Charleston — Alexandra Ripley

SUDDENLY IT WAS GONE. GONE FOREVER.

Once the ballrooms had glittered with the laughter of beautiful young women, the woods had echoed with the shouts of men on the foxhunt, the plantations had graced the lush countryside in silent majesty. Then came the Civil War, and when it was over, everything had changed.

Lizzie Tradd had been born into that elegant and exclusive world. Nothing prepared her for the harsh and brutal reality that descended after the war. But Lizzie was not so easily conquered. No one could rob her of her spirit, her courage, her determination to make a new life. And no one could rob her of the grandeur and beauty of the city she loved so dearly.