The Evolution of Annabel Craig – by Lisa Grunwald – independent book review -Historical Fiction (United States)

NOTE: I received an advanced readers copy of THE EVOLUTION OF ANNABEL CRAIG and I’m writing this review voluntarily. Thank you netgalley and Random House. Scheduled publication: April 16, 2024.

THE EVOLUTION OF ANNABEL CRAIG is solid, well-written historical fiction centered around the famous Scopes Trial (aka the Monkey Trial) that took place in the small town of Dayton, Tennessee in 1925. The novel examines the impact of the trial on the town, and on one woman in particular. It’s a story that feels particularly timely, given what’s going on in the United States at this moment. Awarded four stars on Goodreads.

I think I first learned about the Scopes Trial (named for teacher-defendant John T. Scopes) many decades ago when I watched the powerful 1960 movie Inherit the Wind, starring Fredric March and Spencer Tracy, though that movie was adapted from a play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee (NO, NOT the Civil War general).

I’m not sure younger readers are familiar with this case; it was a religion vs. science trial to determine whether the scientific theory of evolution could be taught in Tennessee public schools. Remember that Tennessee is solidly in the Bible Belt, an area of the United States that has historically been deeply conservative and devoutly Christian. Interesting to note that the term Bible Belt is credited to journalist H.L. Mencken who covered the Scopes Trial and is a character in this novel.

The story begins when the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announces it will finance a test case against a new law in Tennessee, called the Butler Act, which made it illegal to teach evolution in the schools, for fear it would undermine belief in God and the Bible. An ambitious group of businessmen in Dayton decide a trial could boost publicity, prestige, and tourism in their struggling town. So they talk unassuming teacher and football coach, John Thomas Scopes into becoming the defendant. This informal meeting is overheard near the beginning of the novel by one of Dayton’s residents, Annabel Craig, a young woman in her 20s, newly married, devoutly religious, whose thinking early on appears to typify that of most residents in Dayton.

You may already know that this trial becomes quite a big deal, drawing journalists from all over the country along with many prominent experts including Clarence Darrow, the chief attorney representing Scopes, and William Jennings Bryan, former populist presidential candidate and chief attorney defending the Butler Act.

It’s both fun and fascinating to watch how these small town residents change as the trial unfolds. Generally everyone pulls together in preparation, opening their homes to strangers, and creating merchandise to sell. But the trial doesn’t unfold quite the way people expect. Some journalists are biased and not always clear about what information is on the record versus what’s off the record. Friendships and marriages are tested as tensions increase. And no one is more affected than Annabel, whose husband winds up on the defense team.

I found this trial a wonderful subject for a historical novel and Lisa Grunwald has done a good job imagining how Dayton was likely affected by the trial. And it gave me a glimpse into small town life in Prohibition era America. A very interesting chapter in United States history.

More about the author Lisa Grunwald.