The Great Boston Fire: A Lecture by Author Stephanie Schorow

November 2022 marks the 150th Anniversary of The Great Fire of Boston. As a complement to our exhibition “Fire and Water: An Exploration of the Great Fire of Boston,” Author Stephanie Schorow will present an illustrated lecture on the fire that probes the forces that produced it and the people who contained it. Book signing to follow. This program will take place live at the museum and is free of charge. Masks are currently recommended but not required. Reserve your free ticket in advance to secure your place. If seats are still available, Walk-ins will be welcome on the day of the program.

Schorow’s latest book “The Great Boston Fire: The Inferno that Nearly Incinerated the City” is available now:

“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 US history. Yet today few are aware of how close Boston came to destruction. Boston author Stephanie Schorow masterfully recounts the fire’s history from the foolish decisions that precipitated it to the heroics of firefighters who fought it. Lavishly illustrated with period artwork and photographs and published just before the fire’s 150th anniversary, The Great Boston Fire captures the drama of a life-and-death battle in the heart of the city.”

Stephanie Schorow is a journalist, writing instructor, and the author or co-author of seven books on Boston history, including The Great Boston Fire: The Inferno that Nearly Incinerated the City; Inside the Combat Zone: The Stripped Down Story of Boston’s Most Notorious Neighborhood; The Cocoanut Grove Fire; Boston on Fire: A History of Fires and Firefighting in Boston; East of Boston: Notes from the Harbor Island; and The Crime of the Century: How the Brink’s Robbers Stole Millions and the Hearts of Boston. She currently coordinates a Citizen Journalism Program for Malden’s Urban Media Arts, teaches professional writing and editing at Lasell University in Newton, Mass., and serves as a communication writer for Ariadne Labs in Boston. She has worked as an editor and reporter for the Boston Herald, the Associated Press, and newspapers in Connecticut, Idaho and Utah.