The Great Influenza or Spanish Flu (1918-21) was the most deadly pandemic of the modern era. In its first year it killed more than the entire First World War. It spread very fast and was particularly deadly amongst the young and healthy.
Katherine Anne Porter was twenty-seven and working a theatre critic for a local newspaper in Denver in 1918. She survived Spanish flu and later wrote a classic ‘very autobiographical’ story of a tragic romance called Pale Horse, Pale Rider.
Listen to the (adapted) opening and answer the questions below.
- Who is Miranda happy to see? Why is he happy?
- Where do they meet?
- Where do they walk?
- What do they stop for?
- What do they agree to do at the end?
Reading Worksheet: Pale Horse, Pale Rider