Through the eyes of an amateur photographer married to a lawyer, a member of the John Scopes defense, we witness a unique view of a famous trial in American history. Annabel Craig is a conservative Christian at odds with her husband’s opinions on science vs. religion, as well as other matters. As she meets visitors to her town, expert witnesses, historic figures, William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow, and experienced journalists, among them H.L. Mencken, she listens to the varied opinions of both sides of the trial and, in turn, re-thinks her relationship with her faith and her husband. She knows the motives of the townspeople who are excited about this trial of a quiet teacher who has committed the “crime” of teaching textbook science. As Annabel mingles among the participants and onlookers in the court, she witnesses history and shares her experience and discovery with the reader. This is my second Lisa Grunwald novel; I find her characters engaging and her storylines engrossing.

This book captured my attention right from the beginning. It was an interesting take on the Scopes trial from the perspective of the wife of an up and coming lawyer. The Bible vs. science caused such a disruption in the small town in Tennessee with far reaching consequences as to the school curriculum throughout the country. We also witness the transformation of Annabel, the wife, as she struggles with the change in her husband as well as understanding her own beliefs all during a time when women were not to be heard and have opinions. Good character development will have me checking out some of her previous novel. #TheEvolutionOfAnnabelCraig #LisaGrunwald #NetGalley

"The Evolution of Annabel Craig" by Lisa Grunwald is a poignant and beautifully crafted coming-of-age novel that captures the complexities of growing up and discovering one's true self. Grunwald's novel is a heartfelt exploration of identity, family, and the transformative power of love that will resonate with readers of all ages.

At the heart of the story is protagonist Annabel Craig, a young woman on the cusp of adulthood who is grappling with the challenges of adolescence and the pressures of conformity. As Annabel navigates the tumultuous waters of high school and the expectations placed upon her by her family and peers, she must also confront her own desires and dreams, ultimately finding the courage to embrace her true identity.

Grunwald's writing is lyrical and evocative, with a keen understanding of the teenage experience and a sensitivity to the complexities of human emotions. Through Annabel's eyes, readers are transported back to the rollercoaster ride of adolescence, with its highs and lows, triumphs and setbacks. Grunwald captures the essence of this transformative period of life with honesty and authenticity, creating a protagonist who feels both relatable and inspiring.

One of the novel's greatest strengths is its exploration of Annabel's journey of self-discovery. As Annabel grapples with questions of identity and belonging, she must navigate the shifting sands of friendship, love, and self-acceptance. Grunwald deftly portrays the internal conflicts and external pressures that shape Annabel's choices, painting a nuanced portrait of a young woman coming into her own.

Moreover, "The Evolution of Annabel Craig" is not just a story about one girl's journey—it's also a celebration of the bonds that tie us together as family and the power of love to heal and transform. Grunwald weaves a rich tapestry of relationships, from Annabel's complicated dynamic with her parents to her tender romance with her first love. Through it all, she explores the universal themes of connection, forgiveness, and the enduring strength of the human spirit.

In conclusion, "The Evolution of Annabel Craig" by Lisa Grunwald is a moving and emotionally resonant novel that will capture the hearts of readers young and old. With its relatable characters, heartfelt storytelling, and timeless themes, it's a book that will stay with you long after you've turned the final page. Grunwald has crafted a captivating tale of self-discovery and love that is sure to leave a lasting impression.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced copy to review for my honest opinion.

This was a very interesting take on the Scopes trial that took place in Tennessee in 1925. Annabel Craig, the young wife of a small town attorney is torn between her belief in both her religion and her marriage and her thirst for understanding the science of evolution. This was a time in our country, especially in the South, when women weren't expected to have opinions. I found her to be a brave woman in the face of a tumultuous event in our country.
Many thanks to Random House and Netgalley for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

"The Evolution of Annabel Craig" by Lisa Grunwald is a captivating historical novel that transports readers to the heart of the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tennessee. Against the backdrop of a small conservative town grappling with the clash between science and religion, Annabel Hayes finds herself navigating love, loss, and self-discovery. Grunwald skillfully weaves together the personal and the political as Annabel's marriage to George Craig is tested amidst the fervor of the trial. With richly drawn characters and meticulous attention to historical detail, the novel vividly captures the tensions and complexities of the era. As Annabel confronts her own beliefs and values, readers are drawn into a compelling exploration of individual conscience and societal change. "The Evolution of Annabel Craig" is a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant tale that lingers long after the final page is turned.

I predict that this book will be one of my top books for the year. To say this book is a historical fiction book about the Scopes Monkey Trial doesn’t do it justice. Yes, it is definitely about that, and I loved getting this on-the-ground view of that pivotal trial, but it’s really a story about a young woman named Annabel Craig. Annabel has to navigate living on her own after both her parents died when she was a young teenager, a marriage with an up-and-coming local lawyer, the biggest event to ever happen in Dayton, Tennessee, and her faith in God in the face of it all. I thought it was all beautifully told in this book by Lisa Grunwald. Also, Grunwald can write! I will definitely try to get ahold of her backlist titles.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for sharing this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Evolution of Annabel Craig is a fascinating, well-written historical fiction book about the Tennessee Scopes trial. The flow of the story moves along easily as the heroine evolves from her naive, younger self into a knowledgeable, independent lady. Interesting, intriguing and educational - a great read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this ARC.

If you enjoy historical fiction based on true events, characters that are interesting and grow throughout the story and strong, persevering women, this is the book you should read! Thanks #NetGalley #RandomHouse #LisaGrunwald

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This book provides a very insightful view of the famous Scopes trial in Dayton, TN in 1925 when the teaching of evolution was outlawed. The story is told through the eyes of Annabel Craig, a young wife who grew up in the small town. While she was raised in a religious family where their belief in the bible was ingrained, her husband, a lawyer, is more an advocate of science.

When Scopes was put on trial for teaching evolution, George Craig is thrilled to be a part of the defense team with the famous Clarence Darrow. During the trial, her interest in photography grows as she is teamed with a female writer to document the case. As the proceedings progress, Annabel must reevaluate her feelings about evolution and her place in society.

This was an excellent work of historical fiction that brought the long-ago time to life.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC: Very well done historical fiction. The setting is Dayton, TN during the Scopes Trial--where teaching of evolution was prohibited. The protagonist is Annabel Craig who is a slightly naive southern woman who evolves through the process of the trial. Her husband is on the defense and that puts her at odds with her neighbors and friends. It was a compelling story and felt fully realized with excellent character development. Very well done and recommended. I was informed through a well done novel.

I knew from the very beginning that this was going to be a wonderful trip back in time with a favorite author and indeed it is! Lisa Grunwald takes you back to 1925 to a small Tennessee town where nothing ever happens. Nothing happens until the world takes note of a trial about to take place there. We know it as the Scopes Trial. This book presents all the players and townspeople. We learn the workings of the journalists, the ministers and famous politicians as well as judge, jury and lawyers. Reading this book took me back in time and actually into the courtroom for the proceedings. It is told through the life of an ordinary wife of one of the lawyers. She has a love for photography and a female journalist taps her to be her photographer for the proceedings. I love the title of the book because Annabel certainly evolves as the story unfolds. She finds herself question her religious versus scientific beliefs. This book was a joy to read and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves history, women’s rights or just a wonderful story.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House Publishing or allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fabulous read, and one of my new all-time favorites! Although I remembered hearing about the Scopes “monkey” trial in school years ago and that the famous attorney Clarence Darrow was instrumental in the case, I knew little about the trial itself or the high passions it evoked on both sides. This fascinating book by Lisa Grunwald not only illuminates how the trial came to be in Dayton, Tennessee as the result of a town initiative to attract interest and business, but also how the lead character Annabel Craig expands her thinking from a totally Biblically-centered understanding of creation and female roles in life to a wider perspective. Annabel gradually develops a broader picture of her own life role, talents and possibilities as a photographer, partly as a result of her friendship with journalist Lottie Nelson.

Annabel is married to lawyer George Craig, who becomes a member of Clarence Darrow’s legal team fighting against the Butler Act which bans the teaching of evolution in Tennessee schools, despite the fact that school textbooks already cover it. Clarence Darrow’s team defends John Scopes, a test case who may have taught evolution as a part-time science teacher. Opposing Darrow is the famous William Jennings Bryan, three-time Democratic presidential nominee.

The events relating to the trial itself are engrossing, as are the negative personal effects on George, who gradually draws away from Annie emotionally, first to his ham radio hobby, then to legal discussions with Lottie, who is lodging in their home, and finally when he is vilified by the town as a result of a published article by Lottie.

Ms. Grunwald’s writing is often beautifully descriptive of Annabel’s changing thoughts and feelings, of the landscape around Dayton, and of the practices of the time, such as medical “cupping” to reduce infection, or “old folks” believing photography is sinful

My thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this excellent book in return for an honest review..

Four solid stars for a historical fiction book about the Scopes"monkey trial" in 1925 Dayton, Tennessee. The state of Tennessee passed a law in 1925 forbidding the teaching of evolution. The town fathers decided that they could bring a lot of business to the town if they were arrest and try a teacher for breaking this law. They persuade John Scopes, a coach and substitute science teacher, to say that he has taught evolution from the approved science textbook.
The book's title refers to the narrator of the book, Annabel Craig, and how this trial affects her, her marriage and her relationships with her neighbors and friends. Annabel was orphaned at 16, and married George Craig, a college educated lawyer, at 22. I enjoyed this book for how the author brings out different viewpoints and shows the culture wars that are still present in today's United States. Some states now mandate the teaching of "Creationism" or "intelligent design" as acceptable alternatives to Evolution. Some states have now passed book bans, prohibiting school libraries from having books deemed "inappropriate" by self appointed censors, not actual librarians who spend years being trained to select books appropriate for students.
Personally , I believe in science. Two of my three grandchildren have an incurable, terminal disease called Cystic Fibrosis. I hope that science will provide a cure, but I have no objection to those family members who pray for a cure.
One quote: George Craig, Annabel's husband, to Annabel: "He swept his boater from the closet shelf, twirled it around his forefinger, leaned down to kiss me on the lips, and said, 'You know what? You are the squirrel's eyebrows."
Thank You CORINA DIEZ at Penguin Random House for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
#TheEvolutionofAnnabelCraig #NetGalley.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on April 16, 2024.

Annabel is a young woman, recently married to George Craig, living in Dayton TN in the 1920s during the infamous Scopes Trial. George is a lawyer and ends up joining the defense team for John Scopes. Over the course of the summer, Annabel begins to question her beliefs and what she wants from her life. The book does offer some flashbacks to show that Annabel was a young orphan, losing both of her parents to the Spanish Flu of 1918, but never wavering in her faith prior to her marriage to George. As the author mentions in her acknowledgements, this is a retelling of sorts of The Awakening, but set during the Scopes Trial.
For me, this was both an enjoyable novel, but also a little bit unsatisfying at the same time. It's a coming-of-age story as Annabel grows and develops as a woman and begins to grasp a better understanding of herself and what she wants from her life. The events of the Scopes Trial and the new people and ideas she is presented with do play a part in that, as does her growing understanding of who her husband is as a person once they have moved past the initial honeymoon period. I found the trial itself very interesting, as well as the conflict of opinions that Annabel had to navigate from her neighbors and friends with her husband defending evolution at a time when religious thought was considered more important than science. This leads me to the part that I found unsatisfying, I would have enjoyed learning more about the trial, and felt like it wrapped up very quickly, although that was true to the real-life events. All in all, still an enjoyable read where I learned more about the trial than I had known previously.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

Annabel Craig lives in Dayton, Tennessee and is married to lawyer George Craig. When George becomes part of the legal team defending John Scopes in the famous Scopes trial about the teaching of evolution vs. creationism, Annabel finds herself, and her camera, as a witness to history.

This story is an incredibly quick read. I liked it, I just didn’t love it.

Themes: 👨‍⚖️🐒

My thoughts: 🙂🙃🤓

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I received this from Netgalley.com.

The first half just dragged and I wanted more of the Scopes aspect and less of Annabel's perspective.

2.25☆

Using the Scopes Trial as the backdrop for the evolution of the main character, Annabel Craig, was a clever and successful choice. Annabel had been raised to believe in God and the Bible and grew up in a town where the authority of the Bible was a given. While she at times wondered why God allowed certain things to happen, she had never thought to question the validity of the Bible. However, the Scopes trial and the resulting debate over religion versus science forced to reconsider what she thought and believed. She met people who were not Christians, learned that there were multiple translations of the Bible, and learned that there was disagreement as to the meaning/translation of certain ancient Hebrew words and phrases. She got to see and hear William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow, two of the most famous men of their times. She met various scientists and scholars who believed in evolution and that schools should be able to teach evolution and other scientific ideas that seemed to conflict with the Bible but that many of these people also believed in God and that religion and science could be compatible. While there were many outsiders who came to Dayton to enjoy the spectacle and mock the "rubes", including prominent journalists and writers such as H.L. Mencken, Annabel discovered that some of the visitors were much more curious and open-minded than the townsfolk with whom she had grown up. More significantly, the trial and the events that surrounded the trial provided Annabel with the opportunity to reconsider and explore her own beliefs about what was "true", including expectations of what women should and can do, the "proper" role of a wife, and what a marriage should be like. She realized all the ways she had changed herself and made herself subservient to her husband, George, but that there was no reciprocity in the relationship -- George had never really respected her or made an effort to understand her.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Annabel is enjoying her life with her husband. They both have opposing views on a local trial involving a teacher. Annabel is learning more about herself and the person she is becoming. An enjoyable read about a different era.

The Evolution of Annabel Craig is a beautifully written book about the clash of cultures: north and south, faith and science, tradition and modernity. Set during the infamous Scopes trial, Annabel Craig is lifelong resident of Dayton, TN. During the trial, she finds herself in her own kind of trial, testing all that she believed was true. During our own polarizing times, I appreciated that the main character is someone who is willing to listen to both sides of debate and to make her way in a world that is new to her. I love historical fiction, but this book is so much more than that; it is an exploration into evolution of all kinds and, ultimately, a meditation on what makes us human.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC; all opinions are my own.