The Maid's Version
From an American master and author of Winter's Bone, this dark tragedy tells of a deadly dance hall fire and its impact over several generations.
Alma DeGeer Dunahew, the mother of three young boys, works as the maid for a prominent citizen and his family in West Table, Missouri. Her husband is mostly absent, and, in 1929, her scandalous, beloved younger sister is one of the 42 killed in an explosion at the local dance hall. Who is to blame? Mobsters from St. Louis? The embittered local gypsies? The preacher who railed against the loose morals of the waltzing couples? Or could it have been a colossal accident?
Alma thinks she knows the answer—and that its roots lie in a dangerous love affair. Her dogged pursuit of justice makes her an outcast and causes a long-standing rift with her own son. By telling her story to her grandson, she finally gains some solace—and peace for her sister. He is advised to “Tell it. Go on and tell it”—tell the story of his family's struggles, suspicions, secrets, and triumphs.
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Daniel Woodrell
Daniel Woodrell is also the author of eight novels including The Maid’s Version, Winter’s Bone, and The Death of Sweet Mister, as well as the collection The Outlaw Album. He is the recipient of the PEN West Award, and five of his eight novels have been selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year. Three of his novels have been adapted for film, including the Oscar-nominated Winter’s Bone. He lived in the Ozarks near the Arkansas line with his wife, Katie Estill, and died in 2025.
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