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Summary: A Goldmine for the Antebellum South Fan
Review: Mary's world draws from personal letters of the Pringle family of Charleston to illustrate the life of an elite family before, during and after the Civil War. The book is immensely interesting for the social history/women's history buff, as it details the life of a wealthy planter's wife and her day to day activities in one of the most important Southern cities of the Civil War. The story is complimented by many period photographs and drawings. Sure to please.
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Summary: Step back in time and make some new friends!
Review: Mary's World is a well-written, wonderfully researched narrative of a wealthy and prominent family in nineteenth century South Carolina. The backdrop is the family's generational home, Charleston's Miles Brewton House, built in 1765, where family members wrote many of the letters used by Mr. Côté to reconstruct their lives. A chapter devoted to this historic site, now restored, plus frequent references, literally bring the reader into the Pringle home to observe the many lives that began and ended there. Mary Motte Alston Pringle (1803-1884) is the focal point of the story and the vehicle the author uses to familiarize the reader with the extended family and their various adventures. Mr. Côté draws on a rich mixture of personal letters, journals, and business and family records, plus a variety of secondary sources to piece together the lives of multiple generations and branches of this aristocratic planter family. His informed insight and objective analysis of Mary's fascinating world allows family members to speak for themselves and the reader to become virtually acquainted with them across the years. Their personal accounts reveal their lives in the antebellum South and how the Civil War affected them during and after the conflict. Interspersed throughout the book is information about their relationships with and attitudes toward their slaves before the war and the Freedmen after the war. Through this woven tapestry of emotions, beliefs, activities, customs, and culture people long dead speak again, explaining what it was like to live in their world, now long past.
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Summary: He does a great job of bringing an old world to life
Review: MARY'S WORLD is an incredible look at the two decades prior to, the Civil War itself, and the subsequent aftermath. Archivist-writer Richard N. Cote evaluated and categorized over 2500 handwritten pages of entries and journals written by Southern aristocrat Mary Motte Alston Pringle. In her own words, we learn much about antebellum South plantation life, especially the owner-family and the manor house slaves. Even more to the point, is the effect of the Civil War and its aftermath that ended a lifestyle, leaving individuals in shock and struggling to cope (or die) with more than just the deaths of loved ones as the iceberg is turned upside down almost over night. This autobiographical compilation is extremely interesting for those historical readers who devour anything Americana, especially things related to the Civil War. The journal and letters keep the audience fascinated in a voyeur like look because it is obvious that Mary hid little, as she was writing for herself and not mass publication. It is that open glimpse that makes this a fabulous non-fiction work, which will lead the audience seeking Mr. Cote's other memoir compilation, SAFE HOUSE, as this reviewer plans to do. Harriet Klausner
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Summary: Mary's World: Love, War, and Family ties in Nineteenth-centu
Review: This is one of the best books I have read. It brings Mary and her family to life, you will feel as though you know them. I just returned from a trip to Charleston SC and was able to visit Mary's home, her grave, her pew in St Michael's Church, etc. You will LOVE this book, it is beautifully written for all ages. Young people would enjoy this immensely while obtaining a real understanding of the everyday life of a planter family in 19th century Charleston.
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Summary: Mary's World
Review: What an unbelievable picture Mr. Cote' paints for readers in "Mary's World". It was one of those books that grabbed my attention and never let go. I was sorry to reach the end, as I was so enthralled with this account of Mrs. Pringles life. Details derived from personal letters, give you an account of her life from a naive & idealistic bride to an older woman, who has endured many changes and hardships. This spring I'll be visiting Charleston South Carolina and I will be anxious to see the home, and visit Gibbes Art gallery to see some of the portraits mentioned in the book. Agreeing with a previous reviewer, I believe this is the best book I've read this year and would highly recommend it to anyone.
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Summary: Mary's World
Review: What an unbelievable picture Mr. Cote' paints for readers in "Mary's World". It was one of those books that grabbed my attention and never let go. I was sorry to reach the end, as I was so enthralled with this account of Mrs. Pringles life. Details derived from personal letters, give you an account of her life from a naive & idealistic bride to an older woman, who has endured many changes and hardships. This spring I'll be visiting Charleston South Carolina and I will be anxious to see the home, and visit Gibbes Art gallery to see some of the portraits mentioned in the book. Agreeing with a previous reviewer, I believe this is the best book I've read this year and would highly recommend it to anyone.
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