{"product_id":"guests-on-earth-paperback","title":"Guests on Earth - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eLee Smith\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Reading Lee Smith ranks among the great pleasures of American fiction . . . Gives evidence again of the grace and insight that distinguish her work.\" --Robert Stone, author of \u003ci\u003eDeath of the Black-Haired Girl\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt's 1936 when orphaned thirteen-year-old Evalina Toussaint is admitted to Highland Hospital, a mental institution in Asheville, North Carolina, known for its innovative treatments for nervous disorders and addictions. Taken under the wing of the hospital's most notable patient, Zelda Fitzgerald, Evalina witnesses cascading events that lead up to the tragic fire of 1948 that killed nine women in a locked ward, Zelda among them. Author Lee Smith has created, through a seamless blending of fiction and fact, a mesmerizing novel about a world apart--in which art and madness are luminously intertwined.\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Reading Lee Smith ranks among the great pleasures of American fiction . . . Gives evidence again of the grace and insight that distinguish her work.\" --Robert Stone, author of \u003ci\u003eDeath of the Black-Haired Girl\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt's 1936 when orphaned thirteen-year-old Evalina Toussaint is admitted to Highland Hospital, a mental institution in Asheville, North Carolina, known for its innovative treatments for nervous disorders and addictions. Taken under the wing of the hospital's most notable patient, Zelda Fitzgerald, Evalina witnesses cascading events that lead up to the tragic fire of 1948 that killed nine women in a locked ward, Zelda among them. Author Lee Smith has created, through a seamless blending of fiction and fact, a mesmerizing novel about a world apart--in which art and madness are luminously intertwined. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"An elegant historical novel . . . [Smith's] use of Zelda as a subject is brilliant . . . A carefully researched, utterly charming novel. By the time you finish it, you fall in love with these fascinating lives, too.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Lee Smith shines new light on a shadowy, complex subject . . . She offers a broader historical perspective--and with it, a captivating, inimitable voice.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe Raleigh News and Observer\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Perennially best-selling Smith presents an impeccably researched historical novel that reveals the early twentieth century's antediluvian attitudes toward mental health and women's independence.\" --\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A testament to Lee Smith's legendary gifts as a novelist.\" --\u003ci\u003eKnoxville News Sentinel\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eGuests on Earth\u003c\/i\u003e unfolds with a sense of urgency that feels both fabulous and deeply personal.\" --Bobbie Ann Mason, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Girl in the Blue Beret\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Engaging and engrossing . . . Smith's well-developed characters, rich historical detail and easy prose create a novel that some may call her best yet, and which it just may be.\" --\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLee Smith \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of fourteen novels, including \u003ci\u003eFair and Tender Ladies\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOral History\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSaving Grace\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eGuests on Earth\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as four collections of short stories, including \u003ci\u003eMe and My Baby View the Eclipse\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNews of the Spirit\u003c\/i\u003e. Her novel \u003ci\u003eThe Last Girls\u003c\/i\u003e was a \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller as well as a co-winner of the Southern Book Critics Circle Award. A retired professor of English at North Carolina State University, she has received an Academy Award in Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the North Carolina Award for Literature, and the Weatherford Award for Appalachian Literature. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 368\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 8.1 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 13, 2014\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42112119799943,"sku":"9781616203801","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/9f82b2ee3974f0850a3cb3ed5af6eeaf.webp?v=1732483057","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/guests-on-earth-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}