It Wasn't All Dancing and Other Stories

Deep South Books

by Mary Ward Brown

This eagerly anticipated second volume of short stories is offered by nationally acclaimed writer Mary Ward Brown, often referred to as the "first lady" of Alabama letters.

With the 11 stories in this long-awaited collectiong, Mary Ward Brown once again offers her devoted fans a palette of new literary pleasures. The hallmarks of her style, so finely wrought in the award-winning Tongues of Flame (1986)--the fully realized characters, her deep sensitivity, a defining sense of place and time--are back in all their richness to involve and enchant the reader.

All but one of the stories are set in Alabama. They deal with dramatic turning points in the lives of charcaters who happen to be southerners, many jaxtaposed between Old South sensibility and manners and New South modernity and expectations. Among these is a new widow who is not consoled by well-meaning, proselytizing Christians; a middle-aged waitress in love with the town "catch"; a bedridden belle dependent upon her black nurse; a "special" young man in a newspaper shop; a young faculty wife who attempts generosity with a lower-class neighbor; and a lawyer caught in the dilemma of race issues. Through their diverse voices, Brown proves herself a graceful and gifted storyteller who writes with an authoritative pen, inventing and inhabiting the worlds of her set of characters with insight, compassion, and wit.

Most of the stories in It Wasn't All Dancing have appeared previously in prominent national magazines and literary journals, including the Atlantinc Monthly, Grand Street, and Threepenny Review. This fine collection should appeal to a wide audience among writers, literature scholars, and general readers alike.

Mary Ward Brown won the 1987 PEN/Hemingway Award, the 1991 Lillian Smith Award, and the 1987 Alabama Library Association Award for her first collection of short storied, Tounges of Flame. She lives in the family home in Marion, Alabama.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Southern

154 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

See http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/face...

Reviews

[Laura]

Powerful collection of short stories exploring the experiences of people in rural America in the mid 20th century, looking at people’s day to day lives and in domestic settings

[Arlene]

I am not usually a fan of short stories but this book just captivated me. I really enjoyed every story and now I want to read Tongues of Flame. Harper Lee recommended Ms Brown's book to Marja Mills in The Mockingbird Next Door and now I see why!

[Martha Lampkin]

I enjoyed each story but realized I’m not a fan of short stories. I was left wanting to know what happened to each of the characters. I grew up near Marion where Mrs. Brown lived and became more interested in her writing as I’ve gotten older. I remember her home being opened on a historical homes tour many years ago and reminding myself I needed to add her books to my list to read!

[Jocelie]

Deceptively “simple” and moving short stories of everyday people in 1950s-and-later Alabama. Written by a Southern woman who lived her whole life in a small Alabama town. I’m eager to read her second volume.

[Audra Gayle]

Mary Ward Brown and I are Judson College alumnae. She was still living when I was a student, and I regret not meeting her or attending the author's event she hosted at the school. This is an excellent collection of short stories. My favorite story was about the single mom and her daughter.

[Ann]

Enchanting collection of short stories with a definite sense of time and place.

[Judy]

Wonderful short stories! I picked up this book because Paul Theroux mentioned it in his excellent book Deep South. I wasn’t disappointed and hope to read more of Mary Ward Brown’s stories.

[Sarah Ryburn]

i first encountered mwb through a book club a few years ago that broke up shortly after we read these stories. well, the stories enchanted even if the group did not succeed.

i've just read her biography, fanning the spark, and feel inspired to revisit this collection. i am in love with the short story form right now as i've never been. her own passion for stories is contagious.

[Vikki]

This was an excellent, old fashioned book of short stories. I had read an article on Harper Lee that the author said they he had traveled to Monroeville to visit Harper Lee but there were three other people there that he wanted to visit with. Mary Ward Brown was one of those people. So southern short stories, clean, insightful, good fiction. Loved it.

[Paul Duggan]

Enchanting and enlightening short stories about recent and not so recent times in the Deep South, specifically Alabama.

These tales will really affect you, particularly if you grew up in the South.

Highly recommended.

[Laura]

This is a solid set of Southern short stories from an author I had never heard of before. The characters are familiar without being cliche.

[Lauri]

A quick, satisfying read of short stories set in the deep South in varying time periods (1950s to 1990s). Well-developed characters throughout. Planning to read her earlier collection as well.