Sunday, April 5 2009

Southern authors featured on daytime tour


Special to the Tribune

     Nationally acclaimed author Jacquelyn Cook will be signing her new epic novel, “The Gates of Trevalyan during the Eufaula Pilgrimage. Cook has been popular locally since 1985 when her first book "The River Between" was set in Fendall Hall in Eufaula. It was followed by a series of five books, and in 2002, four books were combined to make "Magnolias" a local favorite.

     "The Gates of Trevalyan” is the story of faith, family, love and courage in the time of Civil War. The action moves back an forth from fictional Trevalyan Plantation near Madison, Georgia, to Washington, D.C. Cook weaves a tapestry featuring the most compelling figures of the time such as Alexander Stevens, Jefferson Davis and Alabama heroine, Virginia Clay.

     "I spent a great deal of time in the area  doing research," Cook says. "I was drawn to the antebellum mansions of Madison and the story of how they were saved from Serman's burning. When I visited Robert Strevens, great-great nephew of Alexander, I experienced the charm that made Georgia's Beloved "Little Alex" such a charismatic statesman. I was amazed at Little Alex's importance in national history, far beyond being Vice President of the Confederacy. He quite took over the book.

     "The Gates of Trevalyan” is a many-faceted novel with something to please all ages. Stevens' love for Elizabeth Church Craig is told through letters I found in the Library of Congress. Younger readers will like the pair of Confederate spies who grasp at romance on the run. Everyone loves Charles and little Jenny who has to face the Union Army alone.

     Jacquelyn Cook will also be signing "Sunrise," a true story in novel form set in Macon, Georgia and Huntsville. It tells of an unlikely marriage, a legendary mansion, and an enduring legacy of faith and family.

     Cook will be at Shorter Mansion on Friday, April 3, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.
 

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