In 1935 Betsy Throckmorton's father lures her from a New York job
with Time magazine back to Claybelle, Texas, with the promise that
she can be the editor of his Claybelle Standard-Times. Betsy brings
along her husband, Ted Winton, an easterner and Yale graduate to
whom she is constantly explaining Texas. Ted will run Ben
Throckmorton's radio station, KVAT, where Booty and Them Others
sing in rivalry with the better known WBAP Light Crust Doughboys.
In Texas, it's the middle of the Depression and the Drought. And
Prohibition is barely over, liquor still a controversy. Every city
has its hobo camp, and Claybelle has the Star of Hope Mission. But
it is also the time of new oil money, high living, infidelity, and
tangled love triangles. Betsy and Ted chain-smoke and drink often
and long, they wouldn't miss a Paschal High School or TCU football
game, they party at the Casino on Jacksboro Highway, and dine at
Claybelle's Shadylawn Country Club. Betsy is a serious journalist
though, and she sets out to change the paper, clashing with the
managing editor when she claims international not state news
belongs on page one. She clashes with the columnists when she tries
to sharpen their leads. The Texas Murder Machine becomes her big
story, when she suspects that Texas Rangers may be killing innocent
young men to collect rewards offered by the Texas Bankers
Association. Betsy's journalistic determination leads to a personal
tragedy that changes her life forever--and makes her a determined,
relentless newswoman. Fast Copy is a page-turner that combines
romantic comedy with the best of the thriller genre. But it's much
more. Dan Jenkins captures Texas in the mid-1930s with a clarity
that brings it alive, and his affection for Texas, Fort Worth, and
TCU are revealed on every page. Only a native like Jenkins would
include the minute details of a TCU-SMU game, the new zephyr
stainless steel railroad train, the T&P railroad station, the
Fort Worth Cats, and LeGrave Field. His portrait of Claybelle and
its leading society folks is tongue-in-cheek funny and right on the
mark. Texans should treasure this book for years to come.
General
Imprint: |
Texas Christian University Press,U.S.
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
April 2001 |
First published: |
April 2001 |
Authors: |
Jeff Guinn
|
Foreword by: |
Sally Jenkins
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 154 x 30mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
416 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-87565-240-5 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
General & literary fiction >
Modern fiction
|
LSN: |
0-87565-240-9 |
Barcode: |
9780875652405 |
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