OK, I'm back. I may not be ready to resume writing. I can't concentrate on anything much yet. But maybe I can at least start to think about the time when I can let words flow again. In the meantime, here are some promised character sketches to fill you in on who's still going to be around in the upcoming book, "Yankee Reconstructed." I've also added pictures. No, the Grenvilles aren't real historical figures, but it helps me to imagine what they must have looked like. These images are taken from unidentified photos from the 1860s in the Library of Congress archives. This isn't really Jonathan, but it's how I see him as I write.  The Civil War is over. Jonathan has moved his family back to Charleston and resumed his teaching career by accepting a job at Dr. Porter's Church Institute for orphaned boys. He still sees himself as a peaceable man, above the conflicts and political disagreements swirling around him. But when the Ku Klux Klan shows up on his porch and Porter's school turns out to be part of a plan to restore the "fine old plantation families," Jonathan begins to understand that "Reconstruction" really means an attempt to restore the "Old South." Will he be drawn into a more active role in supporting the newly freed slaves? And will his family support him for the second time around? You may also note that I have re-opened the comments feature (with a small delay feature that will let me screen out the trolls who monopolized the website last time in order to advertise their own businesses.) I hope you'll leave a comment or two. And I'd especially like to know how you fell about the characters. Are there things you still want to know? What are you hoping to see happen to each one of them? Should they live or die? Succeed or fail?  |
