Charles Town: The Novel
by William Baldwin
Many of us remember “Treasure Island” and “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” and some recall “Kidnapped” and “Catriona,” Stevenson’s historical novels about a Scottish lad’s abduction orchestrated by a greedy uncle who paid the onerous Captain Hoseason to haul the young heir off to the Carolina colony for a life of rank servitude. Baldwin’s “Charles Town” picks up where Stevenson left off.
Teen-ager David Balfour was kidnapped aboard the sailing ship Covenant, as first reported by author Robert Louis Stevenson, but the Scottish lad was never shipwrecked as originally told. No, young David and his zealous Highlander friend Alan Breck actually do reach the Carolina Colony in September 1751. Author William P. Baldwin continues Stevenson’s tale, explaining in vivid detail that both men land in Charles Town to face the horrors of slavery, angry savages, romantic seduction, a bloodthirsty fencing master and three very strong-willed heroines. This is a must read for Robert Louis Stevenson fans. A masterpiece for South Carolina author William Baldwin.
But meanwhile, cocaine is coming ashore and the bullets are about to fly.
Softcover, Fiction
$24.95
Many of us remember “Treasure Island” and “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” and some recall “Kidnapped” and “Catriona,” Stevenson’s historical novels about a Scottish lad’s abduction orchestrated by a greedy uncle who paid the onerous Captain Hoseason to haul the young heir off to the Carolina colony for a life of rank servitude. Baldwin’s “Charles Town” picks up where Stevenson left off.
Teen-ager David Balfour was kidnapped aboard the sailing ship Covenant, as first reported by author Robert Louis Stevenson, but the Scottish lad was never shipwrecked as originally told. No, young David and his zealous Highlander friend Alan Breck actually do reach the Carolina Colony in September 1751. Author William P. Baldwin continues Stevenson’s tale, explaining in vivid detail that both men land in Charles Town to face the horrors of slavery, angry savages, romantic seduction, a bloodthirsty fencing master and three very strong-willed heroines. This is a must read for Robert Louis Stevenson fans. A masterpiece for South Carolina author William Baldwin.
About the Author
A lifelong resident of the South Carolina Lowcountry, William P. Baldwin is an award- winning novelist, poet, biographer and historian. He graduated from Clemson University with a BA in History and an MA in English. He ran a shrimp boat for nine years then built houses, but the principle occupation of his life has been writing.
His works include Charleston, Charleston Impressions, Daytrips from Charleston, Plantations of the Lowcountry, Lowcountry Plantations Today (all with architectural photographer N. Jane Iseley), and the oral histories Mrs. Whaley and her Charleston Garden and Heaven is a Beautiful Place. The screenplay for the latter earned him a Silver Remy at the Houston Film Festival. For its depiction of Southern race relations, his novel The Hard to Catch Mercy won the Lillian Smith Award. He collaborated with photographer V. Elizabeth Turk on Mantelpieces of the Old South and wrote the text for chef Charlotte Jenkins’ Gullah Cuisine.
Done with photographer Selden Hill and published in 2011, The Unpainted South won the Independent Book Publishers Association’s Gold Benjamin Franklin Award for poetry. The follow up collection, These Our Offerings,earned a second Benjamin Franklin award.
His writing has also appeared in Charleston, Garden and Gun, Southern Living, Victoria, Veranda and Southern Accents magazines.
Praise
Channeling Robert Louis Stevenson, William Baldwin has crafted a rollicking romance set in a steamy colonial Charleston seething with intrigue. An ingenious work of historical fiction.
— Sam Savage, American novelist and poet. Author of “Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife”
William P. Baldwin is a literary craftsman whose words create a time machine that hurls us back to the Charleston we only hear about on carriage tours.
— Ken Burger, author of “Swallow Savannah,” “Sister Santee,” “Salkehatchie Soup,” “Baptized in Sweet Tea” and “A Sporting Life”
I read William Baldwin’s, “The Hard to Catch Mercy” in 1995 and could not wait for his next novel. Intended as a sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “Kidnapped,” “Charles Town” recounts the adventures of David Balfour, sold into indentured servitude in Charleston in 1751. But it’s better than the original, a lot better. Bravo, Billy Baldwin! Next time, don’t make me wait so long.
— Roger Pinckney, author of “Reefer Moon,” “Blow the Man Down,” “Blue Roots” and others
Robert Louis Stevenson’s young hero David Balfour comes of age in “Charles Town.” Author William P. Baldwin explains the process with wit and charm. And yes, there is sex in this historical novel along with sword fights and a severed head.
— John M. Burbage, the Post and Courier, Charleston, SC
Billy Baldwin’s “Charles Town” is a skillfully crafted, gut-wrenching tale of humanity’s struggle to build a new world amidst greed and prejudice.
— Herb Frazier, author of “Behind God’s Back”
Baldwin pens an intricate and energetic tale with surprises on every page. A young Scots émigré faces many challenges attempting to make a life for himself in mid-18th-century Charleston, a primitive and danger-filled settlement.
— Rose Tomlin, author of “Duel of the Heart
