A "wildly entertaining" (NPR), "gripping" (The Washington Post)
work of historical fiction about an incendiary tragedy that shocked
a young nation and tore apart a community in a single night, from
the author of Florence Adler Swims Forever. Richmond, Virginia
1811. It's the height of the winter social season, the General
Assembly is in session, and many of Virginia's gentleman planters,
along with their wives and children, have made the long and arduous
journey to the capital in hopes of whiling away the darkest days of
the year. At the city's only theater, the Charleston-based Placide
& Green Company puts on two plays a night to meet the demand of
a populace that's done looking for enlightenment at the front of a
church. On the night after Christmas, the theater is packed with
more than six hundred holiday revelers. In the third-floor boxes
sits newly widowed Sally Henry Campbell, who is glad for any
opportunity to relive the happy times she shared with her husband.
One floor away, in the colored gallery, Cecily Patterson doesn't
give a whit about the play but is grateful for a four-hour reprieve
from a life that has recently gone from bad to worse. Backstage,
young stagehand Jack Gibson hopes that, if he can impress the
theater's managers, he'll be offered a permanent job with the
company. And on the other side of town, blacksmith Gilbert Hunt
dreams of one day being able to bring his wife to the theater, but
he'll have to buy her freedom first. When the theater goes up in
flames in the middle of the performance, Sally, Cecily, Jack, and
Gilbert make a series of split-second decisions that will not only
affect their own lives but those of countless others. And in the
days following the fire, as news of the disaster spreads across the
United States, the paths of these four people will become forever
intertwined. Based on the true story of Richmond's theater fire,
The House Is on Fire is a "stunning" (Jeannette Walls, New York
Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle), "all-consuming
exploration" (E! News) that offers proof that sometimes, in the
midst of great tragedy, we are offered our most precious--and
fleeting--chances at redemption.
General
Imprint: |
Simon & Schuster
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
April 2024 |
Authors: |
Rachel Beanland
|
Dimensions: |
213 x 140 x 24mm (L x W x T) |
Pages: |
384 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-982186-15-9 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-982186-15-1 |
Barcode: |
9781982186159 |
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