The Richmond Theater Fire
Early America’s First Great Disaster
Winner of Two National Writing Awards
Nominated for the Library of Virginia Literary Award
In the Press
“Best study yet of antebellum Richmond…highly recommended.”
“The Richmond Theater Fire is totally engrossing, a real page turner. Baker ably depicts the vibrancy of social and cultural life in early Richmond, and captures the horror, chaos, and shock of this terrible conflagration. She does a marvelous job of unearthing and marshaling primary sources to recreate for us the most detailed and heartbreaking account of this disaster that I have ever read.”
“Baker has written a smart and responsible popular history…Exhaustively researched and thoughtfully contextualized, this book is a welcome contribution.”
Bio
As a graduate student, I studied American History and Museum Studies at the College of William and Mary, and it was there I uncovered the story of this pivotal Virginia event. The Richmond Theater Fire, winner of the 2012 Jules and Frances F. Landry Award and the 2012 Phi Alpha Theta Best First Book Award, is my first book. I have been a featured speaker on Virginia history for events with the Historic Richmond Foundation, the Smithsonian, the Virginia Forum, Wilton House, the Library of Virginia, the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, and others. In 2021, I had the honor of a research residency at the Library of Virginia as a Virginia Humanities Fellow. I’m currently an educator and public historian in Richmond, Virginia.
Hear my Banner Lecture at the VMHC here!
“Richmond Theater Fire” Feature on Richmond’s CBS6
wins Emmy Award
I was honored to participate in this 2022 CBS 6 “I Have a Story” feature, which won a regional Emmy Award
Where to Buy the Book
