When a cook who carried typhoid fever refused to stop working, despite showing no symptoms, the authorities forcibly quarantined her for nearly three decades. Perfect villain or just a woman scapegoated because of her background? What the story of Typhoid Mary tells us about journalism, the powers of the state, and the tension between personal responsibility and personal liberty.
If you would like to read more about the topic:
- Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
- Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical By Anthony Bourdain
- Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public's Health by Judith Walzer Leavitt
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