"Nevin's History" Book Signing and Reception

Brownsville-The Brownsville Heritage Complex, located in historic downtown Brownsville, invites the public to a lecture, book signing and wine reception for Jim Sanderson, author of Nevin's History, a historical novel set in Brownsville. The event will take place on Thursday, February 16, 2006 at 6:30 p.m. The event is free to the public and everyone is invited to attend.

Nevin's History is a Novel of Texas and is touted as a sweeping saga of South Texas. It is published by the University of Texas Tech.

The turbulent lower Rio Grande Valley of the 1870s is the backdrop of this epic historical novel of romance, violence, and the struggle for civilization on the frontier. Against that backdrop, protagonist Andrew Nevin, newspaper reporter, Civil War draft dodger, informer, and self-professed coward, tells the story of three legendary figures: Texas Ranger John 'Rip" Ford and Lee H. McNelly and the bandit mayor of Matamoros, Juan Cortina. Along the way, Richard King, King Fisher, Ben Thompson, Jack Harris, Mark Twain and William Dean Howells make appearances. In fact, only two of the major characters are fictional. One fictional character is the narrator, Andrew Nevin, who puts his particular spin on his 'history."

In attempting to redeem himself by telling the history of the border wars, Nevin also chronicles the growth of San Antonio and the influence of civilization on South Texas at the end of one century and the beginning of another.

Of particular interest to Brownsville residents, Nevin's History was researched in Brownsville with the support of the Brownsville Historical Association. The first part of the novel briefly covers the Civil War in Brownsville and then looks at the border wards around the city after the Civil War.

Jim Sanderson is professor of English at Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas. He is the author of three other novels—La Mordida, Safe Delivery, and El Camino del Rio-a short story collection, and a collection of essays on West Texas, and his short stories have appeared in ten anthologies. He is a member of the Texas Institute of Letters.

The Brownsville Heritage Complex is located at 1325 E. Washington in Brownsville. The Brownsville Heritage Complex includes The Stillman House Museum, The Brownsville Heritage Museum, The Aiken Education Center, and the Heritage Resource Center.

For more information please call 956-541-5560 or email info@brownsvillehistory.org.