One event changes the course of four lives in Rachel Beanland's new historical fiction novel The House Is On Fire. Inspired by the Richmond Theatre fire of 1811, Beanland imagines how the fire affected four different people: Sally Henry Campbell, a newly widowed woman; Cecily, a young slave girl who accompanied her owner to the theater; Jack, one of the stagehands; and Gilbert, a slave (and Cecily's uncle) who comes to the rescue.
The aftermath of the fire leaves many dead and wounded, primarily women. And Sally begins to realize that Virginia men may not be as admirable as they'd have people believe. Meanwhile, Cecily decides that the fire is the perfect opportunity for her to run away from a bad situation. She needs the help of her uncle Gilbert, who is being applauded by white people for helping to rescue white women as they jumped from the theater. And Jack is the one who started it all, though not on his own. When given an order, he followed it, and raising a lit chandelier ended up causing a catastrophe. Jack wants the theater company to take responsibility for the fire, but he's not in charge.
The book moves quickly between all four characters (though sometimes too fast for my liking) and even has their lives overlapping at times. While the book is a work of fiction, it is based on a real event, and I enjoyed reading the research that inspired Beanland's direction with her version of events. This may have taken place in 1811, but sometimes you wonder just how far our country has really come in terms of racism and sexism. I think this book would be a good book club pick.
The House Is On Fire is published by Simon & Schuster and will be available to purchase on April 4, 2023. I received a free e-ARC.
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