Charlotte Fraser has gumption. A willingness to dig deep even though the men around her believe that she will ultimately fail. With the death of her father behind her, she heads back to her family home in Fairhaven now that the Civil War has ended. She has been told not to expect anything to be left since the freed slaves and Yankees have left nothing of value behind. She knows she will need to do whatever she can to ensure that the rice crop is planted to provide a living for her and to pay back the bank loan she has acquired. The only thing that remains in her name is the property at Fairhaven as well as the summer home at Pelican Cottage. The only question is the validity of her families claims on the property at Fairhaven since a land deed in her father's name can't be found.
Charlotte hopes that the remaining clue her father whispered to her about remembering the fire will lead her to discover some hope that she will not have to leave the only home she has ever known. She is more than pleased to find that some of the families she has grown up with have also moved back to South Carolina but now that all the slaves are free, Charlotte isn't quite sure how she will manage planting rice crops with no labor available. The only few men remaining now realize that they can charge Charlotte whatever the going rate is to restore some of her crops. When she arrives home, she finds the family home literally gutted. Not even the bathtub remains. The barn is in shambles, no live stock remains, and the fields where her family grew lots of rice and vegetables is in a state of disrepair. She soon bands together with the local family to hire a group of men to help plant their rice crops along with selling her stories to the Enterprise newspaper about the Southern Reconstruction efforts.
When Nicholas Betancourt moves back to Willowood, he hopes he can pursued her to tutor his two young girls while he himself attempts to start over, but Charlotte is far from qualified to teach anyone. Her methods don't follow the tradition formal training a teacher would use but she could definitely use the money to help make ends meet. Nicholas is hoping that having a woman's presence back in his daughters lives will help them readjust to a life after the death of their mother. Soon Charlotte finds a friendship with Nicholas she wasn't expecting and wonders if love can possibly arrive from the ashes of war. Being a woman living alone presents some problems for her but nothing she can't manage with raw determination and grit. Now if she can only put her mind at ease and locate the papers her father must have had to show ownership of the property otherwise all the money she is investing will be in vain.
I received Carolina Gold by Dorothy Love compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed are strictly my own. This novel was based on the true story of a Carolina rice plantation owner Elizabeth Allston Pringle. The author Dorothy Love shares just how she came to develop the storyline which gives readers an inside look at how this woman struggles in the midst of coming home after the Civil War and trying to make a start of things when life was extremely difficult with the many changes the war left. I have read every single book that Dorothy Love has written and once again, I give this one a 5 out of 5 stars. I love historical fiction and learning a little bit about history that I had never known before.
For more information about Carolina Gold, Dorothy Love, or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:
You can find Dorothy Love on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.
To read more reviews on Carolina Gold from the Litfuse Publicity Book Tour, please click here.
- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Thomas Nelson (December 10, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 140168761X
- ISBN-13: 978-1401687618
- Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
Between January 3–14, visit Dorothy Love's Facebook Page to enter to win a new giveaway each day and be entered to win the $100 Visa Cash Card grand prize. Winners will be announced at the Facebook Author Chat party on January 14th! (Don't have a Facebook account? Enter here.) RSVP today for Dorothy's Carolina Gold Author Chat Party on Facebook.
During the party Dorothy will be hosting a book chat, testing your trivia skills, announcing the winner of the Southern Essentials Giveaway, and giving away books, gift certificates, and more. Oh, and she'll also be giving partygoers an exclusive look at her next book!
So grab your copy of Carolina Gold and help Dorothy celebrate her birthday on the evening of January 14th! (If you haven’t read the book, don’t let that stop you from coming!)
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