What readers think of The House Is on Fire, plus links to write your own review.

A favorite of 2023

The House is on Fire is Rachel Beanland’s sophomore effort and I was even more pleased with it than her debut, Florence Adler Swims Forever. The story covers the fire on December 26, 1811 at the Richmond Theatre. Plantation owners came to Richmond in winter for their social season. Thus, the theater was especially full on the 26th. The fire was the worst urban disaster of our young country, resulting in the death of 72 individuals, mostly women.

The story starts with the night of the fire and progresses from there. I wasn’t sure how Beanland would maintain any suspense once the fire was over and done, but boy, was I wrong. The story centers around four characters - Jack Gibson , a young stagehand; Sally Henry Campbell, daughter of Patrick Henry and newly widowed; Cecily Patterson, a young black slave who was acting as a chaperone for her young white mistress but was required to sit on a different floor, and Gilbert Hunt, an enslaved blacksmith who ends up helping rescue 12 white women from the theater. Each of these four made decisions at the crisis point which affected not just themselves but others. By switching between their POVs, the story maintains a brisk pace. Each of the four is also fully drawn and I was equally engaged by each of their stories.

The book does a wonderful job of showing the places of women and blacks in southern society. For example, when a young wife breaks her leg jumping from the window and the surgeon announces only her husband can give permission for her leg to be amputated. And, of course, black women are chattel to be used in whatever way a man wants. Let’s just say most of the men in the story don’t come off in a good light. There aren’t a lot of heroes in this story, at least white ones. But there are several heroines.
The writing is clear and succinct and it was easy to envision each scene. Beanland has the ability to give the reader a firm grasp on the time and place. There are several aspects of this story which have been fictionalized, but Beanland spells them out in her Author’s Note. She gives a rationale for each of those modifications. Overall, this is exactly what I want from historical fiction. It taught me about a moment in history that I previously knew nothing about while telling a good story.

My thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this book.

On December 26, 1811, the Richmond Theatre in Virginia burned to the ground. The fire killed 72 people, including Virginia's governor George William Smith, former U.S. senator Abraham B. Venable, and other government officials in what was the worst urban disaster in U.S. history at the time.

The author creates a masterful tale around this incident featuring the stories of four people impacted by the fire. There is a distinct feminist perspective as most of the men in the story simply looked out for themselves whereas the true heroes were the women and one black slave in particular.

Well done and interesting. I highly recommend the book.

This riveting story of tragedy, heroism, and the power of redemption is magnificent storytelling about a dark time in our nation's history.

Written by Rachel Beanland, this is a fictionalized account of the true story of the horrific fire that destroyed the only theater in Richmond, Virginia on December 26, 1811 with more than 600 men, women, and children inside—dozens of whom were trapped and perished in the flames and smoke.

Ingeniously plotted, it is told from the point of view of four different people:
• Sally Henry Campbell: Now a young widow, the daughter of Patrick Henry attends the play with her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Archie and Margaret Campbell, sitting in a third-floor box along with about a dozen other people.

• Jack Gibson: A 14-year-old working backstage, whose actions cause the deadly fire.

• Cecily Patterson: A young slave who accompanied her mistress to the play but sat in the gallery with the other slaves and freed Blacks. She escapes the fire but realizes that if her master and mistress assume she has died, this is her chance to run away to the north.

• Gilbert Hunt: A middle-aged slave and blacksmith who is a giant of a man—in body and heart. When he hears about the fire, he races to the site and heroically saves about a dozen women by catching them as they jump out the windows.

The story is plotted daily from the night of the fire on Thursday, December 26 to Sunday, December 29, following historical events through the actions, thoughts, and feelings of the four characters. As officials try to discern the cause of the fire, the theater company tries to cover it up, blaming it on a nonexistent slave rebellion, which in turn creates mayhem for the local slave population.

Meanwhile, Sally comes to a startling conclusion about why so many of the 72 people who died that night were women, and Cecily's plans to run away may be thwarted as she involves her family with potentially deadly consequences for them. Gilbert Hunt is lauded as a hero, but his cruel master is disgusted and appalled at the adulation and takes it out on Gilbert. Jack is tormented between supporting the lies started by the theater company about the slave rebellion causing the fire and confessing his own guilt in the matter.

This is historical fiction at its finest! The plot is riveting, and the writing is superb. Each chapter focuses on one of the four characters, and it doesn't take long for those chapters to end in cliffhangers, making this one of those unputdownable books.

Bonus: Do read the fascinating Author's Note at the end as it details many facts about the fire and its aftermath years later.

Chaos, protected, revolt…

“What we need is another explanation for how this fire may have started.”

The fictional account of the deadliest urban disaster in American history at its time. The 1811 fire resulted in 72 official fatalities at the 5yo Richmond theatre. The cause was the mistakenly-raised lit chandelier , which caught the backdrops on fire, before spreading to the roof.

The story of four very different people. Sally is a 31yo widow, who went to the play with her brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Cecily is Maria’s lady’s maid. Cecily acted as chaperone for Maria on their walk together to the play, with plans to meet afterwards. Gilbert, the enslaved blacksmith, was not at the play , but did rescue 12 women (mostly jumpers) from the fire. Jack is a 14yo stagehand who is hoping for a permanent job.

Choices and decisions are going to have long-term consequences. What will the investigative committees decide? Will the secret about the pulley be discovered?

After all, “It’s not lying. In our business, we just call it acting.”


Author painted a realistic picture for me of the panic & chaos of trying to survive.

Much info online about the theatre & the real fire in 1811. Gilbert is mentioned online. Photos & videos online.

Loved the bluebird carving!

Don’t skip the author’s note!

Well researched. Great story based on the available facts!

I would like to visit Monumental Church, built in 1812-1814 on the site. NRHP in 1969.