Charleston Read online

  Praise for John Jakes’s Charleston

  “Sure to lure readers…[a] masterly tale…[an] extraordinary family…during the most violent era of Charleston’s history.”

  —The Washington Post

  “John Jakes has been called the ‘godfather of historical novelists,’ and his latest novel, Charleston, combines those elements he knows so well: the cruel conflicts within a family, revenge mixed with love, and a family intrigue that stretches across sweeping historical events…a great read…fascinating historical anecdotes…well worth burning the late-night oil to enjoy.”

  —The Charleston Post and Courier

  “For a combination of American history and an entertaining story, it’s hard to surpass John Jakes…. Jakes fills his story with the rich details and little snippets of history that keep the pages turning in this five-hundred-page novel.”

  —The Sunday Oklahoman

  “The author focuses on all levels of Southern society—the belles at their balls, the cowards and patriots—and shapes vengeance and melodrama with great force…. Popular historical fiction at its most readable.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “Captivating…. A review can’t adequately describe the sweeping scope of Charleston and the many characters that Jakes weaves together to tell his tale. The book is a great read and a wonderful escape.”

  —The Chattanooga Times

  “The author, considered by many to be America’s greatest writer of historical fiction, makes Charleston, SC, and its people come alive in a story that spans from the American Revolution through the rise and fall of the Confederacy.”

  —The Stuart News/Port St. Lucie News

  “A dark tapestry of betrayal, revenge, and murder…. Fans of Jakes’s earlier hits should find plenty of drama and antebellum flavor in this lusty epic.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Jakes’s attention to historical detail is ever present, and readers will emerge from this tale knowing Charleston, and the United States, better than they previously had…. Through war, love, murder, heroism, and deception, Jakes unveils one of the South’s most fascinating locales as it sheds the chains of the past and emerges into the modern world.”

  —Tulsa World

  “A fascinating history in humanized terms, something Jakes does masterfully and accessibly…. It is the action of this roiling history—loyalist against patriot, Confederate and Unionist, white and black alike—that will ignite the imagination of most readers…and place this novel high on bestseller lists. Readers will discover along the way, however, that they are learning some genuine history in painless ways. And not just in the broad outline, but in hundreds of small details…. Thank you, John Jakes.”

  —The State (Columbia, SC)

  “Jakes is one of our finest storytellers, and his passion for historical accuracy makes him one of our most authentic, as well. With the gifts he has demonstrated in such classics as the North and South Trilogy, California Gold, and On Secret Service, he paints an unforgettable portrait of the most beautiful city in the South.”

  —The Island Packet

  “As he does so well, Jakes creates a set of charming, diabolical, and memorable characters and weaves their story into the tapestry of American history…. Charleston paints a fascinating picture of one of the country’s most historically significant cities and engrosses the reader with the bittersweet saga of the Bell family. Meticulous research, a Jakes hallmark, is evident throughout…. Jakes does not disappoint with this latest endeavor. Longtime fans and newly appointed readers alike will be held spellbound by his attention to historical detail and his undisputed talent for storytelling.”

  —Hilton Head Monthly

  “The story is reminiscent of the author’s previous Civil War saga, North and South, which is to say it’s an excellent, enthralling story…. Charleston is the Civil War in the South in microcosm. As such, it explores many of the issues that led the country to war and also shines a harsh light on those who profited from the hardships and deprivations suffered by the residents of Charleston.”

  —The Historical Novels Review

  “John Jakes…has produced another wonderful volume…. Very fast-paced…. Jakes has written another winner and this reviewer recommends his work.”

  —The Civil War News

  Praise for John Jakes

  “John Jakes is the best historical novelist of our time.”

  —Patricia Cornwell

  “John Jakes is the godfather of historical novelists.”

  —Los Angeles Times

  “Jakes’s bent for historical accuracy is unmatched in commercial fiction.”

  —San Francisco Chronicle

  “He is, quite simply, a master of the ancient art of storytelling.”

  —The New York Times Book Review

  “Jakes shows you what people wore, what they read, and what they drank and ate…. What you get is the feeling that this is life. That’s art.”

  —Chicago Sun-Times

  “Jakes has few peers.”

  —Detroit Free Press

  “It’s been said before, but it can’t be said enough—John Jakes makes history come alive, makes it stir your blood and excite your senses.”

  —Nelson DeMille

  Also by John Jakes

  ON SECRET SERVICE*

  CALIFORNIA GOLD*

  THE BOLD FRONTIER*

  The Crown Family Saga

  AMERICAN DREAMS*

  HOMELAND*

  The North and South Trilogy

  NORTH AND SOUTH*

  LOVE AND WAR*

  HEAVEN AND HELL*

  The Kent Family Chronicles

  THE BASTARD

  THE REBELS

  THE SEEKERS

  THE FURIES

  THE TITANS

  THE WARRIORS

  THE LAWLESS

  THE AMERICANS

  *Published by Signet

  CHARLESTON

  JOHN JAKES

  SIGNET

  Published by New American Library, a division of

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

  New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.

  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand,

  London WC2R 0RL, England

  Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road,

  Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia

  Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue,

  Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2

  Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, Cnr Rosedale and Airborne Roads,

  Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand

  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices:

  80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Published by Signet, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Previously published in a Dutton edition.

  ISBN: 978-1-1012-0964-6

  Copyright © John Jakes, 2002

  Maps by Jeffrey L. Ward

  All rights reserved

  REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  PUBLISHER'S NOTE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is il
legal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  In memory of two good friends at

  The University of South Carolina

  DR. GEORGE C. ROGERS, JR.

  Department of History

  DR. GEORGE TERRY

  Thomas Cooper Library

  The scholarship of George Rogers

  drew me to South Carolina’s dramatic past.

  The library directed by George Terry

  helped me study it.

  I hope both of them might have liked

  this retelling of some of that history.

  CONTENTS

  Author’s Note

  Family Trees

  Maps

  PROLOGUE 1720

  BOOK ONE: CITY AT WAR 1779–1793

  1. The Summons

  2. Bell’s Bridge

  3. Adrian’s Thunderbolt

  4. Lydia’s Proposal

  5. To Malvern

  6. The Partisans

  7. “Long Live the Congress”

  8. Joanna and the Colonel

  9. The Last Days

  10. At the Powder Magazine

  11. Aftermath

  12. The Red Monkey

  13. Arrested

  14. Joanna’s Vow

  15. Marion

  16. Blooded

  17. Poorly’s Name

  18. The Year of the Damned Old Fox

  19. The List

  20. War’s End

  21. 1791

  22. Tales of Terror

  23. Chameleon

  24. At Prosperity Hall

  25. Omens

  The Years Between 1793–1822

  BOOK TWO: CITY ON FIRE 1822–1842

  26. Rebellion

  27. …. And After

  28. Cousin Ouida

  29. Bloody Friday

  30. A Warning

  31. Visitor from the Midlands

  32. Lark and Angelina

  33. The Larks Entertain

  34. The Day of the “Best Friend”

  35. Temptation

  36. Dangerous Times

  37. Dangerous Streets

  38. Consequences

  39. Winter of Misfortune

  40. Anger

  41. What Ouida Saw

  42. Henry and Alex

  43. Adrift

  44. Fanning the Flames

  45. Decision

  46. Leave-Taking

  47. 1840

  48. Freedom Song

  49. The Come-Outer

  50. Lark’s Fate

  51. Reunion

  The Years Between 1842–1863

  BOOK THREE: CITY OF ASHES 1863–1866

  52. The Blockade Runner

  53. Ravaged City

  54. Ham

  55. Under Fire

  56. Alex and the Hero

  57. Unseen Enemies

  58. The Good Seed

  59. Conversations at a Grave

  60. Prisoners

  61. Dark December

  62. 1864

  63. Freedom of the City

  64. Celebration and Reunion

  65. Ruins

  66. Alex and the Stranger

  67. Ouida’s Tea

  68. Riot

  69. Unexpected Encounters

  70. Secret War

  71. Confessions

  72. A Blackmailer Intrudes

  73. Ouida’s Fall

  74. The Letter

  75. Seven Pines

  76. Storm Rising

  77. Storm Breaking

  78. In the Storm

  79. Tom Bell’s Secret

  80. Settling Accounts

  81. A Better, Brighter Morning

  Afterword

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Charleston, its residents like to say, stands where the Ashley and Cooper rivers form the Atlantic Ocean. At the time of the American Revolution, Charleston was the fourth largest city in the colonies, and the most elegant. She was loved and admired by Americans and Europeans for her ambience and charm, her culture and gentility.

  The foundation of Charleston’s wealth was a series of dominant cash crops: indigo, then rice, then cotton, each dependent on slave labor. Charleston’s white elite lived in constant fear of those it kept in servitude to insure its prosperity.

  Ultimately the city, the state, and political thought became slaves of the economic system. In the struggle to preserve it Charleston moved from an open society founded on religious tolerance and the free flow of ideas to a closed society threatened by, and hostile to, the outside world. At the end of this road lay secession and bloody civil war.

  This is a tale of three eras, three Charlestons, and one family that endured fires and epidemics, hurricanes and earthquakes, bombardments and military occupations—nearly a century of history that was by turns courageous, turbulent, and tragic.

  Through it all, and much more that followed in the next one hundred years, Charlestonians white and black remained proud survivors, and went on to create the beautiful cosmopolitan city that greets the visitor today.

  The people of Charleston live rapidly, not willingly letting go untasted any of the pleasures of life…. Their manner of life, dress, equipages, furniture, everything, denotes a higher degree of taste and love of show, and less frugality than in the northern provinces.

  Johann Schoepf, an eighteenth-century visitor

  The institution of slavery shaped and defined Charleston as much as, if not more than, any other force in its history.

  Robert N. Rosen, A Short History of Charleston

  The waters run out of the harbor twice a day, leaving the mudflats uncovered, and with a hot sun baking down upon decaying matter, there is an odor—not unlike that of Venice—to let one know that all the beauty is built upon unsure foundations.

  George C. Rogers, Jr., Charleston in the Age of the Pinckneys

  South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum.

  Charleston Unionist James L. Petigru, on the eve of the Civil War

  PROLOGUE

  1720

  Families are sometimes the children of chance. The family of this story had its beginning at the intersection of Broad and Meeting streets, in Charles Town, on the coast of Carolina, one rainy autumn afternoon in 1720.

  Charles Town was by then fifty years old. It had been established as the center of a proprietary colony organized and financed, with the king’s permission, by eight wealthy Englishmen known as the Lords Proprietors. The chief organizer, Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper, chose the name Carolina—Carolus, Latin for Charles—to honor his sovereign, Charles II.

  That rainy day—no more than a steamy drizzle, really—a man and a woman hurried east on a footpath on the north side of a rutted mixture of sand and crushed oyster shells masquerading as a civilized street. Their destination was the Cooper River piers, where the man hoped to find menial work and cheap lodging. He was already discouraged by the sight of so many slaves, blue-black Africans, with whom he would have to compete.

  He and the woman had journeyed in from a little trading station on a tributary of the Santee River. The store and stock pen of the station had long served one of the busy trails leading northwest to the Cherokee towns, but the Cherokee slave trade was dying as more ships sailed in from West Africa. The man and woman had abandoned the place because of poverty, loneliness, and the woman’s delicate condition.

  On the southeast corner of Broad and Meeting stood a small Anglican church built of cypress. From somewhere within the palisade surrounding the church a bell rang the hour. The man stopped to listen. He’d always loved the sound of bells—ship’s bells, handbells of street criers, and especially the mighty cathedral bells of his native England, which he’d left as a boy. This bell was thin by comparison but sweet all the same.

  Sydney Greech, late of Bristol, Barbados, and the sloop Ro
yal James, was now twenty. He had a certain lean good looks, though his eyes possessed a hardness born of his recent career at sea. The best that could be said about the young woman was that she still had a prettiness not yet ruined by harsh living conditions or the kind of debauchery in which she and Sydney liked to indulge. She called herself Bess; no last name ever came down to later generations.

  A widow at seventeen, Bess had met Sydney in 1718, when he stumbled into her late husband’s trading station, lost and starving. Finding each other by accident, they lived together and took care of the business until deciding to leave it for the bustling town.

  The sonorous peal of the church bells moved Sydney to say, “’Spose we should be officially married someday.”

  “’Spose we should, since I’m carrying your babe.”

  “Not very familiar wi’ churches. Truth is, never stepped inside one.”