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AUTHOR’S NOTE:

I’ve been obsessed with the Chicago Fire since I was a kid. Some of my earliest memories are of going to the Chicago History Museum and other places associated with the fire. I loved hearing the stories of what happened, and I always wanted to tell those stories myself.

I started writing the book in 1998, and I tinkered with it off and on for ten years. At first I worried that people wouldn’t relate to it: I knew historical fiction wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and I assumed those kinds of disasters didn’t happen anymore. Sadly, both 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina proved me wrong. I couldn’t help but notice the parallels to the fire, given all the tragic lives lost, the stories of courage in the face of overwhelming odds, and the painful but cathartic rebuilding. I realized this story wasn’t confined to the nineteenth century at all. Something about it was timeless and universal.

By the time I finished the book in 2008, I felt my challenge was frankly not to screw it up. I’ll leave it to readers to gauge how well I succeeded….

— P.

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