Fever 1793: Chapters 14–19

by Laurie Halse Anderson
Mattie Cook's simple life in Philadelphia is shattered when an epidemic of yellow fever rages through the city in the summer of 1793. Attempting to flee with her grandfather, Mattie finds that escaping disaster won't be so simple.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–13, Chapters 14–19, Chapters 20–24, Chapter 25–Epilogue

Here are links to our lists for other works by Laurie Halse Anderson: Speak, Speak: The Graphic Novel, Chains, Shout
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. negligence
    the trait of ignoring responsibilities and lacking concern
    The chambers of diseases were deserted and the sick left to die of negligence.
  2. devastation
    the state of being decayed or destroyed
    Their remains, suffered to decay by piecemeal, filled the air with deadly exhalations, and added tenfold to the devastation.
  3. destitute
    poor enough to need help from others
    They told of good people who refused to take any money for helping strangers, even though they themselves were poor and near destitute.
  4. famished
    extremely hungry
    “I’m famished.”
    “Feed this girl,” he said with a smile.
  5. jaundiced
    affected by yellowing of the skin
    My voice was too weak to carry far, and the doctor was already concentrating on the next jaundiced face.
  6. stench
    a distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant
    I preferred the smell of hay and horses to the death stench of the hospital.
  7. placid
    calm and free from disturbance
    “It is good you have each other,” said Mrs. Bowles in the same placid voice.
  8. helter-skelter
    lacking a visible order or organization
    The front room was a jumble. Tables and chairs lay helter-skelter.
  9. salvage
    save from ruin, destruction, or harm
    Grandfather was picking through the broken chairs in the front room, trying to salvage something to sit on.
  10. scabbard
    a sheath for a sword or dagger or bayonet
    He tried to lift his sword and scabbard to its place over the mantle, but his arms shook too badly.
  11. edible
    suitable for use as food
    I decided to pull up what I could and hope to find something edible overlooked by varmints.
  12. malady
    any unwholesome or desperate condition
    I think the malady is becoming more alarming
  13. dote
    shower with love; show excessive affection for
    He still wasn’t over his cough. Mrs. Flagg would have welcomed the chance to dote on him for a few days.
  14. trifling
    not worth considering
    Would anyone bother with a trifling robbery when there was death at every door?
  15. brandish
    move or swing back and forth
    He pressed ahead, continuing to brandish the sword back and forth wildly.
Created on Tue Oct 20 21:12:46 EDT 2015 (updated Thu Jun 12 15:47:44 EDT 2025)

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