Suggested Reading
The following list is an informal, incomplete and unscientifically gathered collection of books you might enjoy reading before you come to the conference in Charleston in June. They are the suggestions and recommendations of several people. There are more to add, but this list wil help you find your own “good read” before you travel to South Carolina. Special thanks go to Dr. Bud Askins and his daughter, Mary Schweers, for their assistance in compiling this list.
Jump to the
- non-fiction list,
- historical fiction list,
- contemporary fiction list,
- history list,
- young reader's list, or
- the list of cookbooks
Ramblings of a Lowcountry Game Warden (2008)
By Ben Moise. The memoirs of veteran SC Game Warden, Ben Moise, cigar chomping, ticket-writing scourge of Lowcountry fish and game violators. Covers his twenty-four years patrolling the Lowcountry woods and waters.
Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden (1997)
By Emily Whaley and William Baldwin. Conversations with an opinionated, honest lady full of Southern charm and blessed with the gift of gardening. Listen to her stories and recollections. Learn about gardens and gardening in Charleston.
Mount Pleasant: The Victorian Village (2006)
By May-Julia C. Royall. Photographs and history
Cornices of Charleston (2005)
By Alterman and Romaine. Photographs and paintings
Very Charleston (2003)
By Diana Hollingsworth Gessler. Full of watercolors and detailed sketches and interesting tidbits about the Holy City and the Lowcountry. A delightful stroll with a chatty, knowledgeable friend/guide. A good companion for your trip to Charleston.
Charleston (1991)
On Leaving Charleston (1991)
By Alexandra Ripley. Historical fiction about the Tradd family, the first set during the Civil War and its aftermath, the second during the Roaring Twenties in Charleston, New York and parts of Europe.
Celia Garth (1959, pb – 2008)
By Gwen Bristow and Sara Donati. Set in Charleston during the Revolutionary War period, when loyalties were divided – Some supported England and the king, others were rebelling. Celia and her friends were spies for Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox.” Excellent reviews on Amazon.
Nowhere Else on Earth (pb – 2001)
By Josephine Humphreys. Different from her other work in that it is a historical novel based on a true story from the Civil War era. It won the Southern Book Award in 2001.
Porgy (pb -2001, originally published in 1925)
By Dubose Heyward. Readers may be surprised that while Bess does figure in the novel, neither she nor her romance with Porgy is the focus of the book. The novel was adapted, the plot substantially altered, for the stage in 1927. The play, not the novel, was the inspiration for George Gershwin’s opera.
Contemporary Fiction
Sullivan’s Island (pb – 2004. Her debut novel)
Isle of Palms (pb – 2005)
By Dorothea Benton Franks
Full of local color and the flavor of Charleston’s barrier islands.
The Hard to Catch Mercy (pb – 2004)
A Gentleman in Charleston and the Manner of His Death (pb. 2006)
By William Baldwin (see also non-fiction)
The Water is Wide
The Lords of Discipline
The Prince of Tides
Beach Music
By Pat Conroy (all in pb in 2002.)
The Lords of Discipline is about life (fictional, but barely) at the Citadel, thinly disguised as the Carolina Military Institute, deceiving no one. Excellent read.
Low Country (1998)
Sweetwater Creek (pb – 2006)
By Anne Rivers Siddons
Good low country descriptions.
Jewel (pb – 1999)
The Hunt Club (pb – 1999)
By Bret Lott, a SC author who lives in Mount Pleasant. Jewel is actually set in Mississippi, The Hunt Club in the Lowcountry, his first mystery/thriller.
Rich in Love (pb – 2000)
Dreams of Sleep (pb – 2000)
By Josephine Humphreys, a native Charlestonian .
Contemporary family life in the South.
Grace at Low Tide (2005)
By Beth Webb Hart. A teenage girl struggles to reconcile her faith with her family’s economic misfortunes and her own emotional and moral decisions. A debut novel.
Sweetgrass (pb – 2006)
The Beach House (pb – 2006)
Skyward (pb – 2005)
By Mary Alice Monroe, who lives on the Isle of Palms. Good reads. The first novel weaves in information about the Charleston (sweetgrass) baskets, the second touches on efforts to save the loggerhead turtles, the third gives insight into efforts to rescue and treat injured birds of prey.
Death by Darjeeling (pb – 2001)
By Laura Childs. The first of the Charleston Tea Shop Mysteries. (Read others, too, but begin with this one.) You’ll learn much about tea and about the Charleston historical district. These are easy reads. And there are tea shop recipes at the end of each book!
The Spirit of Sweetgrass (pb – 2007, debut novel)
Trouble the Water (pb – 2008. Named one of the “Best Books of 2008” by the Library Journal)
By Nicole Seitz, who lives in Mt. Pleasant. These novels introduce the reader to the rich and diverse Lowcountry Gullah culture. To note: Seitz also painted the book covers.
Refuge (pb – 2008)
By Dot Jackson. Rich in character and characters, Refuge tells of the life of a young woman who lived partly among Charleston aristocrats and partly in the Appalachian mountains in the early 20th century. A first novel by an author already well-known “in these parts” as a journalist and columnist.
History – Did you know that more than half the battles of the Revolutionary War were fought in South Carolina?
A Gallant Defense: The Siege of Charleston, 1780 (2003)
By Carl Borick. A scholarly study of the siege of Charleston and her surrender to the British in 1780.
The Life of Francis Marion (pb – 2008)
By William Gilmore Simms. Provides an interesting account of the life of one of early America’s most courageous figures and captures the complicated and often turbulent world of the Revolutionary War era inSouth Carolina.
Patriots, Pistols and Petticoats: “Poor Sinful Charles Town” during the American
Revolution (1976)
By Walter J. Fraser. A good introduction to the Revolutionary period in Charleston. Popular history, accurate and readable.
The Road to Guilford Courthouse (pb – 1999)
By John Buchanan. Excellent history of the American Revolution in the Carolinas.
A Short History of Charleston (1997)
By Robert Rosen. From the beginnings at Charles Town up to Hurricane Hugo. Good to read in preparation for a trip to the city.
The Last Days of Black Beard the Pirate (2008)
By Kevin P. Duffus. A new theory of his identity. See the following news article: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1051707.html
Francis Marion and the Legend of the Swamp Fox (pb – 2005)
Palmetto – Symbol of Courage (pb – 2005)
Almost Invisible – Black Patriots of the American Revolution (pb – 2008)
By Kate Salley Palmer, South Carolinian and a resident of Clemson
P is for Palmetto (2002)
By Carol Crane. A children’s alphabet book illustrated by Mary Whyte, an artist who paints watercolors of the Gullah community.
Cookbooks -look for these (and others) in the Old City Market as you browse.
- Charleston Receipts
- Magnolias* Southern Cuisine
- Hominy Grill* Cookbook
* local highly regarded restaurants