Thursday, February 21, 2013

The Richmond Theater Fire

THE RICHMOND THEATER FIRE of Dec.26th 1811.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Theatre_fire

Don't click on the picture below. Go to the link about the book provided
at the bottom of this post.

I just read this book. Very interesting history. The kind of history that is often not taught in our schools. I had never heard of it before and nobody I know had heard of it either.
Monumental Church in Richmond, Va. was built on the site of the fire as a monument to the people who perished there. Over 70 people died in the fire(others say 100) including the Governor of Virginia.
E.A. Poe was 3 years old at the time. His mother had just died. He was orphaned to John Allan and his wife who lived just a few blocks from this theater when it burned.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_Poe
Here is a link to the author's blog and a video of her speaking about it.
http://www.theaterfirebook.com/merediths-blog/

Here is a link to info on the book.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Richmond-Theater-Fire-Correspondent/dp/080714374X