Terrible Typhoid Mary

Susan Campbell Bartoletti’s nonfiction work for children, Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America (2015), tells the true story of a woman who accidentally infected numerous Americans with typhoid. It was chosen as a 2016 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book for its contribution to children’s nonfiction. Bartoletti is an American children’s book writer living in Pennsylvania. She teaches writing classes to students across numerous MA and MFA programs and leads writing workshops offered through the Highlights Foundation. She was an English teacher before becoming a writer.

Terrible Typhoid Mary is the biography of Mary Mallon, also known as “Typhoid Mary.” She was the first healthy carrier of typhoid fever in the United States. Mary, who had no idea that a healthy woman could pass on typhoid, inadvertently caused serious typhoid outbreaks. Public health officials later branded her a danger to the public and forced her to live in seclusion.

Bartoletti wrote Terrible Typhoid Mary to uncover the truth about the real Mary Mallon, exposing the unjust way she was treated by everyone around her. Bartoletti proposes that Mary’s human and constitutional rights were severely violated and that the state of New York treated her unlawfully—if not inhumanely. Bartoletti attempts to reveal the woman behind the tabloid scandals, explaining that Mary’s alleged crimes could never have been intentional, since she had no idea that she caused harm.



Although Terrible Typhoid Mary is primarily a children’s book, it serves as a useful introduction for adults who are unfamiliar with Mary Mallon’s story. The narrative covers the events leading up to the investigation of Mary and her attempts to defend herself. The book ends with comments on the strength of Mary’s spirit, and how her status as a healthy typhoid carrier led to reformed approaches to hygiene and infection control.

Bartoletti begins with a brief description of Mary Mallon, and how she drew the attention of the Public Health Department. She began working for Mrs. Warren in 1906 after working for some of the most prestigious families in New York City. Ironically, Mary is known for her impeccable health and for never taking any sick days. She has no family, no children, and she appears to be the perfect cook. Unfortunately for Mary, working for Mrs. Warren is the beginning of her downfall.

Mary has spent years working her way up from ordinary servant to one of the most sought-after cooks in the area. She keeps herself immaculate, runs a clean kitchen, and cooks safe food. When the health officials visit Mary, she is flabbergasted. She can’t possibly be responsible for spreading typhoid. Yet, she has infected people with typhoid everywhere that she has worked—including Mrs. Warren’s home. Bartoletti notes that, although Mary didn’t consent to give samples, she was forced to cooperate.



To Bartoletti, Mary’s forced submission to medical procedures highlights a key difference between how men and women are treated at the time. No men suspected of carrying diseases are ever forced to provide samples. It also raises questions about consent to medical procedures more generally, regardless of gender. As the book is written for children, Bartoletti doesn’t explore the ethical implications in detail, but she does plant the questions for young people to discuss themselves.

Terrible Typhoid Mary also highlights another gender issue—Mary is forced into seclusion, whereas healthy male carries keep on working. No one provides Mary with retraining, and she has no other skills to support herself. Her life as a cook and servant is over, and she is left with nothing. Bartoletti explores the ethical issues around stripping Mary’s career away from her without being able to prove wrongdoing. This issue raises questions about civil negligence, and what it means to be at fault, more generally.

Although Terrible Typhoid Mary primarily focuses on Mary’s life and downfall, Bartoletti doesn’t neglect the other key figure at the time—George Soper. George is a prominent sanitary engineer instructed to improve public health, develop better living conditions, and control the spread of infections.



Bartoletti considers the two sides of George. On one hand, he is devoted to science and improving the lives of others. He seeks justice and fairness. On the other hand, Mary presents an opportunity to make him famous. Not only does he bring down a prominent cook, but he also proves that healthy typhoid carriers exist. Bartoletti compares both sides of George’s personality and considers that, while he contributed to Mary’s downfall, he felt some sympathy towards her.

By examining Mary’s case, Terrible Typhoid Mary provides an overview of germ theories in the 1900s. Bartoletti explains how so many conflicting theories existed at the time, and many people distrusted doctors and their supposed breakthroughs. Moreover, the very real fear of epidemics made people terrified of healthy carriers, because they did not yet understand the links between hygiene and disease transmission. Barotelli concludes that Mary wasn’t negligent by the standards of her time; she has been treated unfairly by many.