Phyllis L. Carr
If you have not read a Nancy Turner novel, you are in for a literary delight. I read Turner’s first novel, These is my Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine 1881-1901, Arizona Territories, in 2000 (published in 1998) and fell in love with Turner’s writing and the main character, Sarah Prine. This book won the Arizona Author Award and was a finalist for the Willa Cather Literary Award. Inspired by her family’s history, Turner dramatically recounts the trials and tribulations of Sarah Prine as she travels with her family from San Antonio, Texas, to the Arizona Territory. According to Turner’s “Good to Set the Record Straight,” she started writing These is my Words as a student at Pima Community College as part of an assignment. Turner used the oral history of her great-grandmother as the inspiration for the novel, and it is a powerful and compelling story you will not soon forget. You can find more information about Nancy Turner on her webpage, nancyeturner.com.
Other books by Nancy Turner are listed here in order of their publication. In 2001, she published The Water and the Blood, which follows the life of Philadelphia Summers, or Frosty, in East Texas during World War II. Frosty must deal with small-mindedness, racism, and rejection in her small town, as she journeys through her life.
In 2005, Turner returned to Sarah Prine’s story with Sarah’s Quilt, a novel about the dramatic challenges Sarah faces as a woman in the late 1880s. Her courage and perseverance make it possible for her to survive. The Star Garden: A Novel of Sarah Agnes Prine, published in 2008, continues the life of Sarah Prine, as she faces financial ruin, drought, and cattle rustling in the early 1900s.
Turner wrote My Name is Resolute in 2014, and I can tell you it was an unforgettable story of a young woman, Resolute Talbot who, along with her sister, are kidnapped by pirates from their wealthy plantation in Jamaica and sold into slavery. The story begins in 1729 and follows Resolute as she fights to regain her freedom and hopes to return to her home. She ultimately ends up in Boston at the start of the American Revolution and shows how her grit and determination only become more necessary to her survival.
Turner’s most recent book, Light Changes Everything, was published in 2020. In this novel, she returns to the Sarah Prine trilogy. In 1907 in the Arizona Territory, 17-year-old Mary Pearl (Sarah Prine’s niece) and her sister enjoy reading Jane Austen novels, although they are banned from doing so. Challenges present themselves in the forms of marriage proposals, college opportunities, and family dynamics. This coming-of-age story relates the story of a determined woman ahead of her time.
I know I told you I would be writing about mysteries and cozy mysteries this month, but the board agreed that highlighting Nancy Turner instead would be perfect, as the Sun Lakes Library has a shelf dedicated to Arizona Writers.
The Sun Lakes Community Center Library is looking for additional volunteers. This is a wonderful opportunity for you readers to experience the joys of the library firsthand. Please stop by the library between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and let the volunteer know that you are interested in participating.