Charlotte Fraser travels from Charleston to the Low Country on a boat named The Resolute, but that name belongs to her. She is purposeful, determined, unwavering, and has to be one of the bravest heroines I've ever read. She moves alone into an empty house and deals with things that go bump in the night. Her plan to grow rice brings her right up into the big issue of the day - relations between plantation owners and newly freed slaves. She faces down storms, stray children, legal problems, and yellow fever with the poise of a survivor.

In Carolina Gold the ugliness of Reconstruction and the beauty of the Low Country are woven into a story filled with hope. Bravo!(less)

Dorothy Love in her new book, "Carolina Gold" published by Thomas Nelson takes us into the life of Charlotte Fraser.

From the back cover: The war is over. But her battles are just beginning.

Following her father's death, Charlotte Fraser returns to Fairhaven, her family's rice plantation in the South Carolina Lowcountry. With no one else to rely upon, smart, independent Charlotte is determined to resume cultivating the superior strain of rice called Carolina Gold. But the war has left the plantation in ruins, her father's former bondsmen are free, and workers and equipment are in short supply.

To make ends meet, Charlotte reluctantly agrees to tutor the two young daughters of her widowed neighbor and heir to Willowood Plantation, Nicholas Betancourt. Just as her friendship with Nick deepens, he embarks upon a quest to prove his claim to Willowood and sends Charlotte on a dangerous journey that uncovers a long-held family secret, and threatens everything she holds dear.

Inspired by the life of a 19th-century woman rice farmer, Carolina Gold pays tribute to the hauntingly beautiful Lowcountry and weaves together mystery, romance, and historical detail, bringing to life the story of one young woman's struggle to restore her ruined world.

I enjoy history and I especially enjoy stories centered around The Civil War so this book drew me in on all accounts. Centered on the events after The Civil War or The Reconstruction Period this was a hard time for The South. Charlotte does not have it easy she is doing her best to get a crop in and make a payment to the bank so she can keep her property. The people who used to be slaves are not slaves anymore so she has to figure on how to pay them. Then she is taking a tutor job for Nicholas' children and the romance begins. "Carolina Gold" is a story about starting over and looking at things fresh. Both Charlotte and Nicholas have to put aside the way things were done before and learn new ways in order to succeed. What is even nicer is that the character of Charlotte is based on the true story of a Carolina rice plantation owner Elizabeth Allston Pringle. Ms. Love is an excellent writer and makes all her characters believable and you care deeply for them as she deftly unfolds the plot before us. This is a nice romance with great themes.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

I have enjoyed every book I've read by Dorothy Love, but I think this one is my favorite. All her heroines are strong and courageous women, but I loved the tender streak in Charlotte Fraser. Having lost both parents, she tries valiantly to replant/rebuild her family's rice plantation during the Reconstruction period, supplementing her budget with freelance writing and teaching the two daughters of a widowed neighbor. Nicholas Betantcourt is a doctor recovering his balance from the horrors he saw in the Civil War, and a captivating character himself. Grab a pitcher of iced tea, and prepare to be transported to the Low Country in this tale inspired by the life of Elizabeth Pringle (1845-1921). The ending to this story was one of the most satisfying I've read in a long time!

Returning to the plantation after the war and after waiting for her father's lawyer to read his will, Charlotte is now on her way back to her home in the Deep South to see what remains, if anything, of the home in which she once lived. While she knows there has been destruction of personal items or the items have been stolen, Charlotte has promised her father she will again try to raise the rice crop and live on the land.

The paragraph above states the setting of the fictional tale that is actually based on a real historical figure named Elizabeth Waties Allston Pringle. Can you imagine what this woman witnessed in her lifetime? How about thinking of what her life was like before and after the Civil War? Charlotte is based loosely on the real life experiences of Elizabeth, and the author, with some minor adaptations, places her novel near where the real plantation where Elizabeth lived. After you read the fictional tale, the author shares how she came to learn about this unique woman and her life.

There are characters that portray what southern people must have felt during Reconstruction along with what many veterans suffered during a horrific war. They had to learn to live in a new society that was still forming. With so few eligible men to marry, we see a jealous female antagonist see that she indeed ends up with the one man she sets her eyes on no matter who gets hurt in reaching her goal. Yellow fever is an epidemic that costs many lives in New Orleans in 1868. With the destruction so complete, few can prove they own the land on which they return to.

Dorothy Love writes a moving masterpiece that keeps the reader reading until they see how the unknown ending is revealed. I simply cannot express how much the real woman Elizabeth, along with others who lived in the south before, during and after the war, had to learn how to start all over. Readers see how a woman who has her faith shredded by heartbreak learns to trust God again in a time when each day brings new trials, triumphs or tragedy. What a tenacity people displayed to endure and then to thrive each day. Perhaps like our female lead character they did so by looking to God and putting one foot in front of the other time and time again. A historical novel rich with history, faith, perseverance and romance! Don't pass up reading this book!

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Carolina Gold by Dorothy Love, ©2013

Charleston, South Carolina, March 1868. ~Charlotte Fraser, daughter of the late Francis Fraser.

I am on my way home! Home. I do not know what I will find when I arrive. The war is over, Father has died and I made a promise to him that I would restore Fairhaven, our rice plantation and my ancestral home. I pray it will still be a haven. I have mortgaged Fairhaven at the bank to take out a loan to buy rice seeds and what is needed. Our family has a summer cottage on Pawley's Island ~ Pelican Cottage. So many fond memories before mother died of the yellow fever. I was twelve. Now I am twenty-three and quite on my own. Papa's lawyer said I would be better off to sell and take a room in town until I marry. Marry? Our young men are gone, one way or another. I will be writing a monthly article of the Lowcountry for the editor of the New York Enterprise.

I have been here six weeks now. It has been hectic trying to get the crops planted and workers working. I had two little visitors this morning. Outspoken at that! Wanting cake when I have bread and butter to offer. Their father comes for them from nearby Willowood. They were a little worse for wear coming up the riverbank after losing his boat, but all is well. Hopefully for them their boat will resurface and they can reclaim it before someone else does.

19 O what great troubles and adversities hast thou

showed me ! and yet didst thou turn and refresh me; *

yea, and broughtest me from the deep of the earth again.

--Psalm 71:19 quoted from the Psalter of the 1728 Book of Common Prayer

I am in church but my eyes wander to this Psalm. Times are so different now.

Mr. Betancourt emerged from the church, his daughters rushing along in front of him. "Miss Fraser." He smiled down at her in a way that made her heart lurch. With his thick shock of dark hair and strong, even features, he was attractive as could be, but now was not the time to be distracted by sentimental feelings. Not when her future and the future of her plantation hung in the balance.

--Carolina Gold, 43

I dismiss him upon his asking if I will tutor his daughters. I have my own plantation to get in order. Times are hard for most, it seems. I suggest he send his daughters to Mrs. Allston's school in Charleston while he tends to his land, but he is adamant to keeping them at home since his wife's passing.

I refuse his offer of a ride, and walk on home. So much to think about, so many plans. I am awaiting our furniture Papa had stored upon selling our house in Charleston before his passing. At least he was spared the demise of our holdings.

The beginning crops are doing fairly well. I am expecting to retire my debt before it comes due at the end of a year's passing. I am determined, anyway, although most suggest I return to the city. But they are Father's friends and want the best for me. They tell me most experienced men have fared badly, what can I possibly think I can resurrect and restore what once was?

A horse and wagon are coming along the road. It is my Cousin Alexander! We thought him dead at Gettysburg. He has brought my belongings and is returning to Atlanta, leaving me the mare and wagon. That will be a help, but I could have used his help more. He tells me I am holding on to a vanishing dream.

After last night's storm, I walk Fairhaven looking at the damages to my pending livelihood. I hitch Cinnamon to the wagon and pay a visit to Mr. Betancourt at Willowood. It is time to consider other changes, for each of us. Possibly we can work together for the good of all.

~***~

As a primarily Historical Fiction reader, I liked the detail of this story. Southern Reconstruction following the Civil War was a time of regaining what was lost by some and gained by others. Role reversals were evident as those bound become free and those free become bound to the soil. Landowners were sent scurrying to prove ownership and properly record land grants passed from generation to generation. The yellow fever Charlotte's mother succumbed to, continued to rage these years later, affecting many persons at the same time.

I especially liked the beach visits at Pawley's Island.

The heron's dark shadow moved across the dunes. She thought again of days on this beach with Papa, of the lessons he'd tried to teach her. That life gives us loss and pain, and deep disappointments that often return as blessings. Maybe that was what it really meant to be restored. To somehow move from desperation to delight, from fear to faith.

--Ibid., 317

The story is smoothly written with good communication between characters. I liked the descriptiveness throughout, easily bringing you there with them. The finish left me wanting to read further days in their lives.

Find out more about Dorothy at dorothylovebooks.com/.

***Thank you to author Dorothy Love and publisher Thomas Nelson for sending me an Advance Reader's Copy of Carolina Gold. This review was written in my own words. No other compensation was received.***