Lazaretto

Diane McKinney-Whetstone s nationally bestselling novel, Tumbling, immersed us into Philadelphia s black community during the Civil Rights era, and she returns to the city in this new historical novel about a cast of nineteenth-century characters whose colorful lives intersect at the legendary Lazar [...]
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Diane McKinney-Whetstone s nationally bestselling novel, Tumbling, immersed us into Philadelphia s black community during the Civil Rights era, and she returns to the city in this new historical novel about a cast of nineteenth-century characters whose colorful lives intersect at the legendary Lazaretto America s first quarantine hospital.Isolated on an island where two rivers meet, the Lazaretto quarantine hospital is the first stop for immigrants who wish to begin new lives in Philadelphia. The Lazaretto s black live-in staff forge a strong social community, and when one of them receives permission to get married on the island the mood is one of celebration, particularly since the white staff save the opium-addicted doctor are given leave for the weekend. On the eve of the ceremony, a gunshot rings out across the river. A white man has fired at a boat carrying the couple s friends and family to the island, and the captain is injured. His life lies in the hands of Sylvia, the Lazaretto s head nurse, who is shocked to realize she knows the patient.Intertwined with the drama unfolding at the Lazaretto are the fates of orphan brothers. When one brother commits a crime to protect the other, he imperils both of their lives and the consequences ultimately deliver both of them to the Lazaretto.In this masterful work of historical fiction, Diane McKinney-Whetstone seamlessly transports us to Philadelphia in the aftermath of the Civil War and Lincoln s assassination, beautifully evoking powerful stories of love, friendship and humanity amid the vibrant black community that flourished amid the troubled times."