Book Reviews - Latest Releases October/November 2023

October 2023
Written By: 
Ashley Daniels
Photographs by: 
courtesy of the Publishers

Southern authors worth reading

The Legend of the Grey Man of Pawleys Island
By Christine Vernon
Published by Christine Vernon
Release Date: January 14, 2023

Author Christine Vernon follows her published interpretation of the story behind the life and ghost of Alice Flagg with The Legend of the Grey Man of Pawleys Island, another supposed ghost that is spotted on the South Strand beach to warn locals and visitors of impending hurricanes. (It is said that the first sighting of the Grey Man in Pawleys Island was in 1822.)

At 86 pages, the historical fiction novel is a quick read, but still packed with the action and drama surrounding the Revolutionary War. Vernon, trained in oil and acrylic painting, recreates a vivid picture of “The Grey Man” through her words. Young Will falls in love with his cousin, Rachel, during the war, but family and wartime conflicts would get in the way of their relationship. Find out if this young couple’s love finds a way for the two to reunite, despite a deadly hurricane threatening the Carolina coast.

Wachesaw & Richmond Hill Plantations: A Short History
By Patricia Liotta Kolencik and Jane Tier Petrone
Published by Class LLC
Release Date: 2023

This duo of authors (also educators) of Wachesaw & Richmond Hill Plantations do a deep-dive into the fascinating history of the land we all know today as the Wachesaw Plantation gated residential community in Murrells Inlet. And because of that, you will walk away with a deeper knowledge of this beautiful area fringed by ancient live oaks dripping with Spanish moss along the Waccamaw River. 

Learn of the timeline, from the early Native American settlements here, to the colonization, to the rise of  these two antebellum rice plantations and the families at the estates, to the Civil War and Reconstruction, to northern investment, to southern development. As a showcase of detailed research, maps, photos, and illustrations, this book truly celebrates why this land is recognized in the National Register of Historic Places.

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