We Played With Fire
This YA novel is based on the intriguing true story of sisters Maggie and Kate Fox who convinced many people in mid-19th-century America that they could communicate with the spirits of the dead. It begins in 1848 when the Fox family has recently relocated to the community of Hydesville, New York, drawing readers in by relating the sensationally reported incident which began the girls’ careers as mediums. The narrative then goes back to 1847 when they lived in Rochester in the home of Amy and Isaac Post, activists in the anti-slavery and women’s rights movements. The action moves forward again to 1848 when the girls became famous for conducting séances in New York City. Their activities are met with opprobrium from some quarters of society and with encouragement from others. The latter is due to emotional need on the part of those who have lost loved ones but also to an interest in Spiritualism from some radical thinkers, and this insight into the political and historical context of the time gives depth to the novel.
The author says in an afterword that ‘Historical accounts of the Fox sisters tend to present them as gifted mediums, or absolute frauds.’ The way their story is woven in this novel presents them with much more nuance. They are under no illusion that they are using a variety of tricks to persuade people of their veracity. However, there are events and coincidences that are not easily explained away, and the older sister Maggie, in particular, has encounters that are left open to interpretation. Although this a third-person narrative, Maggie is certainly the focal character. She is fourteen at the time the story takes place, an age when the prospective readership may be inclined to identify and empathise with her and her adolescent uncertainties.
