Bøker av Karen Stokes

As war loomed in March 1861, President Jefferson Davis sent Ambrose Dudley Mann on an important diplomatic mission abroad to seek recognition of the Confederate States of America from the chief European powers. When the war ended four years later, Mann took up residence in France and stayed there as a voluntary exile for the rest of his life. In Paris, and at his country estate in Chantilly, he kept up a correspondence with Davis and other friends. Most of Mann's papers have been lost to history, but this book presents a newly discovered collection of his letters written from 1867 to 1879. They are deeply personal writings revealing a personality dominated by two great earthly passions, the first of which was an independent South, and the second, a beautiful widow from South Carolina, Mrs. Susan Sparks Keitt, to whom all the letters are addressed. Mann writes of other ex-Confederates in Paris, Reconstruction politics in America, the horrific conditions in Paris when the city was under siege during the Franco-Prussian War, and visits by his treasured friend Jefferson Davis. Mrs. Davis wrote that the two men loved each other "like David and Jonathan, until extreme old age." Mann also cherished Mrs. Keitt until his death, and his letters are a testament of his devotion to her and his beloved South.

THE WAR CRIMES committed by General William T. Sherman and his men against Southern civilians and their means of sustaining life are a huge stain on the American national character. Sherman's crimes are routinely denied or minimized (by those who don't actually celebrate them), although they are as heavily documented, from Northern as well as Southern sources, as any event in history. Sherman's campaign through Georgia and South Carolina is even cited as a brilliant military feat. In fact, it was not a military feat at all. There was very little fighting. It was a massive campaign of terrorism against civilians. It violated international law and hypocritically deviated widely from officially-declared U.S. policy. A LEGION OF DEVILS: SHERMAN IN SOUTH CAROLINA adds more very interesting original sources to the published record of U.S. War Crimes. The book also features a timeline documenting most of the significant incidents of January through March 1865, when South Carolina's home front became a war front for thousands of civilians.Charlestonian KAREN STOKES enjoys unsurpassed knowledge of the first-hand sources that document South Carolina during the War between the States. She has been prolific in sharing her knowledge both as historian and novelist. Her works of both kinds give a rich picture of the "faith, valour, and devotion" of the South Carolinians who, in time of ruthless invasion, steadfastly endured the greatest sacrifice and suffering that any large group of Americans have ever experienced.Stokes's previous books (history and fiction) include Faith, Valor, and Devotion; A Confederate Englishman; Honor in the Dust; The Immortals: A Story of Love and War; Days of Destruction; South Carolina Civilians in Sherman's Path; The Immortal 600; The Soldier's Ghost: A Tale of Charleston; Belles: A Carolina Love Story; and Confederate South Carolina.***This title is enrolled in Kindle MatchBook. Free Kindle Edition with the purchase of the print edition on Amazon.com***

THIS WORK REPRESENTS the increasing mastery of the novel by Karen Stokes. Her previous half dozen works of fiction have been historical. In CAROLINA TWILIGHT she deals with contemporary times and contemporary problems-the epidemic of teenage depression and suicide. This story of a young woman's journey from the depths of despair to spiritual redemption shows great psychological insight and is an inspiring account of the power of faith. * * * *KAREN STOKES lives in Charleston, South Carolina, where she has worked as a manuscript archivist for over 25 years. A graduate of the College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina, she has authored or edited numerous works of fiction and non-fiction relating to South Carolina history. Carolina Twilight is based on her experiences as a teenager and young adult dealing with depression. Mrs. Stokes is the author of a dozen books of history and fiction. Her works available from Shotwell Publishing are Belles: A Carolina Romance; Honor in the Dust; The Immortals; The Soldier's Ghost: A Tale of Charleston; Carolina Love Letters; and A Legion of Devils: Sherman in South Carolina.

In 1861, as a deadly conflict looms between North and South, Charleston sits like a queen upon the waters-beautiful, proud, and prosperous-and no native son loves her more than George Taylor. A successful Broad Street lawyer, Taylor has won the heart of an enchanting young woman and looks forward to a brilliant future in his city by the sea, but the turmoil of war sweeps him away from all he holds dear to defend his country. Sustained by the love of his fiancée Marguerite, he fights and survives many fierce battles, but when finally taken prisoner, he is fated to endure one of the most extraordinary ordeals ever inflicted on Confederate captives, becoming part of a group of prisoners subjected to unimaginable hardships and suffering, first in a stockade prison on Morris Island in Charleston harbor, and then at Fort Pulaski in Georgia.On the home front, George Taylor's family faces unexpected dangers when South Carolina is invaded by the destructive army of General Sherman in 1865. Trapped in Columbia, they experience a night of horrors as the state's capital city is sacked and destroyed by fire. At war's end, Taylor returns home to find his beloved Charleston in ruins, and his future with Marguerite in jeopardy.Based on true events, THE IMMORTALS is a saga of survival and courage that lays bare some of the darkest, most tragic episodes of America's bloodiest war.

Reduced to poverty after the Civil War, seventeen-year-old Mattie Campbell and her family struggle to survive in the ruined city of Charleston, South Carolina. When her father inherits land in the nearby countryside, the Campbells move there to farm it, though with little hope of ever regaining their former prosperity-until the day a stranger arrives and unexpectedly makes Mr. Campbell an offer that is both alluring and troubling. Learning that the farm is haunted by a ghost dressed in gray, young Mattie is skeptical, but she begins to believe when she sees it one night with her own eyes. Little does she suspect that this mysterious phantom holds the key to her family's future, and that a deadly encounter with the stranger will reveal all its secrets.

In this charming little volume Karen Stokes has collected beautiful and moving documents that display the interior life of Southerners of the 19th century. These letters portray deep and long-lasting love between husbands and wives and much else about the life of the time. They reflect the hearts and minds of a very admirable people of the antebellum and Confederate South.* * *FROM THE INTRODUCTION "In the centuries before electronic communication such as telephone and the Internet began to dominate most parts of the world, the primary way that people communicated with each other over distance was through letter writing. Nowadays, this practice is often regarded as dead or dying out, and many fewer people sit down with pen and paper to compose a message to someone else. In earlier times, however, and even through much of the twentieth century, it was a common practice, and those of us alive today are fortunate that so many of these documents survive - documents which open up a very personal window into the past and help us to understand the people and culture of an earlier age."

HISTORICAL ROMANCE. In 1863, amid the turmoil of the Civil War, the ladies of the aristocratic Middleford family flee war-torn Charleston to take refuge in their summer home in Flat Rock, North Carolina. Here, in the secluded beauty and splendor of the Blue Ridge Mountains, three sisters find their destinies in love. At the age of thirty, the eldest sister Harriott has long since put away any ideas of romance or marriage, but the possibility of both unexpectedly enter her life when she meets James Mitchell, a Confederate officer who comes to Flat Rock to convalesce from his wounds. The harsh reality of war intrudes when bushwhackers menace Flat Rock, forcing the Middleford sisters and their mother to seek safety elsewhere. They find refuge in the South Carolina upcountry for a while, but in the winter of 1865, a massive army led by General Sherman blazes a trail of destruction through the state that threatens to put an end to the happiness-and the very world-of the Middleford women and the men who love them. Author Karen Stokes is an archivist with the South Carolina Historical Society in Charleston, S.C.. BELLES was inspired by South Carolinians' Civil War letters found in the SCHS archives.

Death in the heartland plunges Georgy into the depth of three murders. Returning to the small town where she lived as a child to care for her aunt's house until it sells proves dangerous. Tulip House becomes ominous with mysterious events forcing Georgy to take matters into her hands. Seeking help she is refused by the local authorities with the occurrences simply explained away.Suspicious of all she encounters shows each could be the killer lurking on the streets of a pristine community. Georgy is alone to clear her name and is unable to convince the local police of an ex-con's guilt.Stalked and trapped she uses her wits and intelligence to survive life threatening confrontations. 'Tulips on Walnut' nearly destroys her but instead proves her determination through her own efforts.