Charleston by John Jakes

"From valley green, mountain high,
Hear the soulful, joyful cry.
Meek and mighty, black and white,
Praise the coming of the light.
A better, brighter morning
Is the glory that I see.
Such a better, brighter morning
On the day---all---men---are
Free."
            -From "A Better, Brighter Morning" as sung by Alexandra Bell, in the novel

I believe I read this novel a number of years ago but a trip to Charleston next month inspired me to read it again. I have read quite a few of Jakes' historical fictions and enjoyed them all. This one I will rate a 5.

The novel begins with 3 family trees which are quite helpful to keep the many characters straight. The story progresses through 6 generations of the Bell family, starting toward the end of the American Revolution. Thomas Bell has two sons who split on the issue of American independence and never come together again. Edward Bell's side of the family provide the protagonists and brother Adrian's side, the ones I loved to hate! My favorite character was Alexandra Bell, an abolitionist and women's rights advocate ahead of her time. Such a brave and determined woman! She gets involved with the Grimke sisters, whom I learned a lot about in reading The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd.

The other antagonists are the Larks of Charleston with "Bloody Bill" Lark being the grandfather of Folsey Lark, an especially despicable character. As (bad) luck would have it, Folsey's sister, Snoo, marries into the "bad" side of the Bell family. The Poorly/Strong family starts out in slavery and they give the reader another group of characters with whom to empathize.

The plot evolves with a little bit of everything one would expect from a novel spanning over a century: battles like Seven Pines, other events like the coming of the first train, and famous people like Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox." Add in the family dynamics of jealousy, skeletons in the closet, murders and revenge and you have an intriguing story. My favorite way to try to understand history!

[I would love to read your comments!]