The House is on Fire by Rachel Beanland

November 9, 2023

The House is on Fire by Rachel Beanland

On December 26, 1811, a packed house watches a play followed by a pantomime at the Richmond Theatre in Richmond, VA. Sally Campbell and her sister-in-law are watching the entertainment from a crowded third floor box, when someone shouts "the house is on fire!" A stampede to exit the building ensues with men trampling women to escape. When the staircase down from the third floor collapses, the women are trapped.

Based on the true story of the Richmond Theatre fire in 1811. There are four narrators: Sally, a white society lady; Cecily, a slave attending the play with her mistress Maria; Gilbert, a slave who helps rescue people from the theater; and Jack, a stagehand with the theatre company. During the pantomime, a lit chandelier was raised to the ceiling above the stage and the cords holding the fixture caught fire, which spread to the scenery and the hangings. The structure was essentially a large wooden barn and it went up like dry tinder. 72 people died in the fire, with about 2/3 of them being women and girls. Many died when they jumped from the second or third floors. The Richmond Theater fire remains one of the worst fire disasters in U.S. history. Well-researched, will appeal to readers of history as well as historical fiction.

Etching of the Richmond Theatre fire

Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls

February 28, 2023

Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls

Duke Kincaid has ruled the county for as long as most people can remember. Sallie Kincaid is the Duke's daughter from his second wife Ann, who died after a violent argument with the Duke. At age 17, Sallie begins working for Duke, driving around the county collecting rents and other debts, often accepting homemade whiskey in payment. When the Duke dies suddenly, other family members take over his business interests and begin making and selling illegal liquor, transporting it to urban centers in Virginia, even though it is prohibited by law. As she observes the marriages around her, Sallie vows she will never marry and fights for her rightful place in the Duke's kingdom, while learning about the meaning of family, whether it's the one we're born with or the one we create for ourselves.

I loved Walls' memoir The Glass Castle so I was looking forward to her latest book. This is a historical novel set in rural Virginia about the early days of bootlegging during Prohibition, about tangled family relationships and women who not only survive but triumph. Fun fact: auto racing like NASCAR got its start with illegal rum runners, who would strip down their cars to the bare bones so that they could carry as much liquor as possible, and then they would soup up the engines so that the cars would go as fast as possible.

Even though the novel is set in Virginia, I kept tripping over the Tudors. The Duke's real name is Henry, he was married four times (Belle, Ann, Jane, Katherine); he divorced his first wife, killed his second wife, his third wife died, and his last wife survived him. Duke even had an affair with Ann's sister, just like Henry VIII did with Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister. After he married his third wife, he banished his second daughter to Hatfield (Elizabeth I grew up at Hatfield House); after his son Edward dies, his first daughter Mary takes over his kingdom - Mary is married to a guy named Phillip, just like Mary Tudor was; after Mary died, Sallie takes over. There is also a Seymour and a Cecil, for god's sake.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Storing illegal hooch in the basement, just like Duke and Cecil did