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Author Stephanie Schorow will discuss her new book, The Great Boston Fire: The Inferno That Nearly Incinerated The City, on Zoom.

150 years ago, for two days in November 1872, a massive fire swept through Boston, leaving the downtown in ruins and the population traumatized. Coming barely a year after the infamous Chicago fire, Boston’s inferno turned out to be one of the most expensive fires per acre in U.S. history. Yet today few are aware of how close Boston came to destruction. Boston author Stephanie Schorow will recount the fire’s history from the foolish decisions that precipitated it to the heroics of firefighters who fought it. Experience the drama of a life-and-death battle in the heart of the city.

Stephanie Schorow is a veteran journalist who has worked for the Boston Herald, the Associated Press, and other media. Her previous books include Inside the Combat Zone: The Stripped Down Story of Boston’s Most Notorious Neighborhood; Drinking Boston: A History of the City and its Spirits;  Boston on Fire: A History of Fires and Firefighting in Boston; and The Cocoanut Grove Fire.

This virtual event is hosted by the Tewksbury Public Library in collaboration with Wilmington and other Massachusetts libraries.