Elizabeth Crook | |
|---|---|
 Crook at the 2014 Texas Book Festival. | |
| Born | Elizabeth Crook April 9, 1959 |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Alma mater | Baylor University Rice University |
| Genre | Historical Fiction |
| Website | |
| www | |
Elizabeth Crook (born April 9, 1959) is an American writer, the author of six novels as well as various works of nonfiction. Crook's fiction is often set in Texas and the American West.
Elizabeth Crook was born in Houston, Texas, in 1959. [1] She lived in Nacogdoches and San Marcos during her early childhood. Her father, William H. Crook, was a Baptist pastor who later entered politics; in 1966, he was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as the national director of the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program, causing the family to move to Washington, D.C. [2] Two years later, the family moved to Canberra, Australia, following her father's appointment as the United States Ambassador to Australia. [3]
Upon returning to Texas, Crook attended public schools in San Marcos, graduating from San Marcos High School in 1977. She attended Baylor University for two years before transferring to Rice University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1982. [4]
Her literary career began with historical research into the marriage between Sam Houston and Eliza Allen. This research was first published as an article, "Sam Houston and Eliza Allen: The Marriage and the Mystery," in the July 1990 issue of the Southwestern Historical Quarterly , and subsequently served as the basis for her debut novel, The Raven's Bride (1991). [2]
Crook resides in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Marc Lewis. They have two children. [3]
The Raven's Bride (Doubleday, 1991) This historical novel examines the mysterious marriage between Sam Houston and Eliza Allen. It was a 2006 "Texas Reads: One Book One Texas" selection.
Promised Lands (Doubleday, 1994) This epic is set during the Texas Revolution and depicts events such as the Runaway Scrape and the Goliad massacre.
The Night Journal (Viking, 2006) This multi-generational mystery involves a modern woman and the journals of her great-grandmother in 1890s New Mexico. It received the 2007 Spur Award for Best Long Novel of the West and the 2007 Willa Literary Award for Historical Fiction.
Monday, Monday (Sarah Crichton Books, 2014) This novel fictionalizes the events and aftermath of the 1966 University of Texas tower shooting. It was awarded the 2015 Jesse H. Jones Award for fiction and named a Best Fiction Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews .
The Which Way Tree (Little, Brown and Company, 2018) This adventure story is set in Civil War-era Texas. It was named the 2024 Texas Great Read Adult Selection by the Texas Center for the Book. It is currently in development for a film adaptation.
The Madstone (Little, Brown and Company, 2023) A sequel to The Which Way Tree that follows the protagonist Benjamin Shreve on a dangerous journey across Reconstruction-era Texas.
Two of Crook's novels (Promised Lands and The Raven's Bride) were edited at Doubleday by Jacqueline Onassis. [5]
Crook's nonfiction work has been published in anthologies and periodicals such as Texas Monthly and Southwestern Historical Quarterly. [3]
Crook's historical fiction has been generally well-received by critics. Her detailed research and ability to dramatize Texas history are praised as strengths. Some reviewers noted pacing issues in her earlier work.
Her debut novel, The Raven's Bride (1991), was noted for its historical insight into the life of Sam Houston, with Booklist calling it "a first-rate piece of historical fiction as well as a frequently moving love story" and Kirkus Reviews defining it "a rousing first novel, fired by theatrical flashes and clever, soundly researched-based speculations." [14] However, a contemporary review in Publishers Weekly felt that despite the rich historical research, "endless self-analysis, and several superfluous anticlimactic chapters create tedious moments." [15]
Promised Lands (1994), an epic about the Texas Revolution, was described by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as "one of the very best novels published in 1994," [16] while Kirkus Reviews called it a "vivid and unsparing portrait of the physical and psychological horrors of the conflict." [17]
Monday, Monday (2014), which fictionalized the 1966 UT Tower shooting, received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, which observed that while framing a story around such a calamity "invites both sensationalism and sentimentality," Crook's novel was "confident and lyrical as it smartly engages terror and its aftermath." [18] Writing for The Texas Observer , Allison Wright praised the book's opening but noted that the central romance was "not entirely convincing," suggesting the author sometimes "holds her reader's hand, specifying exactly what her characters are feeling and why." [19]
Her later novels, The Which Way Tree (2018) and The Madstone (2023), drew comparisons to classic Western literature, with The New York Times asserting that "her voice recalls the likes of Charles Portis and Mark Twain." [20] The Wall Street Journal described The Which Way Tree as "a ripping adventure" with a "show-stopping finale," [21] while The Washington Post stated that Crook is "a master at rustling up competing forces to create cinematic calamities" and called The Madstone "the perfect adventure to curl up with on some desolate winter night." [22]
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