1891: A Novel about Stanford University

Fledgling Novelist Takes on Daunting Subject: Stanford University  Jerry Franks, the novelist, seventy-nine years old, Stanford class of ’50, resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, is old enough that he should know better. When asked why he had decided to make the behemoth institution the setting for his first novel, Mr. Franks replied, “I saw a picture of the Memorial Church with a spire that fell during the 1906 earthquake and realized how little I knew about Stanford. Trips to the Green and Palo Alto Libraries convinced me there was material for a series of novels. I was hooked.”

Just published last month, 1891: A Novel about Stanford University is an ambitious retelling of the trials and tribulations faced in the early months by pioneering students, faculty, and administration.  Points of view are shared by Stanford’s first registrar, Orrin Leslie Elliott, and his wife, Ellen; a Jewish student; an ex-Army Captain who fought in the Indian Wars; and a young woman whose father was killed by agents of the Southern Pacific Railroad.

As to the potential popularity of the book, Mr. Franks was equivocal.  “Of course, I like it and love the characters. Friends and relatives tell me they enjoyed it. One Stanford fellow, a fact checker, said he could hardly wait for the sequel and the movie. He might have been kidding. The closest thing to an objective, critical evaluation was that the iUniverse evaluator, a Stanford alumna, thought it was fascinating. That’s not a word I would use, but I’ll take it.” Neither success nor failure will diminish Mr. Franks’ determination to complete the writing of his saga.  “I can’t let my characters down,” Mr. Franks said. “Their stories deserve to be told, particularly when I found out an African-American, Ernest Johnson, was a member of the Class of 1895. Can you imagine Ernest Johnson and President Herbert Hoover were members of the same class? I wonder if they knew one another. Even the thought of it, excites me.”

1891: A Novel about Stanford University is available at your local bookstore, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.com.

For more information you may contact Jerry Franks at jerryfranks@earthlink.net,  More information about 1891 and the author is available at http://home.earthlink.net/~jerryfranks or http://anovelaboutstanforduniversity.blog.com