Kip Gayden at Martha's at the Plantation

Kip Gayden's novel, Miscarriage of Justice, is a work of fiction. However, any resemblance to persons living or dead is not entirely coincidental. Though the book's plot--an early-20th century love triangle gone awry--sounds like a racy installment of Masterpiece Theatre, it has a strong basis in scandalous historical fact. The tale begins in 1896 with the courtship of Walter Dotson and Anna Dennis. He is a Vanderbilt medical student and counselor at a Christian camp in Boiling Springs, Tenn. She is a vivacious 16-year-old camper. They eventually marry and have two children. Yet as his medical practice becomes all-consuming, marital doldrums ensue. Enter town barber Charlie Cobb. It was vintage Tennessean articles about a slaying in Gallatin that first suggested the story to Gayden. Apparently the author's day job as a Davidson County Circuit Court Judge did not provide enough drama, but it's apparent that he has found plenty.
Thu., Nov. 20, 6 p.m., 2008