Fever
A Novel
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Table of Contents
About The Book
Mary Beth Keane 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.
Reading Group Guide
Introduction
Mary Mallon was a brave, headstrong Irish immigrant who journeyed alone to America. She began as a laundress, but with an innate talent for cooking, Mary ascended the domestic service ladder and worked as a cook for upper-class families. Unbeknownst to Mary, she left a trail of Typhoid fever and death in her wake. One “medical engineer,” proposing a new theory of “asymptomatic carriers,” traced the fever back to the woman we now know as “Typhoid Mary.” To prevent Mary from further spreading the disease, the New York Department of Health isolated her on North Brother Island for three years. A condition of her release was that she would never cook professionally again. But Mary’s passion for cooking, combined with the meager alternatives available to her, propelled her to defy the edict. In Fever, Mary Beth Keane brings early twentieth century New York City alive—the neighborhoods, the bars, the mansions, the factories, the rising skyscrapers and the perils of city life. Keane’s retelling of Typhoid Mary’s life transforms a tabloid interest into a complex and unforgettable character.
Topics & Questions for Discussion
1. The story of Mary Mallon exemplifies a conflict between personal liberty and public health. Examine both sides of this conflict, discuss whether you think Mary’s case was handled well, and consider how it would have been dealt with today.
2. In early twentieth century New York, class and background dictated a person’s prospects. Find moments in the text when people discriminated against Mary as a poor Irish woman. How does Mary handle these situations? Are there any instances when Mary uses her identity to an advantage?
3. Mary and Alfred live together as an unmarried couple. Many people felt these circumstances were inappropriate, and the issue arises repeatedly. Are there any consequences to their situation? Would things have turned out differently had Alfred proposed to Mary?
4. The vibrant image of Mary’s hat, “cobalt blue with silk flowers and berries cascading around the brim” (p. 63) stays with her during her exile on North Brother and into the future. What does the hat symbolize for Mary? Consider when Mary encounters Mrs. Bowen wearing the exact same hat; Mrs. Bowen maintains that her hat is “similar, Mary, not identical. But I see what you mean.” (p.67) Why does Mrs. Bowen deny that she has the same hat as her cook?
5. Alfred constantly moves between various odd jobs in the city and in Minnesota, while Mary seems to have few choices: cooking (or baking), laundry, and factory work. Discuss how gender affects the characters’ options during this time. Consider Alfred and Mary, as well as the others in their building (Mila Boriello, Fran Mosely, Joan Graves, Jimmy Tiernan), Liza Meaney, and John Cane.
6. The media, particularly the newspapers, play a significant role in Mary’s story. Reread the article printed at the beginning of the novel. (p. 14) How do reporters influence the outcome of Mary’s trial?
7. Compare Mary’s situation to the case of the dairy farmer upstate. Why and how were they handled differently?
8. Mary has a justified distrust of doctors and others in the medical profession, especially after learning that the gall bladder surgery so emphatically pushed on her would have been completely futile. Later, when the doctors try to explain the way germs and disease spread, to Mary it “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) Consider the portrayal of the medical profession throughout the story. Compare Mary’s experiences with doctors to Alfred’s after his injuries. How do the doctors mislead Alfred?
9. Mary is an extremely headstrong and stubborn character. Yet, when Alfred refuses to taper off his medicine at the reduction clinic, Mary does not protest at all. Why does Mary let Alfred descend so far into addiction?
10. After her first release from North Brother, Mary abides by her promise not to cook. But as time passes she eventually is drawn back to the profession: first at the bakery, and then at the hospital. How does she justify her decisions, despite the risk to others? Do you think she believes she is responsible for passing Typhoid through her cooking? Why or why not? At what point does she give in to the reality of her predicament?
11. The story is split into three sections: ‘Habeas Corpus’, ‘Liberty’ and ‘His Banner Over Me Is Love. Discuss what each part-title illustrates about the events that happen within the section.
142 Why do you think the Epilogue comes from Mary’s own voice, in the first person? How does this shift affect your reading of the final pages of the story? Do you gain any further insight into Mary’s character from these pages?
Enhance Your Book Club
1. Alfred uses the Oppenheimer cure to conquer his alcoholism. Research and discuss this method: What exactly does it entail? When did it become popular? What were the success rates? Were there other ‘cures’ prevalent during this time?
2. Find an article about the real Mary Mallon. How does your reading fit into Mary Beth Keane’s fictional version of Typhoid Mary?
3. Mary Mallon was one of the first healthy carriers to be discovered, but subsequently many more were identified. Research and share your findings on healthy carriers of disease. How did the government handle similar individuals in the future?
About The Author
Mary Beth Keane attended Barnard College and the University of Virginia, where she received an MFA. She was awarded a John S. Guggenheim fellowship for fiction writing, and has received citations from the National Book Foundation, PEN America, and the Hemingway Society. She is the author of The Walking People, Fever, and Ask Again, Yes—a New York Times bestseller and a Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Summer Reads Pick. Ask Again, Yes has been sold in twenty-two languages. She lives in New York with her family.
Product Details
- Publisher: Scribner (March 18, 2014)
- Length: 352 pages
- ISBN13: 9781451693423
Raves and Reviews
“Gripping… a richly sympathetic and provocative portrait of the very real person behind the pariah.” —Caroline Leavitt, The San Francisco Chronicle
“Wholly absorbing, deeply moving... Mallon emerges as a woman of fierce intelligence and wrongheaded conviction… a novel that thrums with life.” —Kate Tuttle, The Boston Globe
“In Keane’s assured hands, Mary Mallon becomes a sympathetic, complex and even inspiring character… a compelling read.” —O, the Oprah magazine
“Keane is a talented storyteller, her style plain and steady, not unlike Mary’s demeanor. What’s most remarkable about this novel is its brilliantly visceral vision of everyday life in early-1900s New York City, a rich and detailed working-class backdrop.” —Don Oldenburg, USA Today
“A tender, detailed portrayal of willed ignorance collapsing in the face of truth.” —Patrick McGrath, The New York Times Book Review
“In this compelling historical novel, the infamous Typhoid Mary is given great depth and humanity by the gifted Keane.” —Joanne Wilkinson, Booklist (starred review)
“Keane’s Mallon is a fiercely independent woman grappling with work, love, pride and guilt… turns a maligned figure of legend into a perplexing, compelling survivor.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Fever manages to rescue a demonized woman from history and humanize her brilliantly. Mary Beth Keane brings to light a moving love story behind the headlines, and she carries the reader forward with such efficiency, you will hardly notice how graceful are her sentences and how entwined you have become with this fascinating, heart-breaking story.” —Billy Collins
“Fever is a gripping, morally provocative story of love and survival that will take you by surprise at every turn. It is also a radiant portrait of a uniquely indomitable woman and of a uniquely tumultuous time in the history of our country.” —Julia Glass
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Fever Trade Paperback 9781451693423
- Author Photo (jpg): Mary Beth Keane Photograph by Martin Hickey(0.1 MB)
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