Customer Reviews

CELIA GARTH: A STORY OF CHARLESTON IN THE REVOLUTION

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Gwen Bristow's Celia Garth may have been published in 1959, but it is truly a classic that is just as timely today. Charleston is always associated with the Civil War, but most Americans do not realize how much fighting went on in and around Charleston during the Revolution. In fact, there were more Revolutionary War battles in South Carolina than in any southern state.

In Celia Garth, we follow the life of a 20 year old seamstress. Celia goes back and forth between a Charleston townhouse and a plantation on the outskirts of town, and we receive a look at what it was like to live during the Revolution. The book ties in many historically documented facts including Francis Marion and his men, the British bombardment of Charleston, the siege of Charleston, British atrocities to plantations, the rebel spy network, actual battles and many famous military leaders. It is fascinating to read how Charlestonians were forced by Patriot troops to give up all their food supplies (except for rice), causing townsfolk to starve. Life was definitely not easy.

It is also fun to read about sites that are still in Charleston, and how they figured in the struggle. St. Michael's Church steeple was painted black to make it harder for British warships to see. Also, Patriots stored over 10,000 pounds of gunpowder in the basement of the Old Exchange building so that it would not fall into Loyalists hands. The British never did find it-even after they took control of the city and the Exchange Building.

The story itself is riveting, and I found myself staying up extra late to keep on reading. I couldn't wait to see what happened next. Although this was written with teenage girls in mind, don't let this be a deterrent. The 300 plus pages and the heavy dose of history make for extremely interesting reading. So, if you can get your hands on this classic, you've discovered a true treasure.

In 1963, this was my favorite book. In 1988, when I could no longer find this book in print, I found a copy in a used book store. It became my daughter's favorite book and created a world for her where she loved to read. She has now recommended the book to my young niece. I was delighted to find it in print again! It is a wonderful generational book.

Celia Garth has been my favorite book for over 20 years. I have been trying to find it to own, but it has been out of print and unavailable. Imagine my joy at finding a new edition! As a former resident of the Charleston, SC area, I love reading Celia's story intertwined with the history of the Revolutionary War battles and hardships that occurred there. Lest anyone should feel that this book is only for middle-aged moms, my teenage daughter also enjoys this book and has checked it out more than once from the library.

This book rates among my all-time favorites! I love learning about the history of our country, and following the life of a young girl in Charleston in the 1700's provided a real feel for life in that early-American time period. The story is interesting and, at times, intense, although it takes awhile before the action begins. Romance (of an uplifting nature), war, friendship, and courage are all portrayed in this book. It would appeal to most any girl 15-105 years old. Men might enjoy it, too, as there are several male characters in the story, especially as they are involved in the bloody Revolutionary War. I enjoyed learning more about General Washington and other true historical characters. If you like historical fiction, you'll dig this!

O.K., I've never before felt compelled to write a review in defense of a book, but I'm doing it now. Larry Brown's brief but nasty review of Gwen Bristow's "Celia Garth" as an immoral character is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. Celia is as moral as they come! As a mother and as a Christian, I wouldn't hesitate to reccommend this book, or any of Gwen Bristow's books to my own daughters. In fact, I have. My older daughter has read them all, and my 16-year-old is reading them now. Celia Garth is probably the most moral of them all. I suspect that Mr. Brown never finished the book. A flirtatious smile at a good-looking soldier in the first few pages, and an incident a few pages later where mischievous Celia tries to imagine her battle-ax of an emloyer with no clothes on, are the only things in the whole book that I can imagine, (by a very great stretch of the imagination indeed) to be called immoral. And, yes, Celia, an intelligent young woman, realizes that she is pretty and that she is good at sewing, but I would not call her vain. She wants to be more than a mere apprentice, and struggles to get someone to notice her sewing talents. Perhaps Mr. Brown is one of those antiquated gentlemen who feel that Celia should have married rather than try to have a career. Give me a break. Celia does eventually manage to get a good job sewing for a wealthy but hard-to please woman, but the war is coming to Charleston, and she is in love with a soldier, so the career is on hold. Her romance with Captain Jimmy Rand of the militia is passionate enough to keep any woman reader happy yet chaste enough to suit any mom. They wait chastely to be married, even though she is alone in Charleston with only a maid for chaperone and he may die in the war. Now that's love! When their romance ends in tragedy at the hands of "Butcher" Tarleton and his Tory troops, Celia not has the courage to start over, but to use her resumed sewing job to help spy on the British and aid the American rebels in their struggle for freedom. At last she falls in love again, with Luke, a continental soldier serving under Francis Marion, "The Swamp Fox" . After being, yes, chastely married, she helps him send messages to Marion's men, even when she's pregnant and living with Tory relatives where the danger is very great. Cele Garth is an exciting and excellently written piece of historical fiction. I highly recommend recommend it. Ignore Mr. Brown and read it today!!!!!

This is the tale of Celia Garth, a 20 year old woman trying to make a living as a seamstress in Charleston, South Carolina during the Revolutionary war. The author does a great job of setting up the scenes of the town and plantations, and the history of the time. We follow Celia and her friends through the seige of Charleston by the British, living through the constant shelling and lack of food until the final surrender.

At first, things seem normal after the surrender and Celia begins to build a new life, but tragedy strikes after the British go back on their promises and Celia must start life afresh. This time, while working as a seamstress she is also a bit of a "spy" for the colonials.

This was a wonderful story of love and courage, with a great dose of history thrown in. I don't know enough about the period to say how accurate it is, but I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in another century for a day or two. This is also a good choice for a younger reader, as the "love scenes", if you can call them that, are extremely chaste.

The book is out of print and readily available used, but I had no problem finding it at my local libary.

I first read this book when I was about 12 years old and loved it then. My knowledge of the Revolutionary War was limited but it was pretty easy to follow. I have since read the book many times and my love for History has grown a lot so now when I read Celia Garth I read with complete understanding. I feel like this is a book that is for all ages, grabs the reader and takes her back to Charleston during the revolution, they threw in the love interest to keep the romantics drawn in. Like Gone With the Wind-it is a book that has a lot to offer the reader.

This fictionalized account of the woman in Frances "Swamp Fox" Marion's life shows the American Revolution in the South from a woman's perspective. It provides historic insight within a fictionalized account and emphasizes the role this woman, and many like her, played in the war. Would have published it again myself. I have been waiting 40 years to own a copy of my own, having read it 6 or 7 times the year I was 13. It would appeal to any Anne River Siddons fan.

It's about time! This book is wonderful, and I'm so glad to see it republished. It's hard to find anything by Bristow even at the public library! Bristow paints a bright picture of a lovely Charleston during the revolution weaving historical characters seamlessly with the fictional and adding just enough romance to be fun but not vulger. If you want a taste of revolutionary Charleston, read this book!

Like some of the other reviewers, I read this when I was 12..actually re-read my mama's copies to pieces! It was out of print for the longest time, and you couldn't find it in libraries that much. It was so wonderful to see it in a Charleston bookstore (at about $50), and then to see it re-issued and available on Amazon. It's a great mixture of history, romance, great characters (did anyone else want to marry Luke?),and it's still one of my annual summer reads. The history is well-researched, and Bristow captures Charleston so well. Read this, and then go to Charleston. Immediately!