'October Mourning,' a novel of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic
News editor and author James Rada Jr., of Gettysburg, Pa., is familiar with Maryland and local history topics. In fact, he writes a column, "Looking Back,"--for the Cumberland Times-News and spends a lot of time browsing through old newspapers and books for items that catch his attention.
In 2004, he came across some information about the Spanish flu at the same time people were talking about the avian flu.
"As I started--investigating more about the Spanish--flu,--I realized it was an epidemic very few people knew about," Rada said. "It killed about--450 people in Allegany County in October 1918. That's about one percent of the county's population at the time."
Once Rada had the topic, he began compiling a 1918 timeline through the newspapers to get a feel for how the flu had affec-ted--Allegany County and the steps taken to fight it. He also had access to some other local history books and memoirs that added more detail to the events of the time. These provided the author with a framework to build the story, "October Mourning."
In addition, medical research was essential to fully understand the implications of the flu. Some of the information was far too technical for a novel, but he kept those facts in the back of his mind as he wrote "to make sure the flu affected people in a way that actually happened."
"Books--specifically about Spanish flu also allowed me to understand at what level medical research was at that point in time," Rada said.
In the book, the fight against the flu--begins with fictional character Dr. Alan Keener at Western Maryland Hospital in Cumberland.--At the sudden death of a patient, he turns to medical research for answers. The author writes:
"Can I get some tissue samples?" Keener asked.
Keener knew a pathologist on staff who could examine the tissue samples and maybe give him a clue of what happened. Sarah Jenkins might have died of pneumonia, but something created the situation, something had compromised Sarah's natural defenses enough to allow the pneumonia free reign of her body.
"Of what?" (medical examiner) Jack asked.
"Her lungs. I want to see if there's any influenza left in her lungs." Alan paused. "You'd better add some tissue from her feet, as well."
Research makes fiction 'real'
He wasn't going to chance missing anything this time.
In creating 1918 Cumberland, Rada found old photos were a great help to get the visual appearance of the city at the time. He also consulted maps and old personal papers that talked about life in the city. Additionally, he researched general lifestyle issues of that time period to be as authentic as he could.
"Historical fiction, at least for me, involves much more research ... to make sure the historical period or event I'm writing about is an integral part of the story," Rada said. "Writing about historical events also gives me a framework that I have to write my story around. It's kind of like a grapevine growing up a trellis."
Rada's first historical novel, "Canawlers," came after a biking trip along the entire length of the C&O Canal. As he read the biking guide during stops, the author realized that a lot had happened along the canal. Rada started thinking of ways to tell the story. Up until that time, most of his exposure to history had been through history texts in school. He feels "it's not the best way to enjoy it."
"In writing my first historical novel, I noticed that by combining a fictional story with nonfiction events, history became enjoyable," Rada said. Even though people learn something about history when they read one of his novels, he hopes they don't feel like they're being "taught history" as they read.
Rada wants his readers, primarily adults who like historical novels,--to enjoy reading "October Mourning" and to understand how dangerous a flu epidemic can be. According to the author's research, Spanish Flu killed more people than WWI. Forty million people died worldwide. More people died from one year of the Spanish Flu than died in four years of the Black Plague.
--Rada is also grateful to those who have worked with him to get historical information. One is author. Al Feldstein, who has been helpful in discovering where to look for information. Locally, John Kinnaird with the Thurmont Historical Society and Mike Hillman with the Emmitsburg Historical Society have helped with Frederick County history--as well as Mary Mannix of the Maryland Room in the Frederick County Library who has helped him research obscure questions.
Currently, Rada is working on a nonfiction history book set in Frederick County with the technique called "narrative nonfiction." Basically, it's writing nonfiction so that it reads like a novel and involves developing a narrative storyline.
"It combines the big ideas and stories you typically hear about in history books with the little details you rarely hear about, Rada says.
