Ringside, 1925

Jen Bryant

Feb 2008 · Sold by Knopf Books for Young Readers

About this ebook

The year is 1925, and the students of Dayton, Tennessee, are ready for a summer of fishing, swimming, some working, and drinking root beer floats at Robinson’s Drugstore. But when their science teacher, J. T. Scopes, is arrested for having taught Darwin’s theory of evolution in class, it seems it won’t be just any ordinary summer in Dayton.
As Scopes’ trial proceeds, the small town is faced with astonishing, nationwide publicity: reporters, lawyers, scientists, religious leaders, and tourists. But amidst the circus-like atmosphere is a threatening sense of tension–not only in the courtroom, but among even the strongest of friends. This compelling novel in poems chronicles a controversy with a profound impact on science and culture in America–and one that continues to this day.

Ratings and reviews

Jen Bryant's RINGSIDE 1925 explores the Scopes Trial, one of the most controversial trials in American history, through nine diverse characters and is told through vivid verse. One memorable summer, the sleepy town of Dayton, Tennessee, population 1,800, is turned upside down by the trial of a well-liked high school teacher. His crime is teaching evolution, a subject that the state of Tennessee had forbidden in the newly passed Butler Law. William Jennings Bryan, a talented orator, preacher, and three time presidential nominee, will speak against evolution, and Clarence Darrow, a brilliant lawyer, comes to defend Mr. Scopes. News of the trial spreads quickly and, almost overnight, the town fills with news reporters, scientists, religious leaders, and tourists. Many residents, such as twelve-year-old Willy Amos and drugstore owner Mr. Robinson, see it as an opportunity to make some quick easy money. Since Darwin's theory of evolution suggests that man evolved from monkeys, Dayton begins selling everything from paper monkeys to Simian Sodas. At first, the atmosphere is friendly and fun. Though they are on opposing sides of the "monkey trial," W. J. Bryan and Mr. Darrow are friends and share a dinner together at Tillie Stackhouse's boarding house. But as the trial drags on in the muggy summer weather, tensions rise. Not only do the two men's friendship become strained, but many of the residents become embroiled in the increasingly bitter God vs. science debate. Many young readers may have learned about the Scopes Trial in school, but Bryant brings a new level of relevance by telling the story primarily through the eyes of Dayton's residents and observing the smaller but no less significant changes to a small town in addition to the broad historical significance. Jimmy Lee Davis and Peter Sykes have been fishing buddies and best friends for years, but their personal beliefs lead them to support opposite sides of the trial. Marybeth Todd is a smart but restless teenager. When several professors come to stay at the boarding house she works at, they ask her to participate in their discussions of geology, anthropology, and other unfamiliar and wonderful topics. The influx of visitors brings in money, but also new ideas and opportunities. Readers who usually dislike historical fiction will find Bryant's characters fresh, familiar, often insightful, and sometimes silly. The story feels real and full-fleshed, but never gets bogged down by its research.

About the author

Jen Bryant teaches Children’s Literature at West Chester University and lives in Pennsylvania.