Starred review from February 6, 2023
Beanland’s powerful second novel (after Florence Adler Swims Forever) follows four characters through a disastrous fire and its aftermath. In December 1811, 600 people are crowded into Virginia’s Richmond Theater for a performance when teenage stagehand Jack Gibson forgets to snuff the candles on the stage chandelier but obeys an order to raise it into the rafters, where it ignites a backdrop and then the building. Sally Henry Campbell, a genteel widow attending the play, and Gilbert Hunt, an enslaved blacksmith who runs to the scene to help, are among those who try to rescue theatergoers trapped by the enormous blaze. Despite such efforts, scores perish or are grotesquely injured. Gilbert’s niece Cecily Patterson makes it safely out of a section called the “colored people’s gallery,” then attempts to free herself from slavery amid the ensuing chaos. Gilbert tries to help Cecily and Campbell volunteers at a makeshift hospital, while Gibson watches helplessly as his troupe, attempting to evade criminal charges, falsely blames the conflagration on a slave rebellion. Beanland enlivens the smart and suspenseful narrative with fully developed protagonists that illuminate the community’s response to mass catastrophe. Readers will relish this. Agent: Chad Luibl, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.
Starred review from June 10, 2024
Beanland (Florence Adler Swims Forever) presents an intricate historical fiction based on the true and tragic story of the 1811 Richmond Theater fire in Virginia. With nearly 600 people in attendance, a scenery mishap sparked a fire that quickly engulfed the three-story building, inciting panic as people attempted to flee through narrow corridors and windows nailed shut to thwart the winter weather. Told from the perspectives of a blacksmith, an enslaved man, a socialite, and a stagehand, this fast-paced narrative touches on the harrowing loss of life and the racial, gender, and political concerns that came to light in the aftermath. Narrators Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Andi Arndt, Michael Crouch, and Ruffin Prentiss III give distinct and dramatic representations of the four first-person narratives. Collectively, they evoke tension, tragedy, anguish, and excitement to create a compelling listening experience. A note, read by the author, details the extent of the historical accuracy regarding the individuals and events within. VERDICT This audio will appeal to listeners seeking immersive early American historical fiction about heroism and heartbreak. Recommended for fans of Jeannette Walls, Marie Benedict, and Kristin Hannah.--Lauren Hackert
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