''The Red City'' (1909) is a historical novel by the American writer Silas Weir Mitchell. The novel is set in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in the 1790s, during the second term of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

's Presidency when the city served as the temporary capital of the United States. Its general theme is of the city's "greatness" during this era. The "red city" of the title is a reference to the

red brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

used for many of Philadelphia's public and private buildings in the eighteenth century. The book depicts the

Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 During the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, 5,000 or more people were listed in the official register of deaths between August 1 and November 9. The vast majority of them died of yellow fever, making the epidemic in the city of 50,000 ...

, which engulfed the city.

Bibliography

* Thomas George E., Cohen Jeffrey A. & Lewis, Michael J. ''Frank Furness: The Complete Works''. Princeton Press, 1996. 1909 American novels Novels by Silas Weir Mitchell Novels set in Philadelphia Novels set in the early national era United States American historical novels Novels set in the 1790s {{1900s-hist-novel-stub