Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Quarantine: A Novel

3.26 of 5 stars 3.26 · rating details · 90 ratings · 28 reviews

The year is 1796, and a trading ship arrives in the vibrant trading town of Newburyport, Massachusetts. But it's a ghost ship--her entire crew has been decimated by a virulent fever which sweeps through the harbor town, and Newburyport's residents start to fall ill and die with alarming haste. Something has to be done to stop the virus from spreading further. When physicia...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published September 5th 2012 by Pegasus

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 254)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 04, 2013 Patti rated it 3 of 5 stars

More like 3.5 stars for me.

You know what the book is about from the title and from reading the book jacket, so I won't bore you with a recap. Instead, I will add some of my observations:

1) Why the early fascination with farting? The first part of the book had several exciting farting instances which made me giggle but also made me wonder if folks in the 1790s were really geeked over sounds their butts made. (As an aside, my dog is always alarmed when he farts but I find it endearing.)

2) The lack...more

like · see review

Jan 15, 2013 Misty Baker rated it 3 of 5 stars

Twice a year I have the very distinct pleasure of visiting the coast. My husband is a beach baby… born and raised, so the harbors no longer draw his interest. (Been there done that.) As for me, the city girl (or as much of a city girl close proximity to Dallas can afford me) I’m fascinated by them. The boats, the lines, the sails, sounds…they remind me of a well choreographed dance. Anyways…when I first saw the cover for John Smolens novel “Quarantine” I was in awe. It had ships, and boy were th...more

like · see review

Oct 26, 2012 Brenda Rupp rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book. I don't know if it was me being busy and putting book down and picking it up with so much time in between that had me disjointedly reading the book or if it was just not my normal type of book to read. It is well written and I'm sure there is a lot of true history included in how they came to the beliefs they had in how to treat things like this plague that had the entire town either dying or treating those that died.
A ship comes into the harbor and all of the men are sick. T...more I liked this book. I don't know if it was me being busy and putting book down and picking it up with so much time in between that had me disjointedly reading the book or if it was just not my normal type of book to read. It is well written and I'm sure there is a lot of true history included in how they came to the beliefs they had in how to treat things like this plague that had the entire town either dying or treating those that died.
A ship comes into the harbor and all of the men are sick. The people of the town won't let it into their harbor to offload the goods but some of the men do sneak off of the ship and before they know it the entire town is infected with this plague. They had posted guards in boats to make sure the ship stayed in quarantine but there were ways to slip by.
The towns apothocaries are broken into and all of the medication needed to treat the towns people is stolen. Someone is always trying to make money on the downtrodden.
The characters in the book were well written enough that I wanted to stay with the book to find out if they lived or died, if they found out the cure for this sickness that has spread through the town like wildfire. They even posted guards on the main roads into and out of town to keep those in town in and keep those from out of town from coming in and being exposed. The ending was a surprise to me. I can't say I loved the book, but I did like it and did finish it. It was the authors first book and I think he'll probably write many more. I can only say that I think this was perhaps not my normal read and perhaps not so well written that you can't put it down. Judging by the ratings that others put on this book. For someone who enjoys reading of the history of such things I think they would enjoy the book more.
Here is the description as written on good reads:
The year is 1796, and a trading ship arrives in the vibrant trading town of Newburyport, Massachusetts. But it's a ghost ship--her entire crew has been decimated by a virulent fever which sweeps through the harbor town, and Newburyport's residents start to fall ill and die with alarming haste. Something has to be done to stop the virus from spreading further. When physician Giles Wiggins places the port under quarantine, he earns the ire of his shipbuilder half-brother, the wealthy and powerful Enoch Sumner, and their eccentric mother, Miranda. Defiantly, Giles sets up a pest-house, where the afflicted might be cared for and separated from the rest of the populace in an attempt to contain the epidemic.

As the seaport descends into panic, religious fervor, and mob rule, bizarre occurrences ensue: the harbormaster 's family falls victim to the fever, except for his son, Leander Hatch, who is taken in at the Sumner mansion and a young woman, Marie Montpelier, is fished out of the Merrimac River barely clinging to life, causing Giles and Enoch who is convinced she 's the expatriate daughter of the French king to vie for her attentions--all while medical supplies are pillaged by a black marketer from Boston. As the epidemic grows, fear, greed, and unhinged obsession threaten the Sumner family and the future of Newburyport itself(less)

like · see review

Sep 29, 2012 Kim McGee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Quarantine surprised me in the brutal truth of the times. Newburyport ,Mass in 1796 and a ship comes into port with diseased passengers on board. At that time disease spread like wildfire and that is why this ship is put in quarantine and no one is allowed on board or off. True to the times, passengers did embark and then put the town at risk and sure enough, the disease takes off and the lives of the townspeople will never be the same. The brutality of the noble class, the plight of the poor a...more

like · see review

Aug 20, 2012 Maxine McLister rated it 3 of 5 stars

In 1796, a ship, the Miranda, was refused docking in Newburyport, Mass. and was placed in quarantine by the local surgeon because of an epidemic on board. Unfortunately, some of the ship's passengers and crew managed to evade the quarantine and reach the town. The plague quickly spread, leaving the town devastated.

I had mixed feelings about this novel. I enjoyed the parts involving the epidemic: the different points of view of the doctors, including the surgeon who gained his skills on a battlef...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 16, 2012 Wayne McCoy rated it 2 of 5 stars

A historical medical thriller that I really wanted to like more. In 1796, a ship arrives in Newburyport with sick crew members. It is immediately put under quarantine, but some soldiers escape to land causing the plague to spread to the town.

The main characters include a young boy who sees his entire family become ill, a surgeon who see the effects of the plague first hand as he attempts to tend the victims, and a rich family with internal conflicts. Some of the main characters were interesting,...more

like · see review

Aug 04, 2012 Tracy Riva rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, thriller

Quarantine by John Smolens was an extremely well researched and written piece of historical fiction. Set in Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1796 the story made the reader aware of just how damaging an outbreak of a fever at the end of the 18th century really was.

Newburyport is a small port, where in 1796 the merchant ship Miranda arrives carrying a crew suffering from an unknown fever. Immediately the ship is put under quarantine, but in the time it takes the harbormaster to return to port and obt...more Quarantine by John Smolens was an extremely well researched and written piece of historical fiction. Set in Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1796 the story made the reader aware of just how damaging an outbreak of a fever at the end of the 18th century really was.

Newburyport is a small port, where in 1796 the merchant ship Miranda arrives carrying a crew suffering from an unknown fever. Immediately the ship is put under quarantine, but in the time it takes the harbormaster to return to port and obtain a constable and a doctor, some of the crew and supplies from the Miranda are spirited ashore. Those leaving the boat are spotted by the doctor and the high constable as they are rowing out to the Miranda, there is little they can do to stop those already ashore. The doctor examines the ship and declares it a plague ship, leaving two rowboats full of men behind to guard the ship. Within hours, the first cases begin in Newburyport and the town must be isolated, a pest house established and ways devised to keep the plague from spreading, but try as they might, the plague does spread sweeping through the town. Medical supplies, already in high demand, are stolen to be sold on the black market. Newburyport is a town besieged by an unknown assailant in a time where prevalent medical thought encourages the use of bleeding, antibiotics, anti-virals are unknown and little is understood about the spread of disease. All the Newburyporters do know is that for some reason those who have had a similar fever in the South, or in the West Indies or other places in the Caribbean are immune to the fever. Throughout the port those who have already had the fever, mostly African Americans turn out in force to help the town battle the disease that in the beginning, when medical supplies are few, take the lives of almost everyone affected.

The burial pit on a hill in town keeps having to be enlarged as more and more people die daily. The doctor, Giles Wiggins, who is really a surgeon who established himself as such during the war with Britain, is the half-brother of one of the town’s richest men who also happens to be the owner of the Miranda. When Giles goes to visit his mother for medical reasons his brother, Enoch Sumner, tries to convince, via bribery, to lift the quarantine on the Miranda. Of course, Giles makes it clear he is unable to do this and leaves the house with his brother angry with him.

The plague sweeps through the town with no apparent end in sight. Giles Wiggins, the surgeon turned doctor intuitively hits upon at least part of the problem, the disease is spread by mosquitoes biting infected people and then moving on to bite uninfected people spreading the disease, but prevailing theory at the time doesn’t accept this idea and so Wiggins concept goes unheeded. He tells the other doctor administering to the plague victims to clear up all the puddles of standing water and to pray for cooler weather and the quick coming of a frost. The doctor acts as though Giles is a madman, himself being convinced of a current theory that holds that volcanic eruptions in other places have released harmful vapors into the atmosphere and that these vapors are responsible for the increase in disease.

By the end of the book, you will be struck by man’s narrow-mindedness, as well as his inhumanity when dealing with others of his species. You will find joy with those who discover love in the midst of the plague and you will cry with those who lose loved ones to the plague’s unrelenting grasp.

I recommend Quarantine because from the historical perspective it is such an accurate depiction of the way things were, back when our country was new, and people were still unused to the title the United States. It is meticulously researched which makes it infinitely lifelike and it is simply a fascinating read that will take you back in time and leave your heart racing, which after all, is what a good book is all about.
(less)

like · see review

Jul 07, 2012 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Quarantine by John Smolens is an excellent historical novel set in post American Revolutionary war Newburyport, MA. Smolens has written a vivid depiction of life in Newburyport, a port town of 8,000 just north of Boston. He make you feel that you are there during the dangerous days of a quarantine caused by the arrival of a infected ship which brings death and disease to almost every family in the town. I lived the quarantine through the characters of Dr. Giles Morgan and his half brother Enoch...more

like · see review

Jul 22, 2012 Barbara Burd rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm a fan of historical fiction especially in this time period--late 1790s. A mysterious plague had struck a ship outside Newburyport and the sickness quickly ran rampant through the town. Tragedy brings out the best in some of the townspeople and the worst in others. The very dysfunctional Sumner family is at the center of the epidemic, some members responsible for spreading the sickness, some seeking to profit from it, and some trying to help the victims. The most sympathetic character is Lean...more

like · see review

Sep 12, 2012 Amy Rogers rated it 3 of 5 stars

ScienceThrillers.com review: Quarantine caught my attention as a new release in the genre of historical plague fiction. (I thought it might be a thriller but it isn’t; the story structure is more general fiction/literary fiction.)

John Smolens has written a worthy addition to this literary niche. Quarantine is peopled with rich characters, many of them related to the Sumner clan, a band of wealthy eccentrics who ooze unpleasantness in the most interesting ways. The main character Giles Wiggins is...more ScienceThrillers.com review: Quarantine caught my attention as a new release in the genre of historical plague fiction. (I thought it might be a thriller but it isn’t; the story structure is more general fiction/literary fiction.)

John Smolens has written a worthy addition to this literary niche. Quarantine is peopled with rich characters, many of them related to the Sumner clan, a band of wealthy eccentrics who ooze unpleasantness in the most interesting ways. The main character Giles Wiggins is a family outlier: compassionate and thoughtful, a bit of a rugged intellectual. Wiggins plays the role of hero in the town’s story, serving the suffering, defying intolerance, and questioning the established medical wisdom. He is a true man of courage. The plot follows the intersecting paths of Dr. Wiggins, his mother, half-brother, illegitimate son, and his lover while the town of Newburyport grapples with a deadly fever. A ship owned by Giles’ brother arrives in port carrying victims of a fever which despite quarantine imposed by Giles spreads throughout the town. In keeping with the scientific knowledge of the time, the fever is not given a definite name but its origin in the West Indies and other hints suggest it is what we call yellow fever, which rampaged across America in the 1790s.

I enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. While it’s not an action-packed cartoonish thriller, it has plenty of drama and suspense to keep the pages turning. My only complaints were minor, including some unresolved plot lines (such as the strange death of the ship’s original captain), and a frequent failure to reach the level of emotional intensity that various scenes ought to evoke based on their content.

Quarantine accurately portrays the primitive state of medical knowledge and care at the time. The germ theory of disease was not generally accepted at that time. Three physicians in town reflect three points of view. One sees the disease as divine retribution for sin and believes nothing can be done and nothing should be done to help the victims. Another believes plagues are caused by distant geologic events like earthquakes which alter the atmosphere. Giles Wiggins is “uneducated;” that is, he learned the trade of doctoring as a sawbones working on ships during the Revolutionary War. Unencumbered by establishment doctrine, he correctly suspects the true cause of the disease isn’t morality or poor sanitation but transmission by mosquitoes. He also resists bloodletting as a therapy, marking him as a progressive in the reader’s eyes. (That yellow fever is transmitted by mosquito bites was not fully established until Army doctor Walter Reed led the landmark military medical expedition to Cuba around 1900.)

If you like this kind of plague story, see my recommendations below for related fiction and nonfiction. Two of the books, The Things that Keep Us Here and The Ghost Map, are reviewed at ScienceThrillers.com. Special mention to the young adult historical medical novel Fever 1793, which I haven’t read but my 13-year-old daughter thought was marvelous.
(less)

like · see review

Aug 04, 2012 Mickey rated it 4 of 5 stars

This story was...hmmm...interesting. I love historical fiction. Oh, and theres' a plague? BONUS! And a creepy, lecherous cretin with bad teeth and a lazy eye? OK, I could have done with less of him. I'm reading it thinking "This would be great for teens!" until I came to a certain scene where the mother of the house walks in on her adult son (THE CRETIN!) in a very compromising position and begins reaming him out while he continues his deplorable activities with a random young lady as if she nev...more

like · see review

Jun 22, 2012 Lauren rated it 1 of 5 stars

Hated this one. I love the premise and wanted it to be a rollicking good read with adventure, heroism, humor, and history,but it got bogged down in cutesy names--a dog named Bowsprit and a ship's cook named Mead. And then there were the trivial little anachronisms and missed details that kept me tsk tsk-ing the author often enough that I just couldn't get into the story. For example, a middle aged upper class woman of the seventeenth century is not going to pick up an axe from the fireplace insi...more

like · see review

Jul 05, 2012 Dee rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, read-2012

I had previously listened to and reviewed Smolen’s book, The Schoolmaster’s Daughter, so when Quarantine showed up on Netgalley I jumped on the opportunity to read and review it. Having grown up outside of the US, I never really studied US history until college and then it was limited to very specific classes – so my knowledge of the fever that struck the east coast of the US in the late 1700′s is relatively little – most of what I know, I gained from reading Laurie Halsie Anderson’s Fever 1793

T...more

like · see review

Jul 30, 2012 Henk-Jan van der Klis rated it 4 of 5 stars

In 1796, a trading ship arrives in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The captain’s missing, crewmembers struck by a virulent fever. Vomit and shit create more victims in Newburyport. Upon inspection of the ship, doctor Giles Wiggins places the ship and port under quarantine and tries to find the source for the virus. His half-brother Enoch Summer, owner of the ship and their mother Miranda aren’t pleased at all with the situation. Horses for Thomas Jefferson need to stay on the ship, commerce falls si...more

like · see review

Nov 01, 2012 Amelia rated it 1 of 5 stars

I don't understand how this book got published. Here are some of the problems: the writing is stilted, the characters are superficial, unlikable charicatures, Smolens mistakes crassness for gritiness in his clumsy descriptions of fever symptoms, and, worst of all, there are historical inaccuracies too numerous to mention. If one wants to write historical fiction, one needs to be willing to do research, especially considering some of the masters who are currently writing in this genre. I would no...more

like · see review

Mar 13, 2013 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, historical-fiction, netgalley, read-2012

I’m a fan of historical fiction and I’m always pleasantly surprised when I find a book that I enjoy within this genre as so many do disappoint. This one did not disappoint me at all.

I read Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks in 2009 and thoroughly enjoyed it so I do like to look for books with a similar theme. Quarantine fitted that description and lived up to my expectations.
It was very well written and Smolens’ prose was excellent – his characterisations were realistic and his world-building...more

like · see review

Sep 05, 2012 Alisha-Dear Constant Reader rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, netgalley

Quarantine by John Smolens is set in Newportbury, Massachusetts in June of 1779 on the eve of a Malaria outbreak. The fever sweeps through the small fishing town both literally and figuratively.

Dr. Giles Wiggins and Leander Hatch bravely risk them own lives as they strive to see their families, neighbors, and town through the summer of 1779.

The plot behind Quarantine is both interesting and rich in in detail.

The trouble lies with Wiggin's mother, Miranda, whose namesake ship is quarantined un...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 29, 2012 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, general-fiction, historical

Quarantine takes place in the town of Newburyport, Massachusetts in the year 1796. A ship arrives whose crew has suffered and continues to suffer losses from a mysterious illness. There is hope of containment, but it slips away as the boats row away from the ship under cover of night. Soon people in the town become ill. As the epidemic spreads, fear, greed, and instances of mob rule become common place.

Quarantine is basically well written. The characters you should like, no matter their flaws, a...more

like · see review

Sep 27, 2012 Lianne (The Towering Pile) Lavoie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, review-copy, read-in-2012

In the late 18th century, a ship pulls into the harbour at Newburyport. The people on the ship have come down with a terrible fever, so the ship is put under quarantine. But the sailors are idiots, so some of them sneak ashore anyway, and before you know it people all over town are getting sick, and most of them are dying. Since this is the 18th century, none of the doctors really understand science, so they argue about things like bloodletting, while one doctor thinks that the fever is God's pu...more

like · see review

Jul 30, 2012 Judith rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nook-net-galley

What happens when a viral epidemic strikes a seaport in Massachusetts.....1796? the social, political, and economic aspects...

some characters are "Dickensian", in that they are caricatures...but the story doesn't suffer for their existence (perish the phony "French" though)

Very atmospheric....i could almost smell the salt-tinged sea air.....and the smudge pots from the Pest House

Sometimes too much "nobility" in these savages (I mean, the constables rip off the apothecaries, and then try to sell...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jun 30, 2012 Carol added it

Shelves: fiction

Though I thought I would really like this, I just couldn't get into it. I've read other books, fiction and non-fiction about ship or city quarantines that were far more compelling. This being said, I always wonder if it's just me and perhaps I should give it a second go at another time. I found myself re-reading passages, losing the character voices and decided to just give it up for the moment. I was disappointed in the book and a bit frustrated with myself.

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 09, 2013 Florence Primrose rated it 3 of 5 stars

It is 1796 when the ship, Miranda, arrives in Newburyport with sickness on board. The ship is quarantined at the request of surgeon, Gilles Wiggins. Soon the port is dealing with a plague, actually yellow fever, and many are dying. Fear grips the port. We learn as the surgeons deal with yellow fever, shortage of medicines as they are stolen and available only at high cost.

I enjoyed this novel of historical fiction.

like · see review

Oct 24, 2012 Shelley Fearn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

When a ship enters the Newburport harbor, it carries with it a sickness that physician Giles Wiggins fears will quickly spread to the citizens even after he has placed the ship in quarantine. In fact the sickness spreads and it's effects on the inhabitants is catastrophic. Smolens, as in The Schoolmaster's Daughter, offers a glimpse inside of early American life.

like · see review

Sep 13, 2012 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

A chilling look at health care that killed more than the disease did. Cleanliness was more important than any medicines that we attempted, but few people could afford the luxury of it.

like · see review

May 15, 2013 Debra Dabell rated it 3 of 5 stars

I do enjoy historiacal fiction, and being from Newburyport I found it rather interesting. Not something you think of when you think about the city's past, thought provocking~

like · see review

Jan 30, 2013 Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very enjoyable book. When I first started reading it I wasn't sure and then I was swept along into the story. Interesting characters, exciting events... I stayed up late to finish it!

like · see review

Dec 15, 2012 Maicie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: finished-in-2012, historical-fiction

Close but no cigar. The historical part of this fictional tale was good but the characters fell flat.

like · see review

Oct 27, 2012 Theressa rated it 1 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book, but honestly couldn't wait to finish it. My recommendation, save your time and read something else.

like · see review

Dec 13, 2012 Diana rated it 3 of 5 stars

It started off so well, and really pulled me in. But halfway through, I got tired of the plot (or lack of). It just didn't seem to progress and as I read further and further in the book, I wasn't getting any satisfaction. It drags on for what seems like most of the book before it finally concludes, and it wasn't even a good conclusion. It felt like the author didn't know what to do with the book once he started it. Lots of rambling on, and a sense of being lost.

like · see review

Jul 24, 2012 Holly Weiss marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2012-release, kindle, to-review

September 15 release.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

Genres

Historical Fiction

17 users

Health

2 users

Adult

2 users

See top shelves...

About John Smolens

According to Northern Michigan University's website, John Smolens "...has published five novels Cold, The Invisible World, Fire Point, Angel’s Head, and Winter by Degrees, and one collection of short stories (My One and Only Bomb Shelter.) Cold was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and the Detroit Free Press selected Fire Point as the best book by a Michigan author in 2...more

More about John Smolens...

Books by John Smolens

The Schoolmaster's Daughter: A Novel of the American Revolution

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Quarantine: A Novel

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Quarantine: A Novel
avg rating	preview: Quarantine: A Novel Goodreads rating: 3.26 (90 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14458975-quarantine?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1340461912l/14458975.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14458975-quarantine?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Quarantine: A Novel by John Smolens[/url]

Quarantine: A Novel

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Genres

About John Smolens

Books by John Smolens

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Quarantine: A Novel

new topic
Discuss This Book