Hell's Hundred Acres

by Andrew Serra

March 25, 1911. Hundreds of seamstresses are hard at work on the upper floors of a ten-story factory loft. The workday ends and Esther Greenberg stands from her sewing machine and heads for the stairs, looking forward to her plans for that Saturday evening. “Fire!” someone shouts, and Esther sees smoke outside the windows. The building is ablaze and she’s trapped nine stories up.
Charlie Pendergrass has learned a great deal since becoming a fireman—about the job and himself. But he must decide what kind of future he wants, and he just might lose it all to the flames.
From the irascible fire chief Edward Croker to the ruthless business magnate Max Blanck, Hell’s Hundred Acres is the richly detailed story of the disparate lives that intersected at one of the deadliest tragedies in New York City history—the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

328 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 7, 2025

About the author

Andrew Serra is the author of several books, including The Dead Florentines, La Petite Parisienne, and Zuccotti Park. In 2018, he published Finding John, a memoir of his experience as a firefighter responding to the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He has been featured on FOX-5 NY Good Day Wake Up, NY1 News Around the Boroughs, and Z100 Elvis Duran and the Morning Show. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Tudor City Press and author Andrew Serra for an autographed copy of this book won through a Goodreads giveaway. I found the first 3/4 of this book a little slow. Serra has a great understanding and knowledge of fire fighting and the dangerous circumstances that set up the tragic fire at the Triangle factory in 1911. The chapters about the fire were harrowing and a riveting reading experience. All the characters from the previous chapters were pulled together at the end. I liked this book, but did skim a few chapters in the middle.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whew, heavy with content that shows several different topics: the role of women in industrial manufacturing, the role of women as political force, political control of industrial standards and enforcement, fire safety standards in 1900's society safety response. The use of the character was well chosen and related to each topic area. Two immigrant sisters seek work and are employed in a sewing workhouse in New York. The firemen in the characters of an honest fire chief with family ties to the Tammany organization and a young fireman trying to choose a livelihood after part-time dock worker status. An elevator operator in the sewing workhouse building and his relationship to the women employed there. An insurance scam by the workhouse owners to obtain more money for a second building purchase, disposal of unsold inventory using insurance scam, a conflict over fire station regulations and the need for city improvements to help bring the city up to par for safety make a volatile catastrophe all too predictable. The resulting fire set disastrous fatalities and heroism from the situation. This was a free book to read and review. Wow, I felt the anxious anticipation from the first chapter and barely put the book down until I was finished. Author used great skill and information to place the reader into the shoes of the characters. I think this is definitely a must read. This could be a movie; it was in my mind as action blockbuster.

[David Biesty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting Action in a Historical Novel

Author Andrew Serra brings us a novel leading up to and during the famous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911. The Author develops the two main characters and weaves them together just before the fire.
Esther is an immigrant factory worker who operates a sewing machine alongside her sister. From Esther’s point of view, we learn of the difficulties of working six (long) days a week in the factory. Charlie is the new fireman assigned to the Hell’s Hundred Acres (an area of Manhattan) firehouse. We learn what it is like being the new guy in a 1911’s firehouse. Charlie and Esther first meet at a union meeting regarding fire safety at factories. Charlie agrees to look for her at the next dance.

We also get points of view from the Chief of the Fire Department and the owner of the factory, with a little of Tammany Hall thrown in. The author builds interest in the era and the characters.

When we get to the day of the fire, the author makes sure the action is fast paced and vivid, all while keeping up with all the various characters roles, and points of view in the same timeline. Although history has recorded what happened that day the reader is drawn in, and filled with anticipation over how each character, that they have become attached to, will end up.

[Wednesday Derrico · Rating 5 out of 5]

As we approach the 114th anniversary of the tragedy of triangle shirtwaist factory fire, I am speechless, finishing Serra’s book. A story I have heard dozens of times, and thought of often during my time at NYU, passing the historic building, and still I was brought to tears, shaking, as I read Serra’s retelling of the tragedy. The cadence of the chapters, the heart, poured into the characters, all from very different backgrounds with different passions, made for a suspenseful and moving book.

What sits in my gut as I close this book, are thoughts of the many immigrants in our beloved city and country today - who still find themselves working in unsafe conditions without basic human rights. Every human being deserves to be treated with dignity and given equal opportunity. How can anyone argue that those women deserved to die in the name of profit? This argument is still used today.

This is an important retelling, by the perfect author for the job, as Serra dedicated his career to firefighting. I feel proud to be a New Yorker and grateful to my ancestors who braved the journey to find a better life here.

[J Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

A historical novel set in 1911 where a “johnny” firefighter meets a poor factory work who sews shirtwaists at the triangle shirtwaist company. They start their relationship-difficult with no cell phones, and she works 6 days a week, and he does ten straight 24-hour days at the firehouse (a lot of horse poop to deal with back then). The greedy owners don’t care about the appalling factory conditions and a terrible fire breaks out. The firefighter (fireman back then) is on the scene trying to get to his new girl. Serra keeps the action moving and tension high. Who will survive? Read it and find out.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrew Serra has done a remarkable job immersing us in New York City at the dawn of the 20th Century. Enter the world he has created and walk the sidewalks of New York where horses still pulled fire engines through the streets, workers were emerging from sweatshops into still dangerous overcrowded factories, when Tammany Hall was still clinging to power, all the while following the universal story of young love unfolding right before our eyes. Open Hell's Hundred Acres at your own risk—since once you start it, you’ll find it hard to put down. This is the seventh book that the author has given us, and I can't wait for the next.

[Coventry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of a factory worker who sews at the triangle shirtwaist factory. Also, a story of a fireman. The factory conditions are terrible. The owners are so incredibly greedy. The fireman puts in a lot of days and long hours. But they try to make it work to get together. This story is in history, but this story will really get you immersed in the story. This book will pull you in and make you hold your breath wondering what will happen to these two characters. Good book that was hard to put down.

[Bre3924 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received my free copy of Hell's Hundred Acres from Goodreads giveaway. I am so happy I won. This was such a great read. It did not take me long to finish it as it was a real page turner and had my undivided attention from the first chapter. So many emotions were reached while digesting this saga and I still find it hard to believe people can be so greedy. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and highly recommend this to any reader. Very well written.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hell’s Hundred Acres

There are many laws that are in place to protect people. There are stories behind why they exist. From greedy business owners to loss of life, sometimes the government needed to step in to protect the citizens. This book focuses on how and why the laws concerning fires began. It also takes a look at how businesses influence government and vice versa. Mixed into all of that is a love story and a story about new beginnings.

#GoodreadsGiveaways

[Brooklyn Norrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable historical fiction novel on a topic I haven't heard about since high school history class. I loved the characters and the premise of the story. 😊 The only thing I would've changed is the chronology of the chapters, I felt as if it jumped from year to year quite a bit. This just made it a bit harder to keep the story pieced together.

[Sheliz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated the author’s take on what was a VERY tragic event. He brought all the characters to life and gave them a richness that can only come from combing through historical archives along with interviews.

Looking forward to reading his other works.


Someone should purchase the rights of this novel and make it into a movie.