''When the Men Were Gone'' is a

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

2018 novel by

Marjorie Herrera Lewis Marjorie Herrera Lewis (born 1957) is a sports journalist best known for her 2018 novel '' When the Men Were Gone''. In 2018, the book was selected by ''Sports Illustrated'' as one of the best sports books in its year-in-review issue. In 2017, at ...

. The book, published by William Morrow, an imprint of

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, is based on the true story of Tylene Wilson, a teacher and an assistant principal in

Brownwood, Texas Brownwood is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, Texas, United States. The population was 18,862 as of th2020 census Brownwood is in the Texas Hill Country and is home to Howard Payne University, which was founded in 1889. History ...

, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Wilson volunteered to coach the

Daniel Baker College Daniel Baker College was founded April 5, 1889 in Brownwood, Texas, United States. It was named in memory of the Rev. Dr. Daniel Baker, a Presbyterian circuit-riding minister, who helped organize the first presbytery in Texas in 1840 and Austin ...

football team in 1944 when the coach left to serve in the war. Lewis took poetic license in the novel, in which Wilson coaches at Brownwood High School.

Story

When WWII pulls all the men ages 18–45 away, there is little hope Brownwood High School's football team will get another season. Raised from a young age to love the sport, assistant principal Tylene Wilson steps up to coach the team and ensure the boys have something more to look forward to than military service after graduation. As she prepared her boys for the games ahead, she faces extreme opposition—both on and off the football field—and challenges her community's ideas of a woman's role in sports.

Reception

In May 2019, the book was selected by ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' as one of the "Best Books of 2019 So Far." It was honored at the American Book Fest's 2019 Best Book Awards, winning in the Fiction: Historical and Best New Fiction categories, and placed in three categories at the New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards (Historical Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, and Sports). The book was included in Reader's Digest Select Editions 2019, Volume 363 - #1. According to Sports Illustrated, the book "sublimely ties together the drama of high school football, gender politics, and the impact of war on a small town in Texas." Conversely, ''Publishers Weekly'' wrote of the book, "The woman’s empowerment angle is inspiring (Lewis’s book is based on true events), but the story ends where football fans would want it to start, at the beginning of the playing season, leaving the story feeling incomplete."

References

2018 American novels Novels set during World War II American historical novels Novels set in Texas Brown County, Texas Novels about American football William Morrow and Company books {{2010s-WWII-novel-stub