A historical fiction by The New York Times best selling author, Catherine Marshall.
Christy Novel
A rare 1967 Near Fine 1st Edition inscribed novel. It was inscribed on 3/7/68 and is the exact novel used for the photo on its Wikipedia page.
To America
Born in Johnson City, Tennessee it was always a dream of the author Catherine Marshall to write a book about the Appalachian Mountains. It took her 9 years to complete the novel ‘Christy’ which was based upon the experiences of her mother Leonora Wood. Leonora experienced hardship as a schoolteacher for the poor people in the East Tennessee mountains in the early 1900s.
Her mother Leonora urged her that the story of her struggles and of her friends in these mountains must be told. Catherine found this as the perfect opportunity to fulfill her dreams of a new novel but also to honor her mother. The novel was released in 1967 and is believed to have been on the New York Times best seller list for 38 weeks and sold over 10 million copies. It’s over 90% true according to Leonora’s grandson Jeff LeSourd. However, some elements were crafted to entice the reader more such as the fictional character Dr. Neil McNeill. It’s listed as historical fiction.
The novel was so well known and respected it sparked The Christy Awards. It was created to honor, promote and award Christian fiction novels and has been since 1999. The rights to a movie were sold to MGM for $250,000. A movie nearly came to fruition in 1967 but had to be put on hold and was put away for decades. Producer Ken Wales was a fan of the novel and fought against MGM to obtain the rights. He was laughed and scoffed about it and 19 years later he succeeded.
Unfortunately Leonora nor her daughter author Catherine Marshall were never able to see the production of a movie or TV series. As Catherine died in 1983 and her mother in 1989. Nonetheless the novel trail blazed a path for historical fiction faith based novels as well as the 1994 television series ‘Christy’.
Many readers enjoy the novel as it does not heavily preach about Christianity and its details. It’s still relevant as an analogy of peoples struggle today. The poverty, hardships and strength among our neighbors. But in ‘Christy’, those in the Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee. A cove, a community, simply in a world of their own.
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”It was at that moment, standing there in the O’Teale cabin thinking of Alice Henderson, that I got my first clear glimpse of the book I had always wanted to write about the mountains, my mountains. For these were the hills of home; I had been born among mountains like these. All my life the windswept heights had fascinated me—and challenged me—and steadied me.
As if reading my thoughts, mother said shyly, “The story aches to be told, Catherine. The secrets of the human spirit that Alice Henderson knew, the wisdom that she shared is needed by so many today. And the mountain people, my friends—Fairlight and Opal, Jeb Spencer and Aunt Polly Teague, Ruby Mae and Little Burl, my schoolchildren—I want people to know them as they really were. But Catherine, I’m not one to put it on paper. You know, sometimes the dreams of the parents must be fulfilled in the children.”
And suddenly, I understood how the story should be written—through mother’s eyes, as I had seen it all along.
Catherine MarshallAn excerpt from the 'Christy' prologue
