Lighthouse by Eugenia Price

Lighthouse by Eugenia Price is a book written in the 1960s about the deep South before it became the deep South. It is the story of James Gould, a young man from Massachussetts in the late 1700's who needed to go away from home to make a name for himself. Like most stories, the hero finds trouble, overcomes obstacles, finds love and then life seems perfect, only to lose everything due to circumstances, rebuilds his life, and so on. This is classified as a historical novel because Eugenia Price, dentist turned writer, has based this story on real people who lived in the times she describes.

I was in the mood for a book about the South, because we're headed to a few days in South Carolina, and this book seemed to fit the bill...somewhat. When I said it was written in the 1960's that was an important notation, because Price has created a very strong Negro dialect in the story that diminishes her writing talent. The story itself is basic, and somewhat disappointing but then in an epilogue Price herself writes that although this is the first book in the St. Simons trilogy, it was also the last book written in the trilogy. The ending seems awkward and clearly sets the stage for book two. So now on to Beloved Invader, book two in the St. Simons trilogy.