Taylor’s debut novel is set in her native city of Scranton, Penn., during the early part of the 20th century. When Daisy, the oldest daughter of miner Owen Morgan and his housemaid wife Grace, dies in a fireworks accident, her parents are devastated: Grace’s melancholy becomes so overwhelming that she conjures up the creepy, destructive figment she calls Grief; Owen has a violent drunken quarrel with Grace, moves out to live above a tavern, and leaves their church. Meanwhile, the Morgans’ eight-year-old daughter, Violet, is weighed down by her guilt and starts cutting school with older boy Stanley Adamski, whose own life changes after a mining accident. Taylor’s novel, which is based on a family story, dramatically culminates with the arrival of evangelist Billy Sunday and a powerful blizzard that rocks Scranton. An earnest, well-done historical novel that skillfully blends fact and fiction. (July)
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