Jordanstown

by Josephine Winslow Johnson

An idealistic young man in a Depression-era US town attempts to turn a small newspaper into a voice for workers’ rights.

259 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1937

About the author

American novelist, poet, and essayist who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1935 at age 24 for her first novel, Now in November. Shortly thereafter, she published Winter Orchard, a collection of short stories that had previously appeared in Atlantic Monthly, Vanity Fair, The St. Louis Review, and Hound & Horn. Of these stories, "Dark" won an O. Henry Award in 1934[1], and "John the Six" won an O. Henry Award third prize the following year. Johnson continued writing short stories and won three more O. Henry Awards: for "Alexander to the Park" (1942), "The Glass Pigeon" (1943), and "Night Flight" (1944).

Johnson was bornin Kirkwood, Missouri. She attended Washington University from 1926 to 1931, but did not earn a degree. She wrote her first novel, Now In November, while living in her mother's attic in Webster Groves, Missouri. She remained on her farm in Webster Groves and completed Winter Orchard in 1935. She published four more books before marrying Grant G. Cannon, editor in chief of the Farm Quarterly, in 1942. The couple moved to Iowa City, where she taught at the University of Iowa for the next three years. They moved to Hamilton County, Ohio in 1947, where she published Wildwood.

Johnson had three children. The Cannons continued to move beyond the advancing urban sprawl of Cincinnati, finally settling on the wooded acreage in Clermont County, Ohio, which is the setting of The Inland Island. In 1955, Washington University awarded her an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

She published four more books before her death, from pneumonia, on February 27, 1990, in Batavia, Ohio at age 79.[2] (Wiki)

Reviews

[Will Cadle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't recall where I picked up this book, from a library sale or garage sale, maybe; but, I let it sit in my library for many years before finally sitting down and reading it.
I didn't know who Josephine Johnson was, didn't know she'd won the Pulitzer prize, but I do know that once I began reading Jordanstown I became utterly engrossed in the atmosphere, the characters, the circumstances as a handful of people in this small town struggle to push back against their poverty and to provide better jobs and opportunities for themselves.
This uprising is led by Allen Craig, who has managed to scrape together the funds to purchase the local newspaper, and through that medium he begins to criticize the local powers-that-be, encouraging hope in the ones struggling during these hard times as society is still reeling from the depression, while exciting resentment from those he attacks.
Johnson has a good ear for dialogue and a good eye for detail, and a clear understanding of the conflicts she explores. It's a shame...more than that, really, that she seems to have been shuttled aside or lost in the flurry of time. She deserves to be recognized and read more. She champions the working class with a critical eye towards the few who have such a tight grip on their largesse; and it might be that she doesn't give enough consideration to that side of the coin, that she weights everything in favor of the struggling class, but she presents her side well and tells the story convincingly. I hope she experiences a renaissance soon.

[Raghuveer Parthasarathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel tells of a contemporary Depression-era town, not surprisingly home to the well-off and to a larger number of the poor and struggling. The protagonist is a young and idealistic young man who attempts to turn a small newspaper into a voice for workers’ rights. It doesn’t go well. As a novel, it’s adequate. The plot is fine, but it lacks momentum. The characters are too numerous, and none are sufficiently fleshed out. The prose tries too hard to be momentous. Overall, it gives a mildly interesting glimpse into the period, but it provides neither deep insights nor good entertainment.