Roman Fever

Roman fever refers to a particularly deadly strain of malaria that affected Rome, Italy, throughout various epochs in history; an epidemic of Roman Fever. It was thought that Roman fever was contracted at night, and thus that it was dangerous to venture out, a belief that American authors Henry James and Edith Wharton employ in their stories "Daisy Miller" and "Roman Fever," respectively.

In James's novella "Daisy Miller", American girl Daisy Miller contracts Roman fever after unwisely venturing to the Colosseum with her would-be Italian suitor Giovanelli.

Plot Summary of the Short Story
Roman fever plays a more central role in Edith Wharton's short story of the same title, in which two best friends meet each other again in their middle years in Rome. The two protagonists are Grace Ansley and Alida Slade, both of whom are widows, each with one daughter, Barbara and Jenny, respectively. The two grew up in Manhattan, New York, and were friends from childhood. A romantic rivalry in their youth leads Mrs. Slade to nurture feelings of jealousy and hatred against Mrs. Ansley. This results in Mrs. Slade bringing up a letter written to Mrs. Ansley many years ago, back in Rome. The letter is purportedly from Mrs. Slade's then-fiancé, Delphin, inviting Mrs. Ansley to a romantic rendezvous at theColosseum. In fact, it was Mrs. Slade who wrote the letter, in an attempt to get Mrs. Ansley out of the way of the engagement by disappointing her with Delphin's absence (and, it is implied, to get Mrs. Ansley sick with Roman Fever). Mrs. Ansley is upset, but reveals that she was not left alone at the Colosseum- she responded to the letter, and Delphin arrived to meet her. Mrs. Slade eventually states that Grace Ansley ought not feel sorry for her, because Alida eventually won Delphin, taking his name as hers, while Grace had nothing but the memories of a forged letter. Mrs. Ansley responds, in the last sentence of the story, "I had Barbara."