In FOLLY BEACH we meet Cate Cooper who is burying her husband Addison. He committed suicide and left her homeless and broke. Cate decides to return to her childhood stomping grounds of Folly Beach South Carolina. After everything her husband has put her through, her Aunt Daisy talks her into coming down to Folly Beach and begin sorting out her life while helping her aunt out. Cate decides to leave Alpine, New Jersey to begin her new life.
We also get glimpses into the lives of DuBose and Dorothy Heyward. They were artists and writers who found comfort in Folly Beach back in the 1930's. Every chapter goes back and forth between Cate and the Heywards. They owned the house that Cate now lives in. The similarities between the two women are uncanny as you learn in this wonderful and compassionate book. You will feel like you are right there on the beach with Cate, Aunt Daisy, and the Heywards as well.
On one of the first few days Cate is down in South Carolina she has a minor fender bender with a man who will change her life. She just doesn't know it yet. He is John Risley, a professor at the College of Charleston. He teaches Literary Renaissance and helps Cate learn the history of the Heywards and her house. It just happens to be his favorite subject. When Cate lets herself get over the fact that she is a new widow and John is married to a woman who is never going to get out of the institution she is in, the story really takes off.
ON FOLLY BEACH was a lovely story filled with loss, family, love, and romance. I found myself all wrapped up in the characters lives and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. Dorothea sure didn't disappoint either. She has a way with words that make you keep turning the pages. She grabs you right from the very first page and never lets go until the end of the book! The way she blended the past with the present was perfect and filled with surprises. I can not wait to read more by this author. ON FOLLY BEACH is rich with history and makes you want to hop in the car and drive to Folly Beach to see it all for yourself.
Experience the wild beauty and sultry magic of New York
Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank's Carolina
Lowcountryβwhere the pull of family is as powerful as the
ocean tides and love can strike faster than lightning in
summer. . . . Folly Beach Home is the place that knows us
best. . . . A woman returns to the past to find her future
in this enchanting new tale of loss, acceptance, family, and
love. With its sandy beaches and bohemian charms, surfers
and suits alike consider Folly Beach to be one of South
Carolina's most historic and romantic spots. It is also the
land of Cate Cooper's childhood, the place where all the
ghosts of her past roam freely. Cate never thought she'd
wind up in this tiny cottage named the Porgy House on this
breathtakingly lovely strip of coast. But circumstances have
changed, thanks to her newly dead husband whose
financialβand emotionalβbull and mendacity have left Cate
homeless, broke, and unmoored. Yet Folly Beach holds more
than just memories. Once upon a time another woman found
unexpected bliss and comfort within its welcoming arms. An
artist, writer, and colleague of the revered George
Gershwin, Dorothy Heyward enjoyed the greatest moments of
her life at Folly with her beloved husband, DuBose. And
though the Heywards are long gone, their passion and spirit
lingers in every mango sunset and gentle ocean breeze. And
for Cate, Folly, too, holds the promise of unexpected
fulfillment when she is forced to look at her life and the
zany characters that are her family anew. To her surprise,
she will discover that you can go home again. Folly Beach
doesn't just hold the girl she once was . . . it also holds
the promise of the woman she's always wantedβand is finally
readyβto become. Folly Beach, filled with the irresistible
charm, saucy wit, and lush atmosphere that have won her the
devotion of fans and propelled her books to bestsellerdom,
is vintage Dorothea Benton Frank.
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