In this novel Davis Grubb fulfills completely the promise of a towering American talent. A whole town springs to life here, through the "voices" of nearly thirty people-the men, women and children living in the 1920's in a West Virginia river town called Glory. Doctor, criminal, banker, cook, schoolteacher and barber, each one tells his story and they are wonderfully varied, ranging from shattering tragedy to the serene. These lives interconnect and in all of them one woman plays a crucial part. She is Marcy Cressap, the Public Health Service the story of this indomitable woman's battle with disease and injustice forms the dramatic center of The Voices of Glory. The many voices of Glory ring separately clear. But here, as in all Davis Grubb's work, one is always aware of the author's special vision-the combination of poetic tenderness with rage against man's cruelty. In The Voices of Glory because of its richness of story, Davis Grubb has found his greatest opportunity. Glory, West Virginia, is certain to take its place with Anderson's Winesburg, Master's Spoon River, and Wolfe's Altamont as one of the enduring creations of the literary imagination.
Author
From Wikipedia Born in Moundsville, West Virginia, Grubb wanted to combine his creative skills as a painter with writing and as such attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. However, his color blindness was a handicap he could not overcome and he gave up on painting to dedicate himself to writing fiction. He did, however, make a number of drawings and sketches during the course of his career, some of which were incorporated into his writings. In 1940, Grubb moved to New York City where he worked at NBC radio as a writer while using his free time to write short stories. In the mid 1940s he was successful in selling several short stories to major magazines and in the early 1950s he started writing a full length novel. Influenced by accounts of economic hardship by depression-era Americans that his mother had seen first hand as a social worker, Grubb produced a dark tale that mixed the plight of poor children and adults with that of the evil inflicted by others. The Night of the Hunter became an instant bestseller and was voted a finalist for the 1955 National Book Award. That same year, the book was made into a motion picture that is now regarded as a classic. Deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Grubb went on to write a further nine novels and several collections of short stories. His 1969 novel Fools' Parade would also be made into a motion picture starring James Stewart. Some of Grubb's short stories were adapted for television by Alfred Hitchcock and by Rod Serling for his Night Gallery series. Grubb died in New York City in 1980. His novel Ancient Lights was published posthumously in 1982, and St. Martins Press published 18 of his short stories in a book collection titled You Never Believe Me and Other Stories. His longtime canine companion was a Lhasa Apso named Rowdy Charlie.
