Dubbed Typhoid Mary, she's best remembered for infecting dozens of people with typhoid in New York at the turn of the 20th century.
In Fever, author Mary Beth Keane seeks to show the woman behind the name, tracing Mary's descent from successful cook to social pariah.
Mary is captured and quarantined early in the book and the remainder deals with her time in quarantine, flashbacks to her cooking jobs and her unconventional relationship with her de facto, Alfred.
It's easy to understand Mary's frustration and sense of injustice as she's rough handled and locked away. Before her case, it wasn't known there could be healthy carriers and she can't believe they haven't made a mistake or that there isn't a conspiracy.
Her gradual and grudging acceptance of her role in spreading the illness is compelling and heartbreaking.
However, there's also something extremely unlikable about Keane's Mary, who is arrogant and wilfully ignorant and who just won't stop licking the spoon. This book will make you want to wash your hands. Multiple times.
- Laura Hewson is an ODT subeditor.
