Introduction

An eloquent and dramatic portrait of a city plagued by mysterious pestilence—as the isolation of the quarantine reveals the darker side of human nature.

The year is 1796, and a trading ship arrives in the vibrant trading town of Newburyport, Massachusetts.  But it's a ghost ship--her entire crew has been decimated by a virulent fever which sweeps through the harbor town, and Newburyport's residents start to fall ill and die with alarming haste.   Something has to be done to stop the virus from spreading further.  When physician Giles Wiggins places the port under quarantine, he earns the ire of his shipbuilder half-brother, the wealthy and powerful Enoch Sumner, and their eccentric mother, Miranda. Defiantly, Giles sets up a pest-house, where the afflicted might be cared for and separated from the rest of the populace in an attempt to contain the epidemic. 

As the seaport descends into panic, religious fervor, and mob rule, bizarre occurrences ensue:  the harbormaster’s family falls victim to the fever, except for his son, Leander Hatch, who is taken in at the Sumner mansion and a young woman, Marie Montpelier, is fished out of the Merrimac River barely clinging to life, causing Giles and Enoch—who is convinced she’s the expatriate daughter of the French king—to vie for her attentions--all while medical supplies are pillaged by a black marketer from Boston.  As the epidemic grows, fear, greed, and unhinged obsession threaten the Sumner family—and the future of Newburyport itself.

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Discussion Questions

1. Leander’s family is ravaged by the deadly fever that causes Newburyport to be placed under quarantine. How does this young man respond to the situation? What does he learn about himself and his fellow citizens of Newburyport?
2. Miranda is at times mercurial and eccentric, yet there is a logic to her actions. What causes such behavior?
3. Dr. Giles Wiggins does not share his colleagues’ opinions of how this fever came to kill so many in Newburyport. In what way are his scientific views a reflection of his character?

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»	Author John Smolens' web site
»	Read a Sample

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