Fire Angels: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Description

Three weeks before Christmas, on 1 December 1958, one of the most horrific fires in American history broke out at Our Lady of the Angels elementary school in Chicago, claiming the lives of ninety-two children and three nuns. This is a fictional account of that fire. It is a story of arson; of bravery by parents, nuns, firefighters, and medical professionals; of a falsely accused janitor; of a cover-up within the Catholic Church; of a judge who, in having to determine the juvenile arsonist's fate, is torn between loyalty to his church and justice; of a tight-knit community changed forever; and of two survivors who fall in love. Fire itself is also a central character in this story, a cunning observer that comes to life whenever a flame is lit.

Reviews

"The story is heartbreakingly engrossing, and part of Chicago's living history." --Foreword Reviews

Author Bio

Elizabeth Kern is the author of Wanting to Be Jackie Kennedy and Mercy Goodhue, a Puritan Woman's Story of Betrayal, Witchcraft and Madness. She is a native of Chicago, a former manager of corporate communications at Apple, and a graduate of Stanford University, where she developed her passion for writing historical fiction. She lives in Petaluma, California.