What We're Reading: Charleston Books for September
From immersive fiction that brings the lowcountry to life, to historical perspectives on some of the Holy City’s most colorful characters, books add new depths to the stories and experience of Charleston. Shop our Bookshop.org list to find our top titles and support locally-owned booksellers rather than online behemoths. (We’ve shared other books in the past - you can check out that blog post here!)
Here’s what’s on our reading list:
Beauty of Holiness by Louis P. Nelson
We admit we’re a bit biased with this one: the author was Tyler's favorite college professor. He examines the ideals that built this city by examining the colonists' most important buildings and social constructs: The Church. On a recent-ish trip to Charleston he gave a tour to the UVA Club of the lowcountry and imparted much wisdom that we share on the tour about St. Philips Church architecture. This book analyzes the beliefs, ideas, and practices of the Anglican church in 18th-century South Carolina, as shown through their architecture and religious items left behind.
Unexampled Courage by Judge Richard Gergel
This author is one of Tyler’s favorite living historians. We had the opportunity to see him on a panel alongside Yale Professor David Blight at the Dock Street theater and it was wonderful! This is a very powerful story that needs more attention. Telling this story of police brutality is a reminder of how we're bound to repeat history if we don't learn from it. The author now presides over the same Federal Court as Judge Waring, right at our four corners of law. It was in his jurisdiction that the trial for the Emanuel AME massacre was tried. He gives a lot of credit to his wife - as did Judge Waring, and it's just the sweetest part of the story! There's also a recent PBS episode on this topic with Judge Gergel, which you can watch here.
A Golden Haze of Memory by Stephanie E. Yuhl
This author was invited by the Preservation Society to lecture about how pervasive the Lost Cause mentality was, and how early preservationists acted upon these ideals to reinforce a built environment of white supremacy. It is an excellent piece that invites critical thinking about the use of heritage and history to entrench and maintain white supremacy, and how even intangible ideas can translate to real economic, social, and political power.
Three O'Clock Dinner by Josephine Pinckney
Written by Charleston Renaissance author Josephine Pinckney, it catalogs family dynamics between an established Charleston family and a family of immigrants. Their customs unravel and erupt around a 3pm dinner to celebrate the uneasy coming together of these two families.
In Darkest South Carolina by Brian Hicks
This covers more of the career of Judge Waring and is written by our favorite Post & Courier columnist, Brian Hicks. Full disclosure: this one’s still on our TBR list, but we’re looking forward to expanding our understanding and perspective.
