Scene 1

This scene is set in fictional Barclay West Virginia, 1933

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

This is how the novel opens, and I am mostly true to what happens in the sequence. We are introduced to the youngest version of Anthem, at age two, possibly three, still using her mother’s last name, Ragel. The brief marriage ended in tragedy, with Emme fleeing soon after for the big city. Her care is at first left to Ra…