South Carolina

Name: Charleston and the Golden Age of Piracy
Brand: Christopher Byrd Downey
SKU: 9781609499235
Price: 21.99 USD
Availability: InStock

The pristine waters of Lake Jocassee and a casual stroll through Charleston suggest an amiable heritage. But the Palmetto State has often been the epicenter of struggle that includes the brave souls pushing for change during the civil rights era and the patriots fighting for independence at the Battle of Kings Mountain. Fort Sumter history is defined by the ignition of the Civil War and even idyllic Daufuskie played host to pirates. Explore our South Carolina history books, from the frenetic drama of a state hospital to the coordination of Clemson’s football dynasty. [View all South Carolina books]

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Charleston and the Golden Age of Piracy

Paperback

$21.99

Six Miles to Charleston

Paperback

$21.99

A Gentleman in Charleston and the Manner of His Death

Paperback

$13.99

Murder and Mayhem in the Holy City

Paperback

$21.99

Charleston and the Golden Age of Piracy

9781609499235

$21.99

From its earliest days, Charleston was a vital port of call and center of trade, which left it vulnerable to seafaring criminals.

The Golden Age of Piracy, encompassing roughly the first quarter of the eighteenth century, produced some of the most outrageous characters in maritime history. The daring exploits of these infamous plunderers made thievery widespread along Charleston's waterfront, but determined citizens would meet the pirate threat head-on. From the Gentleman Pirate, Stede Bonnet, to Edward Blackbeard Teach and famed pirate hunter and statesman William Rhett, the waters surrounding the Holy City have a history as rocky and wild as the high seas. Join author and tour guide Christopher Byrd Downey as he tells the tales of Charleston during piracy's greatest reign.

Six Miles to Charleston

9781609491178

$21.99

Explore the grizzly tale of Charleston's most infamous serial killers from the beginning of their reign of horror till their eventual incarceration and execution.

In 1819, a young man outwitted death at the hands of John and Lavinia Fisher and sparked the hunt for Charleston's most notorious serial killers. Former homicide investigator Bruce Orr follows the story of the Fishers, from the initial police raid on their Six Mile Inn with its reportedly grisly cellar to the murderous couple's incarceration and execution at the squalid Old City Jail. Yet there still may be more sinister deeds left unpunished, an overzealous sheriff, corrupt officials and documents only recently discovered all suggest that there is more to the tale. Orr uncovers the mysteries and debunks the myths behind the infamous legend of the nation's first convicted female serial killer.

A Gentleman in Charleston and the Manner of His Death

9781596290877

$13.99

In his latest novel, Southern writer William Baldwin calls upon the true story of famed Charleston newspaper editor Frank Dawson to tell a tale fraught with romance and intrigue. Dawson—a larger-than-life personality revered throughout the nineteenth-century South—was murdered while defending his children's governess from the advances of an unscrupulous doctor who lived next door. Baldwin artfully intertwines details pulled from the personal accounts of those involved in the dramatic series of events with his own inimitable prose. The result is a captivating meld of fact and fiction, set in a tumultuous period in the history of the Holy City that is now only a nostalgic memory.

Murder and Mayhem in the Holy City

9781596291621

$21.99

Perhaps Charlestonian James Louis Petigru said it best when he declared in 1861 that South Carolina is too small for a republic, but too large for an insane asylum. South Carolina has consistently been one of the most violent places in American history, and Charleston has served as much a hotbed of criminal mayhem as a holy city. While many books explore the illustrious past of this national treasure, few delve into this darker and equally fascinating side of its past. With this new book, historian Pat Hendrix takes a look at the history of crime in the Holy City. Starting with a war that nearly extinguished the fledgling city, he moves through the centuries, bringing to light such sordid tales as the Six Mile House murders, the Dutartre family cult, the murder of newspaper publisher Frank Dawson and the horrific discovery of South Carolina's first serial killer. Murder and Mayhem in the Holy City is an eye-opening foray into Charleston's underworld that calls into question the sanitized, celebrated history often told today and offers an enjoyable romp through more than three centuries of human drama.