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The Evolution of Annabel Craig

A Novel

ebook
3 of 7 copies available
3 of 7 copies available
A young Southern woman sets out on a journey of self-discovery as the infamous 1925 Scopes Trial tests her faith and her marriage in this moving novel from the author of Time After Time and The Irresistible Henry House.

“Lisa Grunwald is a national treasure. . . . An essential American story from a master craftsman.”—Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Left Undone

I had never questioned a miracle, witnessed a gunfight, or seen a dead body. . . . I had thought I knew exactly what I wanted and what I didn't. Before the summer was over, all that and much more would change.
 
Annabel Hayes—born, baptized, and orphaned in the sleepy conservative town of Dayton, Tennessee—is thrilled to find herself falling quickly and deeply in love with George Craig, a sophisticated attorney newly arrived from Knoxville. But before the end of their first year of marriage, their lives are beset by losses. The strain on their relationship is only intensified when John T. Scopes is arrested for teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution at the local high school.
Foreshadowing today’s culture wars, the trial against Scopes is a spectacle unlike any the country has seen. William Jennings Bryan—a revered Southern politician—joins the prosecution, pitting himself and his faith against the renowned defense attorney Clarence Darrow. Journalists descend in a frenzy, thrusting the town and its citizens into the national spotlight. And when George joins the team defending Scopes, Annabel begins to question both her beliefs and her vows.
As the ongoing trial divides neighbor against neighbor, it also divides the Craigs in unexpected ways. But in the midst of these conflicts—one waged in an open courtroom, the other behind closed doors—Annabel will discover that the path to her own evolution begins with the courage to think for herself.
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    • Library Journal

      November 1, 2023

      Film rights were snapped up for Grunwald's last novel, Time After Time. Now she features real historical events in this story about a young woman in 1925 Tennessee whose marriage is tested as her lawyer husband works on the Scopes Trial, litigating the teaching of the theory of evolution at a public high school. Prepub Alert.

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 12, 2024
      The layered and timely latest from Grunwald (Time After Time) revolves around the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial. Orphaned at age 16 in the 1918 flu pandemic, Annabel Craig counts herself lucky to have found domestic bliss with her lawyer husband, George. Then a client of George’s is acquitted for murder and subsequently kills his young son and himself, prompting George to retreat emotionally from Annabel and disappear for days on end. When Annabel reports she’s had a miscarriage, George fails to express concern for her well-being. His old spark returns, however, when he joins Clarence Darrow’s defense team in the case against high school teacher John Scopes for violating a Tennessee law prohibiting the teaching of evolution. Annabel, who grew up attending one of the local Methodist churches, finds her initial preference for populist preacher and prosecutor William Jennings Bryan challenged during the trial. Her assumptions about women’s place in marriage and society are likewise shaken by Lottie Nelson, an ambitious young reporter covering the case. Grunwald provides vivid depictions of the influx of reporters and expert witnesses into small-town Dayton, Tenn., as well as a nuanced and well-rounded view of the religious townspeople. With book bans and anti-trans legislation tearing apart school districts, Grunwald’s evenhanded historical speaks volumes to the present day. Agent: Julie Barer, Book Group.

    • Kirkus

      March 1, 2024
      A Tennessee woman is swept into the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial when her camera skills get her a front-row seat at the proceedings, causing her to grow away from her upbringing. A native of Dayton, Tennessee, Annabel is working as a housekeeper at a hotel when she meets and marries George Craig, a lawyer come to town to start his career, but the honeymoon ends when a client George got acquitted commits a horrific act of violence. George's spirits and career get a boost when he joins Clarence Darrow's team, which is defending the teaching of evolution in public schools. Annabel navigates the shoals of her marriage and tries to square her traditional beliefs with the positions of Darrow--and her husband, who belittles her for being provincial and uneducated. Nevertheless, as an avid amateur photographer, she's thrilled when Lottie Nelson, a "lady reporter" she and George are putting up at their house, hires her to take pictures for the Chattanooga News. Although Grunwald's research is admirable, she can disrupt her own narrative with anticipatory statements. For example, when Lottie files a story disclosing George's negative views of the trial judge, rather than letting the consequences unfold, Grunwald has Annabel say, "I guessed that her story would be exceptionally long. I didn't guess that it would also be exceptionally destructive." Two pages later, we learn just how damaging the story is. In considering the pros and cons of the South, Annabel can be simplistic, but she does offer some important insights. "Women made the small decisions and men made the big ones. The small decisions often had the biggest consequences, like how a family handled hardship, or how far a dollar could be stretched, or what a child was taught to believe. But the big decisions made more noise." Provides a sense of how it felt to be in Dayton at the time of the Scopes trial.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      March 15, 2024
      Orphaned as a teenager during the Spanish flu epidemic, Annabel is supported by her church and her community in sleepy Dayton, Tennessee, but doesn't feel truly connected to anyone until attorney George Craig literally sweeps her off her feet. While their marriage initially seems picture-perfect, dual tragedies threaten her tentative happiness as George withdraws. When the town fathers contrive to put Dayton on the map by providing the ACLU with a test case challenging a state law forbidding schools from teaching evolution, George's interest in the case renews Annabel's hope for their marriage. But his alliance with teacher John Scopes' lead defense attorney, Clarence Darrow, puts them at odds with their neighbors. Then Annabel hosts Lottie Nelson, a visiting reporter who encourages her independence and interest in photography, even getting her into the press box. As the trial progresses, Annabel questions her religion and her aspirations. Grunwald (Time after Time, 2019) wisely tells the story from the perspective of an older Annabel, reflecting her own evolution. Sure to be a book-club favorite as well as a gentle corrective to our current polarized culture.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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