Years before COVID-19 escalated to a global health crisis, NMU English Professor Emeritus John Smolens wrote Quarantine. The historical fiction novel is based on an actual 1796 epidemic in a New England town, but its many parallels to the current pandemic—hoarding, profiteering, defying shelter-in-place orders—make it highly relevant despite the time difference.
The Detroit Free Press today published a Q&A with Smolens about Quarantine's added impact. As evidence of that, Michigan State University Press, which released a paperback version in 2019, reports a 25% bump in sales over the past month. Read the story and Q&A here. For more about Quarantine and Smolens' other books, visit his author website here.