Orphaned, alone, and working to survive, life has been rough for Annabel until her fortune changes with a chance meeting with lawyer George Craig. George has newly arrived from big city Knoxville and is educated, intellectually curious, and immediately smitten with Annabel. After a whirlwind romance that seems almost too good to be true, they settle in to a nice home with neighbors that Annabel befriends. For the first time, she is exposed to a middle/upper-middle class existence in her rural town of Dayton, Tennessee.

George takes a case defending a local man in a salacious murder trial. Reverberations from the trial’s outcome lead the defendant, freed from George’s work, to wreak havoc on his family. George goes from darling to town albatross in a heartbeat. The halcyon days of George and Annabel’s marriage are soon forgotten. The toll the stress takes on George nearly breaks him at the same time that Annabel is confronting her first pregnancy. Instead of pulling together as a couple, these external factors test the durability of the rubber band that binds them.

Enter the Scopes trial.

Dayton, Tennessee, besides likely causing confusion for people familiar with the more well-known Dayton, Ohio, is famous for becoming a hotbed of media attention in the 1920s during the Scopes trial. This is the real-world trial where the right to teach evolution in schools was tested in a courtroom in the heat of a midwestern summer.

The Evolution of Annabel Craig shares the fictional perspective of a local who finds herself enmeshed in the excitement and big city energy of the trial. The media who come in for the trial find themselves in a town that seems laughably behind the times, and the novel does a great job depicting the divide that is still seen in our country today, one hundred years later. Annabel, raised in her local church’s tradition, is shocked when she learns that her husband is defending the teacher who taught evolution. In her mind, that is something only a Godless heathen can do, and she worries for George’s soul. When a female member of the media moves in with them, Annabel is suddenly confronted with how other women are testing their roles in society. Annabel believes her entire life should be dedicated to her husband and his needs, a concept that the journalist starts testing as she provides Annabel opportunities to be a courtroom photographer, turning her passion into an actual career endeavor.

At its heart, The Evolution of Annabel Craig is a modern re-telling of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, which is referenced within. The novel is full of dichotomies: rural/urban, Christian/Athiest, traditionalist/modernist that come to a head in Annabel and George’s relationship, which centers around one of the oldest dichotomies of time: the role of man and woman.

The novel was fast-faced, engaging, and full of interesting characters and dialogue. I found myself wondering how much of the novel was based upon fact, a topic that the author addresses at the end. The main characters were her creation, but much of the court case and information about the journalism is based on actual events and documentation.

Annabel, who begins the novel as a caged creature, finds herself and her voice in an unexpected transformation that leaves the reader rooting for her every step of the way out of her nest.

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley.
Annabel becomes orphaned as a teenager and her belief in God is what helps her survive. She marries young and realizes that all the world does not believe as she does (including her own husband). Her beliefs are tested and evolve as the world converges on Dayton, TN in 1925 for the Scopes Evolution case. Annabel is an interesting character and I like that she's not afraid to push her boundaries as she realizes that a whole world is out there of people with different belief systems.

An interesting book set in the small Christian town that became famous for the Scopes Trial in the 1920's. Annabelle, a deeply religoius woman , marries George, a lawyer from Knoxville. With her life set to become a wife and mother, her entire life is changed when her husband becomes involved the the Scopes Trial along with Clarence Darrow. More charecters are introduced. including William Jenning Bryant and various reporters. A town divided by opinions will lead Annabelle to find her own path to follow. Though slow in some parts ,If you never knew much about the Scopes Trial, this is a must read.

NOTE: I received an advanced readers copy of this book 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.

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, and typical 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.

Annabel Craig, wife of George, was born in Dayton, Tennessee, and lost both her parents to the flu pandemic in 1918. Shew grew up alone but maintained the practice of the faith her parents had instilled in her and with memories of their love.

Comfortable with the idea of her role-to-be of wife and mother, she marries attorney George Craig, who eventually becomes part of Clarence Darrow's team during the Scopes trial.

Although Lisa Grunwald paints a wonderful picture of the community and the trial itself, illustrating vividly the personalities of William Jennings Byan, Darrow, and H.L. Mencken, (then a reporter). And those are the parts I liked. What I found less interesting was Annabel's "come-to-realizer" about her husband. George, whom she loves deeply. George turns out to be someone other than the man she thought he was.

Although the contrast between the fundamentalists and the scientists were of interest, it seemed to me that Annabel took longer than is believable to define her own role and the truth about George.

The book reads better as a historical novel than it does as women's fiction. It would have been stronger if the genre was either one or the other. Thank you to Random House and Net alley for an ARC copy of this book.

A beautifully written novel drawing the reader into small town living and ideas in the 1920s. The Scopes trial brought the town attention and much discussion on whether evolution should be taught in schools. I had heard of this trial but knew very little of the details. The novel details the subject and characters involved while expertly weaving in the evolution of Annabel Craig a women discovering herself in the era where women had limited choices.

The Evolution of Annabel Craig
Lisa Grunwald
April 16, 2024
Random House
*Historical Fiction
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
New author for me , but I was unexpectedly delighted. I love historical fiction and learning about the Scopes trial took me on a fictional journey that led me to more research.
Amazing Book.
4 stars

I appreciated having access to an early version of this book through NetGalley.

I read an earlier book of Grunwald's, The Irresistible Henry House and liked that she used fiction to educate me about something I never knew existed. "Practice houses" complete with real live "practice babies" sourced from orphanages, were a feature of some college home economics programs in the first half of the 20th century. Grunwald convincingly imagined what adult life might have been like for a baby boy who grew up surrounded by interchangeable foster mothers.

When I saw that she'd turned her attention to the Scopes Monkey Trial, I was eager to get my hands on it. Based in fact and historic records, with fictional characters interacting with actual ones, the book brings to life the wider impact of the trial on the small community where it happened.

A young woman, Annabel, is in the early years of marriage when the trial happens in her hometown of Dayton, Tennessee. Her husband, George, happens to be an attorney who eagerly joins the defense team both for the chance to work alongside Clarence Darrow and to defend evolution. When a journalist, Lottie, who comes to cover the trial recruits Annabel to be her photographer, Annabel finds herself in the middle of legal and personal dramas.

I appreciate what I think Grunwald was trying to do. Beyond simply reviewing an important historic and legal moment through fiction, she shows how people can change when they open themselves up to new ideas. In our current moment of polarized politics, the book felt like a primer in moderation and contemplation, rather than knee-jerk reaction. Knee-jerkers abound, of course, but they don't get the author's support.

Yet for all of this, it read like an academic exercise rather than a novel. Too much felt too contrived for it to unfold naturally. I didn't understand George's changes in mood and affect. Did he have a mental health condition that made him react so severely to his professional ups and downs? I didn't think there'd be any way a reporter would board in the home of one of the defense attorneys, as Lottie does. On and on it went for me. I couldn't believe the story enough to immerse myself in it.

This book is much darker than the rather light-hearted cover would suggest. I was intrigued by the premise of the creation/evolution school curriculum debate, but even just the first quarter of the story is bogged down by tragedy (murder/suicide, infant death, miscarriage...).

I also just wasn't a fan of the writing. I prefer to be shown the story instead of told the story–meaning I like to witness conversations and plot development instead of passive language cataloguing the events.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An interesting historical fiction novel set in the time of the Scopes Monkey trial. It was a bit slow to start but i did enjoy it in the end. It’s nice to read the perspective of a young but strong female protagonist.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from net galley in exchange for my honest opinion,
I was interested in this one because of the time frame and the events depicted. The Scopes Monkey trail is something I’ve read a bit on and was curious to see it in a historical fiction setting. I wasn’t disappointed either. It was a quick easy read- something I think I’ll return to after I’ve read more about some of the key players.

Great Author, Great Story, Loved it more than her others. A great book for a lazy weekend afternoon for an escape. Thanks

So well written! The characters “jump” off the page and into your psyche. Lisa Grunwald did an excellent job describing the setting, the town’s people and the main protagonists. Annabel Craig certainly did evolve and the author does a painstakingly superb job of explaining her transformation and her coming “into her own.” The Scopes “Monkey” Trial was described without prejudice. I loved this book and so will you. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. #TheEvolutionOfAnnabelCraig, #RandomHousePublishingGroup.

This story of Annabel, told in the first person, portrays life in the 1920s in a small Christian town. I everyone plays their role, as expected in this society, and all remains peaceful. This young coach and science, teacher, Mr., Scopes, shows audacity to present the concept of evolution to his class. This unassuming, young man, with his good intentions, renders a legal debate that surpasses all others. The author tells the story from Annabelle Craig’s point of view with brilliance. We witness Annabel‘s relationships with her husband, friend, and townspeople, but most of all herself. The religion versus evolution debate slowly builds in the town to the of the trial. With concise language, the author helps us be witness to the acrimony that occurs in the sleepy town over the religion/science debate. The overarching theme however, remains Annabelles transformation through her experiences and observations during these events. The dialogue mixed with narrative brings the reader into the town, and into the quart room with bated breath. Cheers to this new novel, and Annabel Craig!.

Lisa is an amazing author - like her last The Evolution of Annabel Craig blew me away. She is a treasure and I'm so grateful to have gotten this book to read. Thank you.

I loved this book and was unexpectedly delighted by it!
It was so well written in regards to characters, time, place and situation, I don’t remember learning about the Scopes trial and this took me on a fictional journey that lead me to do more research and learn more about it.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and of course the author Lisa Grunwald for opportunity to read a draft of his novel,
I sincerely hope we learn more in a sequel about the continuing adventures of Annabel Craig.

I received a NetGalley ARC of this book.
The title hints at the story: it’s about the evolution of a young woman, beginning with her 16th birthday, which she feels signals the end of her childhood. Set in the immediate post Great War years, in the small rural town of Dayton, Tennessee, the story ends with the ‘trial of the century,’ the so-called Scopes Monkey Trial, in July 1925. That was the legendary court case in which the right to teach evolution was challenged. The basic facts of the Scopes trial are known to most—John Scopes was a high school baseball coach and occasional substitute science teacher who had never actually taught about evolution, but was willing to become ‘poster boy’ for Dayton civic boosters who wanted to create publicity for the town. The entire trial was contrived. But it soon became much more than a stunt. Such high-powered celebrity lawyers as William Jennings Bryan, a renowned populist-fundamentalist orator who had run for president several times, stepped up for the prosecution, and the equally renowned ‘agnostic’, friend of the working class, pro suffrage Clarence Darrow, volunteered to lead the defence. Once these star participants were announced, journalists from across the country converged on the sleepy little town.

The story is told from the perspective of Annabel Craig, 23 when it ends, along with the life and identity she had believed were truly hers—by the grace of God. Annabel was the only child of loving, God-fearing, Methodist parents who looked to the Bible for both consolation and guidance in all things. They died within months of each other, of Spanish flu, just before her 16th birthday. With no other family, she lost everything about her childhood, including the family farm and the rhythms of time, and the quietude of rural life. She moved into a boardinghouse ‘in town’ and worked long hours in a hotel, but her pastor and church members looked out for her and her Bible provided much comfort.
At times, even as she told herself otherwise, God, the Bible and her community were not enough. At 20, she met and married a young Chicago-raised lawyer, George Craig, educated, sophisticated, a few years older, charming, and devoted to her. He went to church with her, seemed intent on having children, appeared to be the soulmate of her prayers. But things changed quickly when he defended a local doctor for killing his wife’s lover in a ‘crime of passion’ most felt was justified because his wife had wronged him. A few months later, he shot his young son and tried to kill his wife before committing suicide. George’s guilt unhinged him—in Annabel ‘s view, it made him hate himself, which made him incapable of living her or God. While he disappears, she miscarries a much wanted child.

When he reappears, she swallows her resentment and grief and carefully coaxes him back into their ‘before life.’ He seems to be truly recovered when he becomes part of the defence, working with men like Darrow and others who are his heroes. Meanwhile, Annabel takes in a billet to help the town stage its show. Lottie is a Chattanooga ‘girl reporter’ who wants neither marriage nor children, doesn’t like George, and urges Annabel to find out what she wants for herself for the rest of her life. The trial is a farce, George is once again sidelined and falls apart with shame, and Lottie betrays them both.

The author’s sense of history is strong. She demonstrates how this trial was disappointing to those who staged it, including the bombastic Jennings who was deprived of his much practised closing speech by Darrow’s clever final strategy, and died 5 days later. But she also shows how it was more important, and still relevant, than any of them dreamed. At times, there is a didactic quality to it, as though important characters are delivering classroom lessons, sometimes with Annabel as the unwitting student. Both Annabel and George seem to change personalities while holding on to positions like ‘science vs religion’ adamantly and in ways that seem implausible. And Annie is both present as matters unfold but also writing retrospectively, years later when she has herself moved to Chattanooga, reconnected with Lottie, and become an internationally known photo-journalist. But that part is not the closing chapter or epilogue. Much of it is foreshadowed in ways that disrupt the flow and pretty much tell readers the ending at the beginning and several times throughout. It’s an interesting book, but not altogether a satisfying read.

This was my first introduction to the drama and controversy of the Skopes Trial. I was riveted by the vibrant descriptions of small town life in Virginia, and by the depth of feeling behind the controversy over the teaching of evolution that led to the famous trial.

The cultural divide in the 1920’s did not feel so different than the one we face now, and the author crafted her book to present sympathetic characters on both sides of the argument.

I loved the parallel coming of age story of the title character. Her life was never easy, but she was drawn in a way to enable the reader to question with her, love with her, and, potentially, grow with her. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I had to double check early on to see if this was a book by a Christian publisher since the early emphasis was on fox and religion. Once I realized the book used the scopes trial to my interest was piqued. I can’t say it’s the best book nor near best book written but the history of that time is interesting especially in ways you can compare it to todays world. I wish the author had tidied up the ending more to talk about the future of the protagonist.

It is 1925 and young, newly married Annabel Craig is about to have her world turned upside down and given a good shake. The town she grew up in, little Dayton Tenn., is about to host a trial which will challenge a law forbidding the teaching of evolution. Her friend John Scopes has been convinced by the city fathers , eager for the crowds sure to gather for the trial, to allow himself to serve as defendant He will be prosecuted by William Jennings Bryan, former presidential candidate, superstar speaker and sometime lay clergyman. His defense team will include the famous Clarence Darrow, already well known from having defended the murderers Leopold and Loeb and her husband George.

The 1925 Scopes trial was one of the most dramatic moments of a dramatic decade-the 1920's. America found itself in the midst of rapid and radical change after WW1 and the Spanish flu scythed through millions around the world, including Annabel's parents. An only child, she is left at age 16 to make her own way. Scientific and technological discoveries were mirrored by changes in cultural mores, gender roles and how we looked at religion. Prohibition overnight made ordinary citizens lawbreakers and created a criminal class with more power and money than the government which sought to eradicate it.

In Annabel's Dayton, many embrace change, others do not. Most are somewhere in the middle. Her husband, a nominal church goer, is an avid consumer of new technology. He buys a new car; they listen to the radio. However, he believe's Annabel's role is to run the household and, although affectionate, his attitude is condescending toward her and any role she might choose to take out of the house. She has a talent for photography that others appreciate but he sees as a mere hobby. She enjoys visiting the elderly and sick but he sees it as a diversion from her role in the home. His successful defense of a local doctor, who murdered the man who cuckolded him, rested on. a man's right his wife and home. As readers will see, Annabel is by far the stronger and more resilient of the couple.

In the run-up to the trial, beliefs in the town begin to harden. Out of town visitors and some within belittle those who stand by the Bible as literally true and the only sure way to Heaven. Others within the town scorn and shun those who believe in evolution and not the literal truth of the Bible. Annabel, like the cartoon character who has a devil whispering in one ear and an angel whispering in another, has two friends each taking one of the two sides. Lottie, a newspaper reporter who boards with the Craigs, is a single woman driven to be the best at what she does. She smokes, drinks and her idol is the sarcastic atheist H.L. Mencken. She. encourages Annabel to think for herself and not just through George and hires her to be her photographer for the trial. Mercy, Annabel's neighbor and advisor believes in the literal truth of the Bible, sees no shame in being a housewife and idolizes William Jennings Bryan. By the end of the book, Annabel emerges from this crucible as a woman who is ready to make her own way in the world.

Grunwald's depiction of Annabel and her world is lovely and nuanced. Told in an older Annabel's voice, the reader sees the charm and shortcomings of a small southern town at the beginning of the twentieth century.. Annabel is an appealing, three dimensional character. She does not see the world as filled with heroes and villains but with complex people with their own appeal and foibles. As the title suggests, we see her views mature as she begins to look at a world beyond the borders of Dayton. I heartily recommend this book. I very much appreciate the chance given to me by the publisher Random House and NetGalley to read an ARC copy.