Synopsis: Charleston, South Carolina is a lively, bustling city in 1779. While other parts of the country fight for Independence from Great Britain, Charleston remains safe. Celia works as a dressmaker at the most fashionable dress shop in town. When she falls in love with a wealthy lawyer and becomes the personal dressmaker to a fabulously rich society matron, she thinks her life will never get better. But then Charleston falls to the British, Tarleton terrorized the surrounding plantations and those she loved face the dark maw of death. To survive, Celia must call on courage she never thought she had. She must decide if she will stand for what she knows is right, even though it cost her everything. Review: I picked this up in a $1-a-bag sale at a local thrift store. I'm not sure why. Perhaps the cover caught my attention. Whatever the reason, I read the first page to see what it was about. Hours later, I realized I didn't want to put it down. Bristow deftly weaves the fictional story of Celia through the true strands of history - the Siege of Charleston, the terror of Tarleton, those who took the King's Oath and those who did not, those who received the houses of displaced patriots as rewards for service to the King - and what happened to those patriots. Bits of historical facts about culture and society gives the story a wonderful depth. And her characters - each is flesh-out, well-rounded, with flaws and depth and emotions. They feel real. They feel true. As if they might have really lived. The plot is a breathless - taking the reader through a gambit of emotion.
To anyone interested in American History, the Revolutionary War or Colonial Life, I highly recommend!
Bookmarks: 8 of 10
Awards: None
Date Finished: 8/16/2013
Pages: 320
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