The Blue Orchard: A Novel [Paperback]

Jackson Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 2010

On the eve of the Great Depression, Verna Krone, the child of Irish immigrants, must leave the eighth grade and begin working as a maid to help support her family. Her employer takes inappropriate liberties, and as Verna matures, it seems as if each man she meets is worse than the last. Through sheer force of will and a few chance encounters, she manages to teach herself to read and becomes a nurse. But Verna’s new life falls to pieces when she is arrested for assisting a black doctor with "illegal surgeries." As the media firestorm rages, Verna reflects on her life while awaiting trial.

Based on the life of the author’s own grandmother and written after almost three hundred interviews with those involved in the real-life scandal, The Blue Orchard is as elegant and moving as it is exact and convincing. It is a dazzling portrayal of the changes America underwent in the first fifty years of the twentieth century. Readers will be swept into a time period that in many ways mirrors our own. Verna Krone’s story is ultimately a story of the indomitable nature of the human spirit—and a reminder that determination and self-education can defy the deforming pressures that keep women and other disenfranchised groups down.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In what could be a modern classic, poet and fiction writer Taylor takes an unblinking look at abortion in America many decades before Roe v. Wade. Introducing Verna Crone as she's arrested in her home in 1954, Taylor then transports readers to her poor Pennsylvania beginnings, yanked out of school as a teenager to help support her family. Raped by her first employer, Verna soon undergoes an abortion, illegally administered by a country midwife. After another pregnancy leaves her with a son, Verna enlists her mom's help and returns to the city to become a nurse; before long, Verna begins working for Dr. Crampton, a well-to-do African-American doctor who performs illegal abortions. Conflicted at first, Verna quickly grows accustomed to the money and finds herself less upset with every procedure; it's only after Crampton runs afoul of some state politicos that the two are arrested. In this powerful, vivid debut novel, Taylor parses issues of race, power, and religion in unflinching terms while believably inhabiting the mind of a conflicted woman. (Jan.)
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From Booklist

Inspired by the true events of his grandmother’s life and based on interviews with key figures involved with its more shocking aspects, Taylor’s fictionalization of the life of Verna Krone chronicles the explosive decades from the Depression to the dawn of the Civil Rights era, as experienced by one courageous young woman. Forced by her family’s dire poverty into a life of domestic servitude, Verna is endowed with stalwart ambition, a drive that will eventually place her in nursing school and bring her to the employ of Dr. Crampton, a black physician providing illegal but safe abortion services to hundreds of compromised young women. Crampton and Krone are eventually arrested for their activities, victims of the political, moral, and racial prejudices of the era. While awaiting trial, Verna is motivated to take stock of her professional and personal triumphs and losses. Though burdened by a dispassionate, tell-don’t-show narrative style, Taylor nonetheless limns a sweeping representation of the most pivotal events of the past century. --Carol Haggas

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (January 12, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416592946
• ISBN-13: 978-1416592945
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jackson Taylor is the Associate Director of The New School's Graduate Writing Program, which he helped launch, and where he teaches. For more than fifteen years he has been the Director of The Prison Writing Program at PEN American Center. His short fiction has appeared in Spit, Pink, Moss and Punk, and his poems have appeared in Lit, Sleeping Fish, Witness, and others. For three years he worked at The New York Times in the Culture, Arts and Leisure, and the National desks. He holds a BA from Columbia and an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. He lives in Manhattan and Greenport.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Close to Home, March 1, 2010

By 

R. Fink "Armchair traveler," (Harrisburg, Pa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Blue Orchard: A Novel (Paperback)

Through a series of circumstances a poor white country lass becomes a nurse and is employed by a black doctor who performs abortions. The human tale is one thing, based on the life of the author's grandmother; but this is also the history of Harrisburg, Pa., from the '20s through the '50s. It is exceedingly well researched and beautifully written. Any awards it wins--and there should be many--are well deserved. I wondered as I read how this would play outside of Central Pennsylvania, and I am happy with the other reviews printed here. I live a block from where the doctor's office stood and, at the age of 73 (45 of them in this same house) I am familiar with most of the locations and historic events described. It was an eerie read for those reasons, but what an achievement for Mr. Taylor. I thank him for the experience.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Blue Orchard, April 5, 2010

By 

F. Horton "bookaholic" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Blue Orchard: A Novel (Paperback)

It's sometimes difficult to choose the next book to read -- BUT -- choose this one! Books nowadays are usually critiqued to sell so anything can be printed on the covers and who really knows who is writing the reviews on Amazon. I have been steered wrong by many a 5-star rating. This one is a gem. I could not put it down and went away each time I left it with much to ponder. The main character is fascinating and the more that is revealed about her, the more she intrigues. At many points in the story I was driven to think for awhile about my own
convictions and was forced to wonder what would I have done in the same circumstance. I'm glad it took a relatively long time to write and research as the finished story is superb and all the more endearing for having been based on the life and times of a real woman. Thank you Mr. Taylor for a marvelous book; my only regret is that I've finished reading it...

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic, February 20, 2010

By 

A Very Merry Shakespeare "Amy E. Lignor" (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blue Orchard: A Novel (Paperback)

After reading such a fantastic - literally, a masterpiece of fiction - written by this first time author actually leaves me speechless. Suffice to say, I was not expecting the absolute jolt of the subject matter or the poetic writing style that I received the minute I read the very first page.

In this absolutely riveting story, which the author bases on his grandmother's life, we meet Verna Krone. Verna is a young girl who was pulled out of school early to care for her family. Her father was a lot older than her mother and was quite ill, so Verna was enlisted to make some money so that the family wouldn't starve. She was sent to work as a housekeeper and general all-round worker at the Wertz farm which was a four hour journey across the mountain from her home. She didn't mind Mr. and Mrs. Wertz at first; they were "plain-folk" even though they lived in a large brick house and had food on the table. The strange part was that Mrs. Wertz always seemed like she was "mourning the girl she used to be," and Verna had no idea why she was always so sad. Unfortunately, Verna found out, and her time with them grew frightening when Mr. Wertz decided there were other "things" she could do in his household...for his special enjoyment.

We follow Verna as she goes from job to job, trying to outrun the fact that Mr. Wertz had given more to her than just wages. After her situation was "taken care of," Verna ended up working at a roadhouse for an extremely nice man who would never take advantage of a girl so young. Unfortunately, that man, through various choices, ended up leaving her to her own devices and Verna ended up working in a variety of odd-jobs throughout Pennsylvania. At one point in the story, she finds herself desperately in love with a man named Charles. He is kind to her and treats her well. As Verna awaits the birth of their child, she also awaits the proposal from Charles, who ends up to be completely opposite from the man Verna thought he was.

Eventually Verna finds herself going to a school to get her nurses' license. After all, she's an extremely hard worker and she knows that no matter what she needs to do or how hard the pressures will be that come with the medical profession, she is strong enough to achieve the skill necessary for a better life for her and her family. She ends up working for a doctor who is quite the hero. This man is the Vice Chairman of the Republican Party; he's the leader of the African American YMCA; and, has lived a life that is filled with tribute dinners and testimonials for all the hard work that he's done throughout his lifetime in order to make peoples' lives better. Verna becomes a part of the Dr's practice, which helps women deal with their unwanted pregnancies. Now the Dr. is an upstanding member of the community, yet when the political arena "turns" the Doctor becomes a threat. Verna gets caught in the middle and finds herself standing trial for "illegal surgical procedures."

There's so much to say about this book that I would most likely be able to fill ten notebooks with all I have to say. What readers should know up front is that the writing style and the words are absolutely beautiful and thought-provoking. For some, the story will create anger; others will nod their heads. But this is not a Roe v. Wade manifest; this is a book about a woman who was a strong survivor of a great many painful life experiences. One of my favorite lines was when one of the characters - a suitor for Verna's hand - said that there was no substitute for character and that you never know where you'll find character out there in the world. There was also a line that focused on the fact that in life we are always being warned not to get lost, but it's in the risk of the unknown when we are truly and completely alive. Absolutely beautiful lines such as these hit me square between the eyes. This is a powerful story full of love, heartbreak, redemption - everything that makes up a human life. I recommend all readers to pick this up and experience a writer who took a very personal journey into the unknown, and discovered humanity at its worst and at its finest.

Amy Lignor, (...) Reviewer