“[Lee Smith] re-creates a vanished way of life with stunning authenticity.”— The Philadelphia Inquirer Speed, Alabama, is frantically preparing for the event of a lifetime: Sesquicentennial Week. And all her proud citizens are kicking up their heels in a lively, pompous fancy strut... Praise for Fancy Strut “Smith offers ripe entertainment.” — People “[She] brings the storytelling gift off the porch swing and onto the printed page with an often breathtaking vitality... A writer of rare talent.” — Publishers Weekly “A spellbinding storyteller.” — Newsday “[Smith] has the gift of a McCullers or a Faulkner of catching the sorrow, irony, and humor indigenous to the Southern temperament.” — Booklist