The Hatbox Baby

by Carrie Brown

A baby born three months early is brought to the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago in 1933 by his father, who hopes the fair's famous baby doctor will save the infant's life.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Book Club

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Carrie Brown is the author of five novels – her most recent novel is The Rope Walk (Pantheon, 2007) – and a collection of short stories, The House on Belle Isle. Her other novels include Rose’s Garden, Lamb in Love, The Hatbox Baby and Confinement.

She has won many awards for her work, including a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, the Barnes and Noble Discover Award, the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize, and The Great Lakes Book Award. She has also twice won the Library of Virginia’s Fiction Award, and her novel The Rope Walk was chosen as the All Iowa Reads Selection by the Iowa Public Library. Her novels have appeared on the Best Books of the Year lists from The Christian Science Monitor and The Chicago Tribune.

A frequent book reviewer for newspapers including The Washington Post and The Boston Globe, her short fiction has also appeared in journals including One Story, The Oxford American, The Georgia Review, Glimmer Train, and Blackbird. She teaches Creative Writing at Sweet Briar College in Virginia. You can visit her summer reading blog http://bookclub.blog.sbc.edu/.

Reviews

[Larry Bassett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book gets an extra star from me if it makes me cry. That happened with this book. The one word from the Washington Post review noted on the cover is “Heartfelt.”

Carrie Brown is a local writer here in central Virginia. She teaches writing at nearby Sweet Briar College. I talked with her briefly at a reading several years ago where she read a segment of her novel, The Rope Walk, before it was published. This is the second time I have read some of her books, including The Hatbox Baby. I enjoy her writing. It is easy to read and personal. I often find her books to be page turners, as this one was. I read it in two days.

A young man brings his premature son to a special doctor and the story develops from there. Chapter One is a whirlwind tour of the 1933 Chicago Exhibition, the setting for much of the book. Chapter Two introduces the fictional character St. Louis, the gentle sidekick who is a bit of a sideshow freak himself, the beast of Beauty and the Beast. Chapter Three introduces Dr. Hoffman, the guardian of the premature babies in the gleaming incubators, created in the spirit of a real doctor who specialized in premature infants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And Chapter Four introduces Caroline, the fan dancer who performs nude behind her ostrich feathers in the show next door to the premees . Each of these characters has a role in the love stories of The Hatbox Baby.

In a four page “Author’s Note and Acknowledgments,” Ms. Brown shares some of the process she used in creating the events and characters in the work of historical fiction. She shares that the writer Thomas Mallon said, “Nouns always trump adjectives, and in the phrase ‘historical fiction’ it is important to remember which of the two words is which.” She follows with this statement of her own: “I am indebted to Mallon for this axiom, and for his example of willful and inspired distortion.” With that caution from the author, the story contains a detailed description of the Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago in 1933. There are other relevant factoids from that era throughout the book. Carrie Brown weaves her fact and fiction very neatly together.

A 2002 recorded interview with Carrie Brown can be found at http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/v1n1/fic...

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

On May 27th, 1933 the World’s Fair , the Century of Progress Exposition, opened in Chicago, Illinois. One of the highest grossing exhibits in the Exposition, second only to the exotic fan dancer Sally Rand, was the Infant Incubator , the brainchild of Dr. Martin Couney, a specialist in the care of prematurely born infants.

In her historical fiction novel, The Hatbox Baby, Carrie Brown recounts the tale of a fragile baby boy placed in a hatbox round as his mother’s pregnant belly immediately after his premature birth and delivered into the hands of Dr. Leo Hoffman, curator of Baby Incubators: All the World Loves a Baby, an exhibit at the Century Of Progress Exposition in Chicago. Through weird twists of fate, the newborn baby weaves his way into the heart of St. Louis Percy, dwarf cousin and bodyguard of the famous fan dancer Caroline Day, who herself becomes the lover of Dr. Hoffman.

Although the story loses some of its initial momentum, I found the crafting of words to be so evocative that I was reluctant to put this book down and when the story ended I craved more. Has Ms. Brown left her story open –ended with a thought to writing more or to letting the reader ponder on the most satisfying end to this heartrending and heartwarming drama of an earlier time? I don’t know. What I do know is that The Hatbox Baby has become one of my all-time favorite books. I hope you’ll read it for yourself/

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice weaving of fiction and the real-life Chicago World's Expo.

[Dorie - Cats&Books :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story takes place at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933. Wonderful writing with great sensory images. A real glimpse of Chicago at this time and place. Lots of good characters including the hat box baby and family, a fan dancer, a brilliant doctor, etc. A very unique and absorbing plot with finally a wonderful ending. I really enjoyed this book

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this book, but just couldn't really get into the characters...they all sort of annoyed me. But, the history of it was interesting, and from what I gather was based on a real doctor.

[Mom2nine · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I thought this book started a bit slowly, but well worth the effort to give it time for the story to build. the "hatbox baby" is only a part of the story. It follows various people tied to the Chicago fair and in reading about it, I would like to do my own research."

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

a little slow to start, but some surprisingly tender accounts of the inner workings of the heart :)

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hatbox Baby was enchanting and suspenseful. Brown’s writing is full of imagery and personification that hits the mark every time. Her characters are complex and she does an excellent job of showing us their thoughts and their often surprising choices and actions.

I chose this book because I enjoyed The Rope Walk (read it with my book club) and wanted to read more by Carrie Brown. She has written several to choose from and this was very interesting to me because I am the mother of triplets who spent time in incubators: it’s neat to see how the science and social attitudes toward premature babies have changed over time. I realize this is fiction but it’s been very well researched.

Also, if you’ve enjoyed Devil In The White City or other books about old world Chicago, you’ll enjoy the way Brown does such a wonderful job of describing the Century of Progress and the current events of the time. In the second half of the book, she recounts public events that are going on outside the fair. You’ll begin to wonder if every day life in the real world might actually be crazier than life at the Fair.

She does an excellent job of suspense, especially at the end where St. Louis does something very unexpected. When I got interrupted, I was excited for the next chance I’d get to read more. I was drawn in and wanted to know what would happen next.

After all these compliments, why only four stars? The ending contained too much uncertainty. I wish she had given us a little bit more clarity. It almost feels like she avoided a resolution because that was easier than tackling the tangled situation at hand.

I’ll be happy to read another Carrie Brown book soon.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book falls into the historical faction genre category. I especially enjoyed the references to the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. It takes an in-depth look into life at the fair during a time following the Great Depression. I was not aware of the incubator baby exhibit. Nor was I aware that exhibit traveled from carnival/fair raising funds to sort the doctor's work. None of the families whose premature babies were accepted into the program paid anything. It is a touching story.

[Jane Shields · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book could have been so good. There was so much history of the Fair to mix in with the fictional aspects that she wanted to use from her imagination. But, instead, it's a collection of long winded descriptions of details of sights and smells. Some sentences go on for an entire paragraph outlining the specifics of a tree or a road. I'm surprised I finished it, but I did want to find out what happened to the Hatbox Baby. Alas.

[Emma B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasurable read. I read this book after discovering the author is the wife of John Gregory Brown, an author I discovered through reading the Moviegoer by Walker Percy. It is a historical novel about an exhibit of premature babies at a fair in Chicago, and the doctor and nurses who take care of them, intertwined with other characters and acts at the fair.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. I never knew about the incubator baby exhibits set up at fairs and exhibitions of the past. I thought the character development was excellent. I was interested in hearing from all the parties. Even though I didn't feel like I got to know them too well, I was intrigued by their actions and was able to figure out what made them tick on my own.

[Marcy Schneider · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a very slow start. The facts about the fair were interesting, and the characters were appealing as well. However, the ending was bitterly disappointing and left this reader feeling cheated.

[Kris Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting historical novel. good character development. good plot and ending. We've come a long way in 90 years! I will remember novel for awhile -

[elane jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall story was a bit disappointing but held my interest during the read.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It just didn't 'take off'. Grew restless. Couldn't finish it.

[Eliz]

Not particularly good, but good enough to finish while “safer at home.” Picked up from my Mom’s book giveaway pile. Curious to learn more about Dr Martin Couney, on whom this is loosely based.

[Cathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could I would give this book less than one star.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very descriptive writing so you can picture everything around the characters.

[Sandra Ellis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish.

[1rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is good historical fiction. A little different than other books I have read. It’s a good summery of the Chicago World’s Fair.

[Morningstar Stevenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was reminded of this book when I saw this NPR news story today: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-wa...

[Graceann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A frightened, gentle young man turns up at the famed exhibit of premature babies in the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, and gives his newborn son to the care of the only person who could possibly help him. What happens next changes many lives, some for the better and others not so much.

Everyone at the Fair has a story, and they're all pretty interesting. Caroline Day the fan dancer, and her cousin St. Louis, are neighbors of the exhibit and take an interest in the babies and the doctor. The community of the Fair; how they watch over one another and how their lives intertwine, is fascinating. Carrie Brown puts them together in a lyrical and poetic way, shining a light on a culture to which I admit I'd not given much thought.

I love that we are asked, in some instances, to draw our own conclusions rather than having the story spelled out for us, and I appreciated that the characters are not black and white, hero and villain, but written in shades of grey.

[Alan Marchant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't describe The Hatbox Baby without a compare/contrast with Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City. Both are set at a World's Fain in Chicago (1933 vs. 1893). Both are structured as an interweaving of contrasting characters (in this case an incubator exposition vs. a fan dance show). And both are centered on biblical themes without any overt religiosity. The harsh contrast is that Devil is a horror story while The Hatbox Baby is a romance.

The romance involves the fan dancer, her insecure cousin, and the preemie doctor. Instead of a romantic triangle, we get three distinct redemptive relationships. Brown's prose is rich and her characterizations are delicate.

Unfortunately I can't give the book 5 stars because the male characters don't succeed as such. They just don't have any testosterone.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Last month I loved the novel I read by Carrie Brown. This month, I wasn't as enchanted. The story had some interesting points to it. I enjoyed learning about doctors in the 1930s who attempted to save preemie babies. The one in this novel had to have the infants in his care on display at world fairs and expositions. He used the proceeds to fund his research.

I enjoyed meeting several people involved with the World's Fair in Chicago. Overall, the plot line was interesting, but nothing gelled. I never grew attached to any of the characters or their stories. I finished it, and that was the end of my relationship with that book.

[Shawn Jaquiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be very strange. The author used the technique of telling the story from several different character's perspectives. The problem is that it's hard to be interested in the back stories of the characters when they don't seem to be driving the story forward in any meaningful way. They were simply not compelling and not interesting. All I wanted to know about was the babies and the medical personnel caring for them and there was far too little of that.

[Quiltgranny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminded me a lot of The White City, but less dark. The characters are fairly well developed, all except the hatbox baby. It moved through the events very slowly, and I had a difficult time keeping my interest in the main characters. I would have liked to know more about how the doctor/s even thought about incubators and more details about the babies in the "exhibit".

[Chelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up at a thrift store. It was a interesting and quick read, filled with a lot of well-researched historical detail about 1933 Chicago and the difficulties wrought by the economy and the war, in addition to showing the early stages of medical research into understanding and nurturing premature infants. I enjoyed it and will pass it along to anyone interested in reading it.

[Karyl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree that this was very interesting. I enjoyed the way the author wrote, with dense, vivid word pictures forming in my mind as I read. But sometimes it got to be just too much detail, leading to a bogging down of the action, and having the very diverse plot lines was quite confusing in the beginning. I also did not enjoy the ambiguity of the ending.

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enchanting. Inspired by the incubator displays and premature infant " shows" that existed in the early days of neonatal medicine.
A dazzling front row seat to the many offerings of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.
A study of what we hope for, work towards, long for and what we ultimately sacrifice along the way.