The House Is on Fire

The House is on Fire is a 2023 historical fiction novel by the Richmond, Virginia-based author Rachel Beanland. It is Beanland’s second novel; her first, Florence Adler Swims Forever, won the National Jewish Book Award for Jewish Fiction. Since its release, The House is on Fire has received positive reviews and was an Indie Next pick by the American Booksellers Association.

The book follows the events of the 1811 Richmond Theatre Fire and its aftermath, covering the fire itself and the three days afterward. It is structured around the stories of the four main characters: Sally Henry Campbell, a recent widow who was attending the theater with her brother and sister-in-law; Cecily Patterson, an enslaved woman who uses the fire as an opportunity to escape enslavement; Gilbert Hunt, an enslaved blacksmith who works to save people from the flames; and Jack Gibson, a young stagehand caught up in a conspiracy surrounding the fire’s cause.

This guide refers to the Simon & Schuster 2023 hardcover edition.

Content Warning: This book deals with a large-scale tragedy and discusses mass death and grievous injuries, particularly burns. It is set in 1811 and deals with the historical circumstances of enslavement in America, including physical abuse toward enslaved people and outdated and offensive language to refer to Black people. This book also discusses rape, incest, child abuse, and the objectification of women in 19th-century American society.

Plot Summary

The House Is On Fire uses third-person limited point of view, shifting between its four main characters. It begins on December 26, the night of the Richmond Theatre Fire, and ends on December 29, the day of the funeral for the fire’s victims.

Sally Henry Campbell—a widow and the daughter of Patrick Henry—is on her way to the theater with her brother-in-law and his wife, Archie and Margaret. She is close to Margaret, who comforted her when her husband died. At the theater, they run into some acquaintances, including Mr. Scott, who is taciturn and unsociable. They all proceed to their box seats on the third floor.

Cecily Patterson, an enslaved woman, is chaperoning Maria Price, the 16-year-old daughter of the man who enslaves her and her family. Elliott, Maria’s older brother, has been raping Cecily since they were both children, and she is to be given to him as a wedding gift the following week. Cecily goes to her seat in the gallery where enslaved people and freedmen sit.

Gilbert Hunt is on his way to see his wife, Sara, at the Mayo-Preston house, where she is enslaved. Gilbert is a blacksmith, and he has been trying to save enough money to buy his and Sara’s freedom.

Jack Gibson, a 14-year-old orphaned stagehand with the Placide and Green Theater Company, overhears that there’s a problem with the pulley that raises and lowers the chandelier prop. Mr. Green, one of the company managers, orders Jack to raise the lit chandelier into the flyspace above the stage, ignoring Jack’s concerns about fire. Other stagehands attempt to lower it, and the chandelier hits the backdrops. The roof of the theater quickly catches fire.

Chaos ensues. Sally, Margaret, and Archie are separated, and Sally goes back to find Margaret. The crowd becomes a crush, and people are trampled to death. The stairs collapse. Sally and Margaret pry open a window, and Sally encourages the other women to jump. She and Margaret go and open another window and find Mr. Scott unconscious. They toss him out the window, Margaret jumps, and then Sally lowers herself and falls.

Cecily and the others in the gallery quickly and easily get out of the theater. As Cecily searches for Maria, she hears the voices of Elliott and Mr. Price. Realizing that they don’t know she made it out of the theater alive, she takes the opportunity to run into the woods.

Gilbert is told of the fire by Sara’s enslaver, Elizabeth Preston. Her daughter, Louisa Mayo, was at the theater with friends. Sara has looked after Louisa since she was a baby, and Louisa taught Gilbert how to read. Gilbert goes to the theater to try and find her. He begins to assist Dr. McCaw, who is inside the theater and stands at a second-floor window, tossing women into Gilbert’s arms. They save many women, but Gilbert is briefly knocked out by one. Dr. McCaw himself has to jump, and when he lands, he is on fire. Gilbert puts out the fire, picks him up, and carries him to the Baptist church for help.

Jack and the rest of the theater company quickly exit through the stage door. Placide asks what happened, and Jack admits to raising the chandelier into the flyspace on Green’s orders. Green is overcome and can’t respond. Though it seems at first like they all made it out safely, it soon becomes clear that Mr. and Mrs. Green’s daughter, Nancy, who was not in the show, secretly decided to attend with some friends and is still inside. The Greens begin to panic for their child, and Jack is overwhelmed by the situation.

In the aftermath of the fire, each of the four protagonists faces their own, occasionally intersecting conflicts. Sally survives the fall with few injuries, but Margaret breaks her leg. Sally brings her to Mrs. Cowley, a talented healer who lives nearby. Mrs. Cowley helps Margaret, Mr. Scott, and others injured in the fire, and Sally is impressed by her skill, efficiency, and kindness. Sally begins helping Mrs. Cowley treat the burn victims and meets the Price family. Watching the controlling way Elliott Price treats his family, Sally becomes increasingly disillusioned with the men in her social sphere—especially when Archie refuses to let Margaret’s leg be amputated even though it would give her the best chance at survival. The one man with whom Sally forms a connection is the initially unpleasant Mr. Scott. Sally ends the book caring for Margaret, who develops an infection in her leg, and resolving to write her own account of the fire.

After Gilbert brings Dr. McCaw to the Baptist church, he leaves to continue looking for Louisa. Dr. McCaw’s sister, Mrs. Johnston, is one of the women Gilbert saved, and she promises to repay him. Gilbert’s enslaver, Cameron Kemp, is enraged when Gilbert is treated like a hero. Mrs. Johnston reveals she is collecting money to try and buy Gilbert’s freedom, but Gilbert tells her he knows Kemp won’t sell him. He asks her to buy Sara’s freedom instead.

Gilbert becomes involved in Cecily’s escape attempt, as he is her uncle. He spends the money he saved to put her in a carriage north, hoping that at least Sara will soon be freed. He is arrested by Kemp, and while he’s in jail, Sara comes to him and reveals that the Mayo-Preston family will not sell her. Though devastated, Gilbert ends the novel still hopeful for the future.

Jack becomes embroiled in the Placide and Green Company’s attempt to hide their culpability in the fire by blaming it on a revolt started by enslaved people. Anderson, one of the actors, watches Jack to make sure he goes along with their story. Jack’s guilt over his deception and his role in the fire grows. When he learns that his mentor, Professor Girardin, lost his wife and son in the fire, he realizes he must do the right thing. Though he is disappointed that the company, including himself, does not face more consequences, he has the chance to move on, leaving both Richmond and the Placide and Green Company.

Cecily flees to her mother, Della, who hides her in the Price’s neighbor's boathouse. In a confrontation with Elliott, Della reveals that Cecily is Mr. Price’s daughter and that Elliott has been committing incest. Cecily is reaffirmed that her father loves her, not caring that she is not biologically related to him. Her brother, Moses, keeps guard over her and brings her food. Gilbert provides money and organizes her passage north. Della tells others that Cecily died after a beating at Elliott’s hands. Cecily ends the novel riding in a stagecoach out of Richmond, seeing Elliott completely undone by her disappearance and knowing that though she is leaving them, she has experienced very powerful love in her family’s protection of her.