky Irish immigrant, and pulls herself up from being a laundress to an exceptional cook. She wins raves from everyone who tastes her food. It is Mary's downfall. It is her passion, and yet people she has loved die.
Mary Beth Keane has brought Mary Mallon to life, we meet the love of her life Alfred. Mary is content to live as Alfred's mistress, back in the late 1800's. That in itself had to be difficult. She was a woman before her time, living on the edge. Yet the people who loved Mary, really loved Mary, for who she was to them.
When Mary, after three years, is finally let to return to her life, she is admonished to never take a job as a cook. Her passion is taken from her! Can she ever completely give cooking up? Her reasoning says that she has cooked for so many, and none of her friends have gotten sick?
You are going to find this to be a very compelling historical read, and not going to put it down, until it is done. You will root for Mary, even though, we find her breaking the law?? What law? Don't miss this excellent story.
I received this book through the Publisher Scribner, and Net Galley, and was not required to give a positive review.
She was stripped of her life, literally, and put on an island in the Hudson River, North Brother Island. Left with very little contact, to the
Show More
outside world. How could they do that to her? Written up in the press as Germ Lady, Typhoid Mary. Yet a dairyman who also is a carrier of the germ, is allowed to stay at home. He killed over a hundred people. Yes, Mary is credited with about 20 deaths.Mary is a spunky Irish immigrant, and pulls herself up from being a laundress to an exceptional cook. She wins raves from everyone who tastes her food. It is Mary's downfall. It is her passion, and yet people she has loved die.
Mary Beth Keane has brought Mary Mallon to life, we meet the love of her life Alfred. Mary is content to live as Alfred's mistress, back in the late 1800's. That in itself had to be difficult. She was a woman before her time, living on the edge. Yet the people who loved Mary, really loved Mary, for who she was to them.
When Mary, after three years, is finally let to return to her life, she is admonished to never take a job as a cook. Her passion is taken from her! Can she ever completely give cooking up? Her reasoning says that she has cooked for so many, and none of her friends have gotten sick?
You are going to find this to be a very compelling historical read, and not going to put it down, until it is done. You will root for Mary, even though, we find her breaking the law?? What law? Don't miss this excellent story.
I received this book through the Publisher Scribner, and Net Galley, and was not required to give a positive review.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JanaRose1
Mary Mallon, a hard working Irish immigrant, found work in the kitchens of the wealthy and famous. However, everywhere she went, people contracted typhoid fever. A healthy woman, Mary didn't understand how she could be spreading the disease. The Department of Health arrested her and sent her to
This was a fascinating book. It was well written and engaging. I felt bad for Mary, who was unable to understand that she was a healthier carrier of typhoid. I also felt bad for the unwitting victims she passed the disease onto. This is an interesting slice of history, one that really shows the realities of immigration and hard work in a time where disease was misunderstood. Overall, highly recommended.
Show More
live on a consumption island. The only healthy, patient on the island, Mary fought her captures. After three years, an attorney won her freedom and she found herself signing an affidavit that she would never cook again. Slowly, she found herself cooking for friends and neighbors, until she took a job at a bakery and then a maternity hospital.This was a fascinating book. It was well written and engaging. I felt bad for Mary, who was unable to understand that she was a healthier carrier of typhoid. I also felt bad for the unwitting victims she passed the disease onto. This is an interesting slice of history, one that really shows the realities of immigration and hard work in a time where disease was misunderstood. Overall, highly recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member rosie527
So interesting! Highly recommend!
I remember vaguely hearing of 'Typhoid Mary', but never really knew her story.
Mary Beth Keane does an amazing job of combining fact and fiction, bringing Mary Mallon's story to life. I was a little nervous that the facts wouldn't be there, but they were.
I was
I had never even realized such an island existed. I researched it a bit more, after reading this book. Very interesting.
I had written some notes as I was reading, but unfortunately did not save them in time, before my access was gone from the ARC. I definetely will be purchasing this one for my bookshelf, and will be reading it again! I can always add more thoughts again later.
I remember vaguely hearing of 'Typhoid Mary', but never really knew her story.
Mary Beth Keane does an amazing job of combining fact and fiction, bringing Mary Mallon's story to life. I was a little nervous that the facts wouldn't be there, but they were.
I was
Show More
fascinated by the story of Mary Mallon. Her life on North Brother Island, in NYC, where she was quarantined until her death in 1938. I had never even realized such an island existed. I researched it a bit more, after reading this book. Very interesting.
I had written some notes as I was reading, but unfortunately did not save them in time, before my access was gone from the ARC. I definetely will be purchasing this one for my bookshelf, and will be reading it again! I can always add more thoughts again later.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JenHartling
Fever is the fictionalized account of the life of "Typhoid Mary", and what a fantastic account it is. I knew of Mary Mallon. I'd heard of "Typhoid Mary". As it turns out, all I knew of her story was her awful nickname. I had no understanding of her life or what happened to her.
Mary was arrested,
There was little understanding about the spread of disease in the early 1900's compared with what we know today. The things the doctors and health officials were saying sounded like some sort of magic to Mary Mallon. I can understood why she went back to cooking after being forbidden to do so.
"Typhoid Mary" has been painted by history as an evil woman. This book made me realize that there was much more to her story.
Fever is a sensational book about an intriguing woman. I couldn't stop reading it and I can't recommend it highly enough.
Mary was arrested,
Show More
treated like garbage, and made to live in isolation on a quarantine island. She really didn't understand what they were saying about her. She'd never been sick a day in her life. How could she be spreading a disease? There was little understanding about the spread of disease in the early 1900's compared with what we know today. The things the doctors and health officials were saying sounded like some sort of magic to Mary Mallon. I can understood why she went back to cooking after being forbidden to do so.
"Typhoid Mary" has been painted by history as an evil woman. This book made me realize that there was much more to her story.
Fever is a sensational book about an intriguing woman. I couldn't stop reading it and I can't recommend it highly enough.
Show Less
LibraryThing member lostbooks
I didn't know the history behind the woman nicknamed "Typhoid Mary" at all before reading this book. I thought the book was well written and informative while also being an entertaining read. I was shocked at the lengths the public health department of New York went to to quarantine Mary and the
Show More
terrible way she was treated throughout her life. A good read, in my opinion. Show Less
LibraryThing member cinnamonowl
Historical fiction, without a doubt, can bring history to life, erases the dull facts and fleshes out a story in a way that makes you keep reading, and when you finish that book, seek out more information. Fever by Mary Beth Keane tells the story of "Typhoid Mary" Mary Mallon in a way that the
Before reading this book, I was not familiar with the facts of Mary Mallon's life. I knew only of her notoriety as a pariah, and have even described myself as "Typhoid Mary" when I had the flu last winter. I wasn't sure what that meant, only that this woman was accused of killing people with her cooking, spreading her typhoid about recklessly.
Mary Mallon immigrated to the United States from Ireland as a young girl. Always talented in the kitchen, she soon moved up from laundress to cook. And unknowingly, left in her wake sickness, disease, and death. Mary was a proud woman, keeping her appearance neat and clean, confident of her abilities, sure of her talents. She was healthy and strong, slim and attractive. Then one day her turned upside down. Dragged from her world, literally. Taken by force by doctors who said her crime was spreading fever from her kitchens. How could it be her? She was healthy, never sick, could run up and down stairs and lift heavy pots from the stove without a problem, so how could she be causing illness? The doctors explained about germs, but this all seemed like magic to Mary.
They took her away, held her in isolation against her will, without even a trial or a lawyer.Without Mary being able to tell her friends and loved ones where she was going. She was just gone. They said they couldn't let her go, that she was a menace to the health and well being of society as a healthy carrier of typhoid. It was barbaric and an abuse of power. She was the first healthy carrier found, but she wasn't the last or the only one. But only Mary was not able to be free. Could it have been that she was a woman, Irish, a member of domestic service, and living with a man without the benefits of marriage that she was the only one to suffer this way? I think so. They built her a little cottage on North Brother Island, with a cot and an area to make tea, but she was not allowed to cook for herself or for others, especially for others. She had to provide stool and urine samples weekly. She was not allowed to contact anyone.
Keane's portrayal of Mary's suffering dignity, loneliness, humiliation, and confusion at what was happening was heartbreaking and dramatic. I could easily imagine what it would have been like in Mary's shoes. How scary it would have been. Yet she also describes Mary as intelligent, strong willed and determined to get off that island, taking matters into her own hands. She found a lawyer, paid for her own testing. Eventually she was allowed to leave the island, but on the condition that she never cooked again. You can imagine though, how at that time, being unable to use your most profitable skill would be frustrating. After working as a laundress, Mary found work as a cook again. This time at a hospital. And wouldn't you know it, a few weeks after she began, people started getting sick.
I couldn't put this book down. I was drawn into the story very easily, from the very first page. Keane's depiction of Mary Mallon made we want to read this book, and want to read more about her, the infamous Typhoid Mary. You will never think about her the same way again, after reading this book.
Show More
reader is enthralled with the tale of this poor woman. It is sympathetic and sensitive, and you will never think about Typhoid Mary the same way again.Before reading this book, I was not familiar with the facts of Mary Mallon's life. I knew only of her notoriety as a pariah, and have even described myself as "Typhoid Mary" when I had the flu last winter. I wasn't sure what that meant, only that this woman was accused of killing people with her cooking, spreading her typhoid about recklessly.
Mary Mallon immigrated to the United States from Ireland as a young girl. Always talented in the kitchen, she soon moved up from laundress to cook. And unknowingly, left in her wake sickness, disease, and death. Mary was a proud woman, keeping her appearance neat and clean, confident of her abilities, sure of her talents. She was healthy and strong, slim and attractive. Then one day her turned upside down. Dragged from her world, literally. Taken by force by doctors who said her crime was spreading fever from her kitchens. How could it be her? She was healthy, never sick, could run up and down stairs and lift heavy pots from the stove without a problem, so how could she be causing illness? The doctors explained about germs, but this all seemed like magic to Mary.
They took her away, held her in isolation against her will, without even a trial or a lawyer.Without Mary being able to tell her friends and loved ones where she was going. She was just gone. They said they couldn't let her go, that she was a menace to the health and well being of society as a healthy carrier of typhoid. It was barbaric and an abuse of power. She was the first healthy carrier found, but she wasn't the last or the only one. But only Mary was not able to be free. Could it have been that she was a woman, Irish, a member of domestic service, and living with a man without the benefits of marriage that she was the only one to suffer this way? I think so. They built her a little cottage on North Brother Island, with a cot and an area to make tea, but she was not allowed to cook for herself or for others, especially for others. She had to provide stool and urine samples weekly. She was not allowed to contact anyone.
Keane's portrayal of Mary's suffering dignity, loneliness, humiliation, and confusion at what was happening was heartbreaking and dramatic. I could easily imagine what it would have been like in Mary's shoes. How scary it would have been. Yet she also describes Mary as intelligent, strong willed and determined to get off that island, taking matters into her own hands. She found a lawyer, paid for her own testing. Eventually she was allowed to leave the island, but on the condition that she never cooked again. You can imagine though, how at that time, being unable to use your most profitable skill would be frustrating. After working as a laundress, Mary found work as a cook again. This time at a hospital. And wouldn't you know it, a few weeks after she began, people started getting sick.
I couldn't put this book down. I was drawn into the story very easily, from the very first page. Keane's depiction of Mary Mallon made we want to read this book, and want to read more about her, the infamous Typhoid Mary. You will never think about her the same way again, after reading this book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bookchickdi
March is Women's History Month and St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17th, and Mary Beth Keane's novel Fever, a fictional story about the infamous Typhoid Mary, an Irish immigrant who was blamed for the deaths of over twenty people from typhoid in New York City in the early years of the
Keane did a great deal of research on Mary Mallon, an Irish immigrant who became a cook for wealthy families in New York City. Her website contains an amazing time line of events with photos and information about the real Mary Mallon.
Mary is an intriguing woman; she lives with, but does not marry, Alfred Briehof, a German immigrant with a drinking problem. Mary and Alfred love each other deeply, but Alfred's drinking and inability to hold a job creates friction in their relationship.
When several members of a family whom Mary cooks for die from typhoid fever, Dr. George Soper investigates and is determined to find Mary, whom he believes may be a carrier of the disease even though she exhibits no symptoms of typhoid herself. He finds Mary working for another family, and she is detained in an exciting passage of the novel.
Mary ends up quarantined on North Brother Island, where she is forced to live alone, even though she herself is not ill. The isolation wears greatly on her, and she despises Dr. Soper. Her only friend is a male gardener who brings her meals and newspapers, and has a bit of a crush on her.
But Mary misses her old life, and especially Alfred. She wonders how he is doing, who is caring for him and if she will ever be able to leave the island. She finds a lawyer willing to represent her and he works to get Mary released, all while Mary becomes tabloid headlines.
This is a fascinating novel, mostly because Mary is a remarkable character. She is tough, imposing and independent and her unconventional life with Alfred and her manner made her suspect in many people's eyes.
"If she had been the type of woman who saved her money, or gave it to someone who needed it more, a neighbor with children, perhaps, or the church, if she'd been a married woman who handed every dollar over to her husband, or better yet a married woman who didn't have earnings because she was taken up with the care of her own home, she'd never be in the situation she was in. She couldn't prove it, but it was the truth nonetheless."
The best historical fiction immerses the reader into a different place and time, and Fever does just that. You can see, smell, hear and taste New York City at the turn of the century. You get such a feel for immigrant life, and if you enjoy food, the descriptions of Mary's cooking will indulge your senses.
"Back in her own silent kitchen, she cleared off the cluttered table and used it to prep. She filled the pot with water. She rubbed the small pork tenderloin she'd purchased half-price with plenty of salt and pepper, a bit of nutmeg she grated, a pinch of cinnamon, a dash of sugar, a teaspoon's worth of onion powder she measured with cupped hand."
Mary Mallon's story is so compelling and Keane tells it beautifully. It's the perfect novel to kick off Women's History Month.
Show More
twentieth century is a perfect read for both.Keane did a great deal of research on Mary Mallon, an Irish immigrant who became a cook for wealthy families in New York City. Her website contains an amazing time line of events with photos and information about the real Mary Mallon.
Mary is an intriguing woman; she lives with, but does not marry, Alfred Briehof, a German immigrant with a drinking problem. Mary and Alfred love each other deeply, but Alfred's drinking and inability to hold a job creates friction in their relationship.
When several members of a family whom Mary cooks for die from typhoid fever, Dr. George Soper investigates and is determined to find Mary, whom he believes may be a carrier of the disease even though she exhibits no symptoms of typhoid herself. He finds Mary working for another family, and she is detained in an exciting passage of the novel.
Mary ends up quarantined on North Brother Island, where she is forced to live alone, even though she herself is not ill. The isolation wears greatly on her, and she despises Dr. Soper. Her only friend is a male gardener who brings her meals and newspapers, and has a bit of a crush on her.
But Mary misses her old life, and especially Alfred. She wonders how he is doing, who is caring for him and if she will ever be able to leave the island. She finds a lawyer willing to represent her and he works to get Mary released, all while Mary becomes tabloid headlines.
This is a fascinating novel, mostly because Mary is a remarkable character. She is tough, imposing and independent and her unconventional life with Alfred and her manner made her suspect in many people's eyes.
"If she had been the type of woman who saved her money, or gave it to someone who needed it more, a neighbor with children, perhaps, or the church, if she'd been a married woman who handed every dollar over to her husband, or better yet a married woman who didn't have earnings because she was taken up with the care of her own home, she'd never be in the situation she was in. She couldn't prove it, but it was the truth nonetheless."
The best historical fiction immerses the reader into a different place and time, and Fever does just that. You can see, smell, hear and taste New York City at the turn of the century. You get such a feel for immigrant life, and if you enjoy food, the descriptions of Mary's cooking will indulge your senses.
"Back in her own silent kitchen, she cleared off the cluttered table and used it to prep. She filled the pot with water. She rubbed the small pork tenderloin she'd purchased half-price with plenty of salt and pepper, a bit of nutmeg she grated, a pinch of cinnamon, a dash of sugar, a teaspoon's worth of onion powder she measured with cupped hand."
Mary Mallon's story is so compelling and Keane tells it beautifully. It's the perfect novel to kick off Women's History Month.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mom2acat
This novel is based on the life of Mary Mallon, better known as "Typhoid Mary", presumed to have infected around 50 people, 3 of whom died, over the course of her career as a cook in the early 1900's.
Mary emigrated from Ireland at the age of 15, to New York City to live with a great aunt. She
The Department of Health sent her to North Brother Island, to be kept in isolation. After 3 years, she was released on the condition that she never work as a cook again. But Mary was proud of her former status, and passionate about cooking, and defied the edict.
This was a fascinating read, and the author did an excellent job of blending fact and fiction. Just keep in mind if you are reading it for a history lesson, it is a work of fiction; the author can only guess at Mary's motives for doing what she did. Mary is portrayed as sympathetic, but by not as a heroine. While reading this story, I could understand why Mary made the choices she did, without excusing her for them.
I think this would be a great book for a book club, there is a lot of material that would make for great discussions, especially Mary's civil rights vs. protecting the public from a contagious disease.
Mary emigrated from Ireland at the age of 15, to New York City to live with a great aunt. She
Show More
dreamed of being cooked, and she fought and climbed her way up from the lowest rung of the domestic service ladder. She eventually worked her way into the kitchen, and discovered she had a true talent as a chef. She felt she had achieved her dreams, until a medical investigator discovered she left a trail of disease wherever she cooked, and identified her as an asymptomatic carrier of Typhoid Fever, and Mary became a hunted woman.The Department of Health sent her to North Brother Island, to be kept in isolation. After 3 years, she was released on the condition that she never work as a cook again. But Mary was proud of her former status, and passionate about cooking, and defied the edict.
This was a fascinating read, and the author did an excellent job of blending fact and fiction. Just keep in mind if you are reading it for a history lesson, it is a work of fiction; the author can only guess at Mary's motives for doing what she did. Mary is portrayed as sympathetic, but by not as a heroine. While reading this story, I could understand why Mary made the choices she did, without excusing her for them.
I think this would be a great book for a book club, there is a lot of material that would make for great discussions, especially Mary's civil rights vs. protecting the public from a contagious disease.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
Ms. Keane puts a face and a story to the notorious "Typhoid Mary" in this historical novel. I found myself by turns admiring Mary and feeling frustrated both at her and for her. The picture of the early 1900's in New York City was interesting - how things were changing, how science was illuminating
Show More
things that before had been a mystery. Above all, this novel brought Mary alive and gave her story context. Show Less
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2015)
NPR: Books We Love (2013)
San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year (Fiction/Poetry — 2013)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2013
Physical description
7.76 inches
ISBN
9781471112980
Other editions
Fever by Mary Beth Keane (Paperback)