The Shinnery

Playwright Anger bases her accomplished debut on a historical Texas honor killing. To pay a debt owed to the Martin family, mercantile owner J.R. Campell hires out his 17-year-old daughter, Jessa, as a helper for the Martins’ two young sons. Jessa, who is close with her father, loves working on her own family’s farm but detests the labor she is forced to do at the Martins, where her cooking and cleaning skills never seem to meet household standards. Sheltered and naive, Jessa blooms under the attention of Will Keyes, the Martin sons’ handsome piano teacher who takes the blame for Jessa when she accidentally breaks a statue. But after Will gets Jessa pregnant, Mr. Martin orders Jessa to leave. Upset at Will for abandoning Jessa, J.R. sets off in search of him. As the story turns violent, Jessa fights to keep her family together. Anger expertly combines fact and fiction to create a riveting narrative richly enhanced by questions of morality, justice, and revenge. Historical fiction fans will be delighted. (Sept.)