Conflagration: How Love And Courage Survived America's Deadliest Fire

One forgotten disaster. One unforgettable love story.

On the night of October 8–9, 1871, a firestorm swept across northeastern Wisconsin, claiming more than a thousand lives and destroying entire communities. Although it remains the deadliest wildfire in American history, the Peshtigo Fire has long been overshadowed by the Great Chicago Fire, which ignited on the very same night.

In Conflagration: How Love and Courage Survived America's Deadliest Fire, newlyweds John and Jennie Mulligan begin building a future in the thriving lumber town of Peshtigo. Surrounded by hardworking families, immigrants, clergy, healers, and their Indigenous Menominee neighbors, they create a life filled with hope as the forests around them quietly become a tinderbox.

As drought intensifies and warning signs are ignored, small fires merge into an unstoppable inferno. When the firestorm finally strikes, it moves with unimaginable speed and destruction, forcing impossible choices and testing the strength of love, faith, and community.

Meticulously researched and emotionally powerful, Conflagration is both an unforgettable historical novel and a moving tribute to the people whose courage endured one of America's greatest forgotten tragedies. Blending historical fact with richly imagined storytelling, Susan M. Gordon shines a light on resilience, sacrifice, and the extraordinary strength found in ordinary people.

Perfect for readers who enjoy:
• Historical Fiction
• Historical Romance
• American History
• Civil War–era and 19th-century fiction
• Family sagas
• Stories inspired by true events

"A richly detailed account of an under heralded American tragedy." — Kirkus Reviews*