The second book with ties to Kingstree and the surrounding area is very different from the one we looked at last week. Silk: Caroline's Story by Sophia Alexander is, according to its author, "a character-driven historical novel with unexpected twists." One reviewer has described the book as the "social realism of Jane Austen meets the Southern Gothic of Flannery O'Conner." It was published June 30, 2021
In 1899, Caroline Corbett moves to her uncle Sam Swann's plantation near Kingstree so that she can work in a nearby sewing factory. Her new surroundings bring her into contact with two attractive men: one, a sharecropper who lives near Greeleyville, and the other, a young doctor in Kingstree. And, as Alexander says, while the doctor is the obvious choice, "things get complicated, as life does." One of the complications is a young sociopath who is determined that Caroline will have nothing to do with the sharecropper. The story does indeed have many twists and turns, some that I saw coming and some that I did not.
And while this is Caroline's story, there is a sub-plot which involves her best friend, Anne, also employed at the factory. While Caroline ends up choosing traditional family life, Anne, who becomes a talented clothing designer in the course of the book, makes her way out into the modern world. "I believe they balance each other out," the author told "Book Banter" host Tanya E. Williams in an interview streamed on You Tube July 23.
The title for Silk came from silk dresses the girls made for a Christmas party.
Silk's origin is almost as interesting as the storyline itself. Sophia Alexander, which I might note is a pen name, states that while the plot and storylines of the book are totally fictional, a number of the characters names come straight from her family tree. Names like Caroline, Amarintha, Jessie, Swann and Gaynell. (And if any of you are wondering if Gaynell is for Gaynell Gamble Hammet, you are indeed correct, as she was the daughter of Caroline "Carrie" Cox Gamble, for whom the title character in Silk is named.)
Alexander has been interested in genealogy since she was 12 years old, and it was natural for her to reach into her family's past to name her book's characters. Another character in the book, Sam's Swann's younger daughter, Emma, was based on none other than Bessie Swann Britton. In fact the idea for Silk came to Alexander while she was reading Remembering Kingstree: Memories of a Southern Village, which is the collected writings of Bessie Swann Britton, that I edited and published in 2007. "A Visit from Mrs. Santa Claus" is the final story in Remembering Kingstree, and Caroline Cox makes an appearance in that story, which relates a Christmas Eve adventure in the Swann household. This story became the springboard for Silk.
Sophia Alexander also combed through Dr. Samuel D. McGill's Narrative of Reminiscences in Williamsburg County. From it, she was able to tease out authentic details about what schools were like in those times, and also found colorful descriptions which helped her create a wedding dinner.
The overall plot and storylines may be fictional, but there is at least one small vignette in the story that comes straight from young Bessie Swann's life. Like Bessie, Emma in Silk insists on going to school before she is eligible, all because she wants to carry a shiny lunch pail like her older sister. And also like Bessie, her first day of school is a less than happy experience.
Silk is Alexander's first novel and was a Finalist in the Family Saga Division for the American Fiction Awards, sponsored by American BookFest. It was also a Finalist in the Historical Fiction category for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and was longlisted for the Goethe Award 2022 by Chanticleer International.
Tapestry will be available in April 2022.
Silk is the first novel of a trilogy, tracing three generations of this family. The second novel, Tapestry: A Lowcountry Rapunzel, will be released on April 16, 2022, with Homespun to follow at a later date. The e-book version of Tapestry is already available for pre-order.
Sophia Alexander is a South Carolina native and a graduate of the College of Charleston who lives in Savannah with her husband.
1 comment:
Where do you think we could obtain this book and the others when published ? Jean M.Martin, sandhill1937@yahoo.com
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