Description: An historical novel set in Lexington, Kentucky around 1900, it deals with post Civil War racism and rise of women's rights. Strong characters rise above repression.
Brief description: Joseph G. Anthony moved from Manhattan�s Upper West Side to Hazard, Kentucky in 1980. Anthony, an English professor for 35 years, regularly contributes essays and poems to anthologies, including a poem and story in Kentucky�s Twelve Days of Christmas.
His most recent novel, Wanted: Good Family (Bottom Dog Press) was described by the Lexington Herald-Leader as �masterfully written and well grounded in Kentucky history and mannerisms [exploring] race, class, relationship and the potential for change.� His previous books include two short story collections, Camden Blues and Bluegrass Funeral plus two novels�Peril, Kentucky, and Pickering�s Mountain. Appalachian Heritage�s said of Pickering that: �Anthony balances multiple voices with restraint�[he makes] us feel for their individual pain and sorrow, their prejudice and greed and lack of guile and fully-realized humanity.� Anthony lives in Lexington, Kentucky with his wife of forty years, Elise Mandel. They have three grown children.Review Quotes: "Drawing on historical sources, Joseph Anthony opens a window into the struggle of black Lexingtonians to overcome Jim Crow at the turn of the last century. Extensively researched, this novel rescues neglected history from a few dry texts and elevates it to the level of drama. Anthony uses multiple voices, black and white, that cut across the social spectrum to chronicle the painful and costly rise of African Americans towards full citizenship during the Progressive Era. At the center of the drama are a courageous black editor, his idealistic understudy, and a prominent white judge who bucks the system to do the right thing. Joe Anthony has produced an eye-opening narrative that does much to explain the complexity of race relations in Lexington at a turning point in history." Richard Taylor, former poet laureate of Kentucky