The House is On Fire by Rachel Beanland

On the night of December 26, 1811, during a packed house performance at Richmond Theater, a fire started backstage. The fire quickly spread and more than 70 of the 600 theater goers died in the fire or by trying to escape the building. This story follows four people during the tragic event and in the days that followed.

Jack Gibson is a young stagehand who knows exactly what happened to cause the fire, but is being silenced.

Sally Henry is a young widow who attended the show with her sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Sally heroically helped fellow theater-goers escape and then tended to the injured after the fire was out.

Gilbert Hunt is a slave who is a blacksmith and has plans to purchase his freedom and his wife’s freedom someday. He is a hero outside the theater as he helps those trapped inside the burning building escape.

Cecily Patterson is a young slave who attended the show with her mistress. Their separate seating areas meant they were not together as they attempted to survive the event. This might just be the turning point Cecily needs.

This story explores disenfranchised members of society during this time and how they impacted and were impacted by this horrific event. I loved that Rachel Beanland chose the characters she did to reveal this piece of history and the society as a whole in the time and place in which it occurred. The author’s note at the end is worth a read too as she explains what was fact and what was fiction and her rational for the people and events she fictionalized.

If you enjoy historical fiction, I highly recommend checking out this book!

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