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“Fiddle Dee Death” Old photos, an old flame, and a dead body. Who is he? Did he fall or was he pushed? And can cousin Bonnie wear green to the funeral? Southern manners mix with mystery as three cousins dig up old secrets and scandals while solving a who-dunnit. Author Caroline Cousins satirizes the social byways of the South Carolina Low Country, while her sleuths discover shady real estate deals and the culprit’s true hair color. Popular author Fannie Flagg termed this book “hilarious and entertaining.” Published by John F. Blair in Winston-Salem. Softcover, 240 pages. $14.95. Call (800) 222-9796 or visit www.blairpub.com. |
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“The Roman Years of a South Carolina Artist” Caroline Carson (1820-1892) seemed destined for a life as a plantation mistress. Instead, Carson challenged Charleston convention, lived apart from her husband and made a life as an artist in New York and Rome. Carson’s letters to her son from 1872-1892, edited by William H. Pease and Jane H. Pease, describe her intellectual and artistic pursuits, with insights into the emotional life of a mature woman. Interspersed are conversations with writers, artists and other famous visitors to her weekly salon, and observations about the scandalous lives of fellow expatriates. Letters selected in the book highlight the contrasting styles of American tourists and European aristocrats and depict Carson’s scenic color paintings. Hardcover, 264 pages, 18 color illustrations, $39.95. Published by University of South Carolina Press in Columbia. Call (803) 777-4848 or visit www.sc.edu/uscpress. |
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“Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail” Author Louise Shivers tells the story of Roxy Walston, a bored young mother and wife who lives in a small eastern North Carolina farming community. Walston’s husband is preoccupied with his tobacco crop, leaving Walston restless and open to an affair with a handsome visiting stranger that leads to murder. Originally released in 1983 by Random House, Shivers’ first novel was lavishly praised by the likes of acclaimed writer Eudora Welty (“honest, accurate and sensitive eye”) and The New Yorker (“Subtly vibrant”). Shivers was raised in Wilson County and educated at Meredith College in Raleigh. Softcover, 145 pages. The 20th-anniversary edition is $10.95. John F. Blair, Publisher, of Winston-Salem. Call (800) 222-9796 or visit www.blairpub.com. |
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Guide to Piedmont architecture This comprehensive guidebook by Catherine W. Bashir and Michael T. Southern considers the region’s architecture in its natural environment, along with its settlement and growth history. “A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Piedmont North Carolina” features more than 2,000 buildings and sites in central North Carolina, including log houses, mill villages, main streets, churches, Victorian neighborhoods, schools, civic buildings and skyscrapers. Highlights include such landmarks as North Carolina State Capitol, Raleigh’s Memorial Auditorium, Durham’s Tobacco Company complex, Winston-Salem’s Reynolda House and Charlotte’s Bank of America corporate headquarters. Hardcover, 624 pages, 53 maps, 536 illustrations. Softcover, $22.50. (800) 848-6224 or visit www.uncpress.unc.edu. |
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Outer Banks bride resource Outer Banks Bride Magazine offers ideas
and “do’s
and don’ts” for
weddings held at the Outer Banks. The 28-page, full color magazine is free if
you submit a request form online, and it provides a listing of more than 120
Outer Banks Wedding Association members. Visit www.outerbankswed |