Mona Langer asked Mary Beth Keane:

Thank you for bringing to life a story we all have heard about, but knew little of. (Fever). The details were nothing short of amazing and heartbreaking. Historical fiction is probably my favorite genre. How difficult was it to find information pertaining to events that happened so long ago? Was the process invigorating, or exhausting?

Mary Beth Keane Thanks! Some details were difficult to find, mostly because there wasn't a lot written that described the point of view of the working class, written by a person of that class. Everything written about Mary Mallon in particular was written by a doctor, lawyer or journalist - highly educated people of the upper class who couldn't really understand what her life was like. There was a lot of info on how to run a wealthy home, but not the people who worked in them. On the other hand, I loved reading the historical newspapers, especially the letters to the editor and the opinion sections. They really helped me understand what people were most interested in and concerned about during that period. Some of the medical research was difficult. It was hard to get my brain to shut off and sort of forget what we know in the present era. I had to think and have characters make decisions based only on what they would have known then.

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