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DECEMBER 29, 2021�JANUARY 5, 2022
FROM THE SHELF
CHECKING OUT THE
WORLD OF BOOKS
La Grande author releases first historical romance
By Trish Yerges
Go! Magazine
N
ancy E. Anderson’s “Unfortunate
Compromise,” released in August
2021, is a 265-page historical romance
with cover design by Daniel Eskridge. It’s
available on Amazon.com in soft cover and
e-book version.
“Unfortunate Compromise” begins in
Phaedra, Missouri, a community molded by
the passage of the 1820 Missouri Compro-
mise. With this backdrop, the main charac-
ters William Quantrill, Justine and Cathe-
rine struggle through the tumultuous years
that lead up to the Civil War. The narrative
of their lives seem to come to a close in
1865, but Anderson’s plot does not, as it
fast forwards to 1950s Chicago where her
character Sarah lives. Why Sarah is drawn
to Missouri and what her connection is
to these Civil War characters, separated
by over a century of time and two distinct
worlds, is part of the intrigue of her book.
With a vividly descriptive writing style,
Anderson opens her story about Justine.
“Light from the breaking dawn began
to shine into Justine’s room, defeating the
woolen blankets hanging as curtains in the
long window,” she wrote.
These words were penned when Ander-
son fi rst started her novel in 2017 as part
of a national challenge to write a novel in a
month, and as she did, she noticed it came
together in a remarkable way.
“It really wasn’t until I started writing the
book that the Missouri Compromise and
the character of William Quantrill became
formed,” she said.
She realized then that her story was tak-
ing on a life of its own, and it compelled her
to return to her undergrad history books
and to read online history sites in order to
accurately portray life in early 19th-century
Missouri.
Anderson hopes that readers will be
captured by the gradual revelation of the
connection between this Missouri and its
modern counterpart Chicago.
“I want people to walk away from this
story with a feeling of what it was like to
live in Missouri in pre-Civil War times and
also what fascinating places Chicago and
Phaedra were,” she said.
As she was writing the Chicago counter-
part, the story gravitated toward romance
with elements of history and surprise that
link the characters and two places together.
Anderson lives in La Grande, and this is
her fi rst novel. She has several other novels
written so readers can expect to see more
coming off the desk of this new author.