When neighbors and eventually her own mother becomes ill, she and her grandfather attempt to flee the city, as many of its other occupants do. Mattie is a 14-year-old growing up in 1793 Philadelphia, the year the Yellow Fever killed approximately 5,000 people (roughly 10% of its population at the time). Nell - A little girl Matilda looks after, after finding her alone in an abandoned house.

Polly - Matilda's childhood friend and one of the first to die of the fever. (Keeps talking about catching a balloon rise ) Nathaniel Benson - Matilda's friend and the painter's apprentice. Works in the coffeehouse as the chef but retires to her brother's house at the end of each day. Tough, but generous with a sweet disposition.Įliza - African American woman who was once a slave, whose deceased husband bought her freedom.

Grandfather/Captain William Farnsworth Cook - Matilda's paternal grandfather, who fought with Washington in the American Revolution. Matilda's Mother/Lucille Cook - A hardworking woman who labors endlessly at the coffeehouse, right where she belongs. Suddenly, her struggle to build a better life must give way to something even more important - the fight to stay alive as the fever rages through the town. Then tragedy strikes the coffeehouse, and Mattie is trapped in a living nightmare. As the cemeteries fill with fever victims, fear turns to panic, and thousands flee the city. 'Fever' spreads from the docks and creeps toward Mattie's home, threatening everything she holds dear. But the waterfront is abuzz with reports of disease. She wants to turn the Cook Coffeehouse into the finest business in Philadelphia, the capital of the new United States. Fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook is ambitious, adventurous, and sick to death of listening to her mother.

Fever 1793 by laurie halse anderson