Mary Doria Russell received her PhD from the Department of Anthropology in 1983.

"The Women of Copper County" Chosen as the 2021-2022 Great Michigan Read, Selected to be Read by Tecumseh Book Club

“The Women of the Copper Country,” written by Mary Doria Russell, is the book the [Tecumseh Book Club] will be conversing about on Monday. Russell’s book was chosen by Michigan Humanities for the 2021-22 Great Michigan Read, an award which aims to connect Michigan residents “by deepening reader’s understanding of the state, society and humanities,” a news release from the library said.

“The Women of Copper Country” tells the story of 25-year-old Annie Clements, who stood up for miners and their families during the 1913 copper strikes.

Shelly Hendrick Kasprzycki, Michigan Humanities president and CEO, praised Russell’s fictionalized account of the “very real and dangerous conditions Upper Peninsula copper mines faced, and Annie Clements’ willingness to fight for a better life for them and their families.”

"This fictionalized account will have readers cheering as Big Annie takes on the company owners in one of the first tests of the American labor movement,” Kasprzycki said in the release. “At a time when women were expected to keep house and raise children, Annie Clements’ decision to become a leader and take a stand is a story of courage. She’s a wonderful example of the strong and principled women who have made history in Michigan and across the country, and it’s especially important to share her story during Women’s History Month.”

Russell is an award-winning author of seven bestselling novels, including the science fiction classics “The Sparrow" and the "Children of God”; the World War II thriller “A Thread of Grace”; and a political romance set in 1921 Cairo called “Dreamers of the Day.”

 

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