"Fever" by Mary Beth Keane
This
was a compelling well written book about Typhoid
Mary the first known
asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever written in the form of a novel.
I am sure it is based on a lot of research and the actual facts about
this unfortunate Irish immigrant. The author gives a great picture of
Mary and brings her trials and difficulties to life .
Mary
comes to New York as a young girl in early 1900 and eventually
becomes a great cook working in very upscale houses. She leaves
behind a trail of disease and death wherever she goes without
knowing she is doing so. When confronted with this by the public
health authorities Mary will not accept the truth and is taken by the
pubic health authorities and placed on North Brother
Island in the middle of the East River in New York. She is kept there
for over 2 decades all the time fighting for her just rights. On the
island there is a hospital that treats all kinds of contageous
diseases. She is given her own cottage to live in but all she wants
to do is to get back to her own life and to cook. This she is
forbidden to do.
The
book is great to read although I felt lots of sympathy for Mary but it gives a
good social commentary of those times.
Shiortly
after reading the book I saw this site
http://imgur.com/gallery/J7sv8/new
which featured North Brother Island which had been abandoned for
years and is a now a bird sanctuary. You can see a photo on the site
of Mary's cottage.
Just read about Typhoid fever, never thought about it before, Poor Mary but what could the health folk do?
ReplyDeleteScary stuff, especially that those spreading the decease are not aware of it!
John