Not completed
Title of Book: Fever 1793
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Major Characters
Fiction
Level 870L 113 pages
Summary
Minor
Characters
Grandpa
Eliza
Mattie Cook
Polly (serving girl)
Mrs. Cook
Chapter
Key
Vocabulary
Summary
Questions
Chapter
Key
Vocabulary
Summary
Setting
Mattie lives in a room
above the family
coffeehouse; The Cook
Coffeehouse. It is August
and the relentless heat
pours into the modest
bedchamber.
During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed
mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the
family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out.
Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie's world upside
down. At her feverish mother's insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she
soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive
in a city turned frantic with disease.
1 & 2 pg.1-13
rouse pg. 1
sloped
teemed pg.4
dispose
victuals
frayed
abhorred pg.3
anvil
lecture pg.5
fond
wretched pg.2
dawdling
wharves
enormous
sorrow pg.9
droned
corpse
vowed
amusing pg.8
inquire pg.10
Fever 1793 tells the story of Mattie Cook, a young girl who comes of age in Philadelphia during a tumultuous period of epidemic. Mattie is a girl who lives
with her mother in a coffeehouse operated by the family. Mattie Cook tries to sleep in but is awakened by her mother's insistent shouts. Mattie is informed
that Polly, the working girl, has not reported for work at the Cook Coffeehouse and Mattie is therefore expected to step in and perform Polly's daily work. She
goes downstairs to the kitchen and eats a fast breakfast provided by Eliza, the coffeehouse cook. After breakfast, Mattie begins to work by watering the
garden, a task that Polly, the scullery girl, would normally do. Mrs. Cook goes in search of Polly. After an hour or so Mattie has finished drawing well water
and pouring it over the plants. Her mother returns and delivers shocking news - Polly is dead.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Would you describe the cook household as clean? Why or why not?
Is the ceiling actually lower in Mattie’s room, and have her clothes shrunken?
Describe Mattie’s feelings about Eliza.
After mother left to look for Grandfather and Polly, what happened? How do you think that this event will affect the Cook
family?
3 & 4 pg.14-24
cradle pg.14
peckish
delectables
filly
refugees
donned pg.22
robust pg.15
protested
stout pg.19
bifocals
colleague
conceded
peculiar
horrid pg.16
instill
miasma
bilious
shift
awkward
yarn pg. 18
export
noxious pg.20 balderdash pg.21
perspiration
Mattie remembers details about Polly - the two girls had grown up together and were fast friends. Mattie is devastated by Polly's unexpected death. Mattie's
mother explains that Polly died of an undiagnosed fever, and she ensures that Mattie is not ill. Mattie wants to visit Polly's house and attend her funeral, but
Mrs. Cook forbids it. Mattie believes her mother's fear of fever-contagion is ridiculous but abides by her mother's wishes.
During the afternoon, the coffeehouse crowd is abuzz with talk of fever. Various wild theories are put forward accounting for the origin and effects of fever.
Mattie's grandfather and a few regulars doubt that any fever is spreading in the city, and instead tease Mattie about finding a husband. The talk then turns to
politics and further discussion of fever is abandoned. The day concludes and, as the last guests leave for the evening, Mattie helps her mother clean the
coffeehouse.
Questions
Chapter
Key
Vocabulary
Summary
Questions
Chapter
Key
Vocabulary
Summary
Questions
1. Describe Mrs. Cook’s reaction when Eliza suggests taking food to Polly’s family. Why do you think that Mrs. Cook
reacts that way?
2. Compare Mrs. Cook to a character that you have read about in another book this year. How are these two characters the
same? How are they different? Explain.
3. Grandfather Cook and his friends are having a conversation when Mattie brings them gingerbread. What is the
conversation about?
4. What is Mattie’s relationship with her mother like? Explain and give proof from the story.
5 & 6 pg.24-45
mourn pg.24
fervent
wisdom pg.26
larder
accommodate
imp
pleurisy
loitering pg.27
solemnly pg.28
solemnly pg.29
wrung
drought
wrung
outrageous
assailant pg.30
suitable
scoundrel
disgrace
trough pg.31
impudence
demure pg.32
reckon
pummeled pg.33
mangle pg.34
crept pg.35
intent pg.36
horde pg.37
expansion pg.38
venture
sensible pg.41
detest pg.42
rile pg.43
vulgar pg.44
1. What items are being sold in the market?
2. A German farmer named Mrs. Epler explained what she believed caused the fever. Could this be true? Why, or why
not?
3. Characterize Mattie's grandfather. How did he support Mattie when Mrs. Cook did not want Mattie to go to the market?
4. Describe Mattie’s choices in boys. Which boy do you think would make her a good partner to run the coffee house?
Why?
7 & 8 pg. 46-62
haste pg.47
damask
tiresome pg.48
prohibits pg.49
implore
recounted
amidst pg.50
hovels pg.51
amuse
secure pg.52
filthy pg.53
tolled pg.54
cease
plumes pg.55
fronds
gumption pg.56
miasma pg.57
squall
fatigue pg.58
almshouse pg.59
epidemic
ponder
exaggerate g.60
dwindles
retire
respite
pestilence
vehement pg.61
1. Why is Mattie’s mother always talking about her childhood? How does Mrs. Cook feel about her life then, compared to her
life now?
2. Describe Mattie’s feelings about having tea at the Ogilvie’s house.
3. What kind of a person is Mrs. Ogilvie?
4. Why does Laurie Halse Anderson (the author) make a point of telling the reader that, “the church bells of Philadelphia
tolled without cease”? What has happened in the story?
5. If an almshouse is a house where the poor people live, why won’t the almshouse take care of sick poor people? Where are
the sick poor people to go? Why can’t they get treated by a doctor?
6. Why do you think Mattie’s mother was carried to the coffeehouse by a poor man wearing rags?
Chapter
Key
Vocabulary
Summary
Questions
Chapter
Key
Vocabulary
Summary
Questions
9 & 10 pg. 63-77
dumbly pg.63
overcome
scold pg.64
urn
quarrelsome
fractious
prescribes
curtsied pg.65
vast
immodest
congregation
benediction
pestilence pg.66
assure
remedies
myrrh
linen pg.67
taut
“roped with muscle
and veins” pg.68
release
waltzed
deliverance
“violently ill”
recoiled pg.69
fumbled
autumnal pg.71
occupation
lancet pg.72
roused
peril pg.73
lass pg.74
filthy
grim
cajoling
parcel pg.75
collapse
triumphantly pg.76
valise
regimental pg.77
hoisting
1. Is Mattie right to distrust Mr. Rowley? What clues does the author give you about what type of healer Mr. Rowley might
be? pg.65-67
2. What do you think the purpose is for Lucille to be bathed every few hours? When you’re sick, do you bathe every few
hours? Why or why not?
3. The author describes Lucille’s eyes as, “…poisoned with streaks of yellow and red”. Look at your book cover. Is the
author giving us a clue as to Mattie’s mothers’ illness? pg. 67 & book cover
4. Compare Mattie to other young characters that you have read in other books. How does Mattie’s courage, being the only
person to care for her sick mother, make her different from other characters?
5. Why do you think that doctors would “bleed” their patients? How might losing blood help a patient get well?
http://www.pocanticohills.org/tradesmen/doctor.htm
http://carmichael.lib.virginia.edu/story/tools.html
6. Do you think that it’s a good idea for Mattie to leave her mother in Eliza’s care? Why or why not?
11, 12, 13 pg. 78-95
rutted pg.78
propose pg.79
indulgence
captive
thunk pg.80
odiferous
traces pg.81
grippe pg.82
commotion
haste pg.83
snare pg.85
recuperate pg.86
cherub
skirmish
brambles pg.89
porridge
improvised pg.91
scoured pg.92
flint
tinder
defeat pg.93
crocheting
abide pg.94
anvils
monstrous pg.95
1. Mattie’s grandfather is acting very light-hearted as they leave the coffeehouse. Why is he acting this way?
2. Town’s are being cautious letting people into them who may have fever. Compare this caution to a time in another book
you have read when characters did something to stay safe.
3. How does Grandfather compare fighting the yellow fever and fighting a war?
4. Is Mattie correct when she guesses that her mother would have preferred having a son instead of having Mattie? What do
you think?
5. Describe Mattie’s plan to catch a fish. Was she successful?
6. How do the people at the farm Mattie walks to treat her? Are they right to refuse to help her? Why or why not?
Chapter
Key
Vocabulary
Summary
Questions
Chapter
Key
Vocabulary
Summary
Questions
14, 15 pg.96-112
scabbard pg.97
substance pg.98
chandelier
enormous
exaggerated pg.100
gracious
nourishing
melodious
ward pg. 102
importer
slovenly
purges pg.103
unreliable pg.104
destitute pg. 106
famished pg.107
orderly pg.109
immoral pg.110
kin pg.111
snippet
impudence
expire pg.112
1. Have you ever dreamed a dream about someone you love doing something that they wouldn’t do? Why might Mattie have
dreamt that her Grandfather’s troops shot her?
2. Where you worried for Mattie? What do you think of Grandfather? Have you ever had to help someone like Grandfather
helped Mattie, when you knew how hard it would be?
3. How does Dr. Girard’s medical care compare to the doctor who cared for Mattie’s mother? pg.103
4. How did yellow fever bring out the best and worst in people? pg. 105 & 106
5. Describe the mood of the orphan children as Mattie and her Grandfather rode back to the coffeehouse.
6. Describe the sights Mattie sees as they drive through Philadelphia.
16 & 17 pg. 113-129
vacantly pg.114
inclined pg.115
disrepair pg.116
placid
abates
scullery
overshot pg.118
exhausted pg.119
trenches pg.120
oaken
shepherding
jumble pg.122
pewter
crocks pg.123
overturned
fret
stays
lingered
salvage pg.124
glazed pg.125
invalid
clever pg.126
recuperate
saluted pg.127
skeptically
gracious
devoured
varmints pg.128
withered
banquet
enforce
1. On page 114, children in the wagon in which Mattie and her Grandfather rode were described as starring, “vacantly ahead”. What does
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
vacant mean in this context? Why might orphan children’s eyes be vacant?
Susannah is a girl whom Mattie meets while riding in the wagon. Describe Susannah’s future; is it full of hope, or full of despair?
A young man is thrown into the street by his family on page 118. Compare that family’s actions to the actions of another group of
people from another book which you read in Guided Reading this year.
How does Grandfather feel when he views the coffeehouse on page 123? What proof can you offer to support your answer?
Why would Mattie describe the clothes in the clothespress as looking as if, “…Mother had set them there a moment ago”. Obviously,
Mattie’s mom had NOT set them there a moment ago. Why would Mattie describe them in such a way?
Read page 127. What evidence can you find that Mattie is growing up, or becoming more mature than she was at the beginning of the
story?
Chapter
Key
Vocabulary
Summary
Questions
Chapter
Key
Vocabulary
Summary
Questions
18 & 19 pg. 130-149
filth pg. 130
boast
unburdened pg.131
disapproval
sprite
assured
bodice pg. 132
encrusted
dote pg.133
mumbled
crockery
urchin pg.134
grimly
ragged
convince
needy
venturing pg.135
blustered
ache pg.136
collapse
parsnips pg.138
mincemeat
pewter pg.139
trifling pg.140
figurine
simmered
smudged pg.141
relieved
relent pg.142
brandish
colliding
fumbled
latch
“haint” pg. 143
convinced
wench pg.144
rang
sprawling pg.145
fluttered
bonds pg.146
quivered
scuttled
mutely pg.147
curbed
dignity pg.148
padded
eternal pg.149
1. Why would Mattie want to boast at the beginning of chapter 18? What would she boast about?
2. What is Mattie thinking about when she’s in the garden, on page 131? What do you think about her thoughts?
3. Why do you suppose that Mattie was so dirty that she needed so badly to bathe?
4. Why do you suppose that Mattie and Grandfather share their bathwater?
5. If you were Mattie, and you awoke to the sound of strange voices in the room, what would you do?
6. Why does Mattie compare the hands of the thief to an animal? How was Mattie feeling when she was discovered?
7. Describe the last conversation that Mattie had with Grandfather. How was the conversation important to the story?
20, 21, 22 pg.177
hoarse pg.150
peered
whirled pg.151
clenched
companion
hem
dash
manage pg.152
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
heaved
casket
methodically
canvas
shroud
erupted
spiteful pg.153
interfering
sniveling
consulting
toppled
protesting
regiment
frequent pg.154
shepherd
proclaiming
acquainted pg.155
shift
bearings
abandoned
investigate pg.156
scoundrels
prowled
tethered
hesitated pg.157
trouser
physician
grimy
jumble pg.158
exorbitant
thrive
pestilence
suspicion pg.159
apprentice
blot pg.160
sodden pg.161
spineless
satchel
cowered
keening
relish pg.163
hoisted pg.164
taunts
vicious
outrage pg.165
wraith pg.166
coverlet
gnawing pg.167
apothecary
companion pg.170
hesitated
cooper pg.171
mourn
disentangle
mimic pg.172
mahogany
Why would Mattie believe that she had had a nightmare when she woke at the beginning of chapter 20?
Mattie describes the fact that she cannot “hide from death” on page 151. What does she mean?
Are the men who bury bodies being disrespectful with Grandfather’s body, or realistic?
Who’s voice is Mattie hearing on page 153? Why is the voice spiteful?
In your opinion, should Mr. Brown continue publishing his paper, or should he leave Philadelphia?
Was it reasonable for Mattie to think of death right before she found Nell? What do you believe happens to you after you
pass away?
7. What is Mattie’s plan when she finds Nell? What does Mattie mean to do with Nell?
8. Nell had only just met Mattie. What actions did Nell take that showed that she trusted Mattie?
9. How did the Free Africa Society show their compassion for citizens of Philadelphia?
Chapter
Key
Vocabulary
Summary
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Chapter
Key
Vocabulary
Summary
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Chapter
Key
Vocabulary
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Chapter
Key
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Questions
23, 24 pg. 178-199
chamber pg.178
courtyard
cackled
enchanted pg.179
trundled
protest
cruel pg.180
weary pg.181
improper
scuffed pg.182
avoid
content pg.183
forbidding
unfortunate
harried pg.185
disastrous pg.186
eloped
tantrum
gracious pg.187
spiteful
knack pg.188
epidemic pg.189
prohibited pg.190
sorrowful pg.192
despaired pg.193
apothecary pg.194
casks
decent
abandoned pg.195
gilt
revive
obligation pg.196
seamstress
anguish pg.198
1. Describe Mother Smith? What other character does Mattie feel Mother Smith is like? Why?
2. Which character do you agree with? Mother Smith says that Mattie should take Nell to the orphan house, but Mattie thinks
that she should keep Nell for a few days. Who is right? Why?
3. On page 185 Eliza assures Mattie by saying, “We are all better off together”. Is Eliza comforting Mattie, or does Eliza
truly believe what she told Mattie?
4. How does Eliza stay positive when so many rumors are being told? What does Eliza concentrate on?
5. What do you feel as you read of the children’s sickness on pages 198 through 203?
25, 26 pg. 200-218
narrow pg.200
jostled
withered pg.201
intruder pg.202
piercing
hauled pg.204
hastily
dwindling
dosed
purge
ominous
penetrated
frail
sputtering pg.205
doubt pg.206
poultice
confines pg.207
burlap pg.209
sluggish pg.210
fetid
fatigue pg. 211
notion
rapscallions pg.213
eavesdropping
generous pg.215
cello pg.216
specimens pg.217
arsenic
1. What do you feel as you read of the children’s sickness on pages 198 through 207? What makes caring for the children so
difficult?
2. Why is it so difficult for Mattie to bring up the bucket from the well on page 206 & 207?
3. Explain how frost signals the end of the fever.
4. On page 215 and 216, Mattie thinks about her future. Describe her thoughts and explain why they are important to the story?
5. Do you think that Mattie can forget what happened and move on with her life? Why or why not?
1.
1.
Chapter
Key
Vocabulary
Summary
Questions
1.
1. Characterize Mattie. How does she grow and change during the story? What characteristics enable her to survive her illness and traumas?
2. Describe Luanda, Mattie's mother. What makes this character important? Why?
What events in Lucinda's past contribute to making her the adult she is?
3. Characterize Eliza. What role does she play in developing Mattie's character?
4. Characterize Mattie's grandfather. How did he support Mattie? Why is his character essential in Mattie's maturation?
5. Mattie befriends Nathaniel Benson.
Describe Nathaniel's importance. How is the relationship between Matti and Nathaniel different from comparable ones in the early twenty-first
century?
6. List the attitudes of the Federalist Era in Philadelphia in 1793. What kinds of heroic acts, and by whom, helped the people overcome their fears?
7. What important part did Nell play as Mattie's companion?
8. Compare and contrast life in Philadelphia before and after the fever of 1793.
What positive changes arose from this experience?
9. Animals frequently play a significant part in our lives. What role does Mattie's cat, Silas, play in the story? What does he contribute to the story?
10. List the literary techniques that Anderson employs in Fever 1793. How do they contribute to the novel's effectiveness?