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Mannings #1
The Fires of July
The Mannings--a family torn between Britain's majestic rule and the raw, red earth of a great South Carolina plantation.
They were the new Americans - Elizabeth, the matriarch, bound to the past, yearning for a time yet to be...Joseph, the aristocrat, forever loyal to King and Crown...young Andrew, the dreamer, ready to shun the safe harbor of her heritage and take his chance in the wild Cherokee country...gentle Laurel, swept on dangerous currents of a desperate hope...and dazzling Gwynne, her heart bound to a passionate promise. Bold men and proud, spirited women, they hungered for life, thirsted for justice. And among them were those sworn to seize the land's raw power, to make their own law - the savage law of a young nation that struggled to be born.
They were the new Americans - Elizabeth, the matriarch, bound to the past, yearning for a time yet to be...Joseph, the aristocrat, forever loyal to King and Crown...young Andrew, the dreamer, ready to shun the safe harbor of her heritage and take his chance in the wild Cherokee country...gentle Laurel, swept on dangerous currents of a desperate hope...and dazzling Gwynne, her heart bound to a passionate promise. Bold men and proud, spirited women, they hungered for life, thirsted for justice. And among them were those sworn to seize the land's raw power, to make their own law - the savage law of a young nation that struggled to be born.
433 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
About the author
Sharon Salvato
11 books4 followersThis author also wrote under the pseudonym Day Taylor
Sharon “Sherry” Anne Zettler Salvato
Sherry was born and raised in Columbus, where she attended St. Mary of the Springs High School. She was a woman of faith and a life-long member of the Catholic Church.
Sherry went on to study art and education at the University of Cincinnati, where she became the first woman certified to teach Russian in the state of Ohio. There, she met Guido “Guy” Salvato (GlenCove, NY) who she was married to from 1961 until 1979. They raised four sons together in Bexley, Ohio.
There, she began her career as an author and published her first novel in 1974. By 1990, she had published 13 nationally recognized historical fiction novels, including Bitter Eden and The Black Swan.She also wrote under the pen names Day Taylor and Alice Raymond (a collaboration with her son Greg). Her novels are still being enjoyed today, and she was always delighted to meet a fan of her work.
She moved to Powell in 1984, and to her final home in Johnstown in 1995 where she lived on and tended the “Bramble Bush” berry farm for several years. She grew blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries for customers to pick themselves summer after summer.
Some of her other loves were Ohio State football, Massey’s pizza, black licorice, odd finds and adventures, gardening, CSPAN, Northern Ireland, the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. She took special care of her family, dear friends, and those in need who crossed her path. Her family was her treasure, and she will always be deeply loved by many.
Sharon “Sherry” Anne Zettler Salvato
Sherry was born and raised in Columbus, where she attended St. Mary of the Springs High School. She was a woman of faith and a life-long member of the Catholic Church.
Sherry went on to study art and education at the University of Cincinnati, where she became the first woman certified to teach Russian in the state of Ohio. There, she met Guido “Guy” Salvato (GlenCove, NY) who she was married to from 1961 until 1979. They raised four sons together in Bexley, Ohio.
There, she began her career as an author and published her first novel in 1974. By 1990, she had published 13 nationally recognized historical fiction novels, including Bitter Eden and The Black Swan.She also wrote under the pen names Day Taylor and Alice Raymond (a collaboration with her son Greg). Her novels are still being enjoyed today, and she was always delighted to meet a fan of her work.
She moved to Powell in 1984, and to her final home in Johnstown in 1995 where she lived on and tended the “Bramble Bush” berry farm for several years. She grew blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries for customers to pick themselves summer after summer.
Some of her other loves were Ohio State football, Massey’s pizza, black licorice, odd finds and adventures, gardening, CSPAN, Northern Ireland, the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. She took special care of her family, dear friends, and those in need who crossed her path. Her family was her treasure, and she will always be deeply loved by many.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
January 10, 2011
3.5 stars, rounded up to four.
The Mannings of South Carolina are ruled by family patriarch Elizabeth. Older brother John holds the family's Lowland rice plantation and Joseph ekes out his livelihood in the acreage he's given in hills of the "Upcountry". While the colonies chafe at English rule without representation, Carolina itself is rife with tension between the Lowlanders of Charles Town and residents of the Upcountry who feel they don't receive equal support and protection of the government as outlaws are allowed to roam the countryside unpunished. Frustrated, the more radical of them have formed their own *police* force, the Regulators. Joseph's younger son Andrew (Drew) is an ardent supporter of the movement, but his political leanings sets him at odds with both his City cousins and the woman he was betrothed to at a young age, the cold-blooded self-centered and oh-so-haughty Joanna Templeton.
Drew knows with every fiber of his being that Joanna is the wrong woman for him, but is unwilling to dishonor his family by breaking the contract, let alone ticking off Joanna, but when he meets Laurel Boggs he decides she's the woman for him. Laurel's humble beginnings with her trashy family gets him disinherited as well as earning Joanna's eternal hatred, but he and Laurel look forward to building their own plantation in the upcountry - that is until an act of revenge taken against Drew for his activities with the Regulators sets their life on unexpected paths.
Despite the appearances of the cover and the plot description, there's a lot more to this than just a romance, and any sex in this is very tame. I found myself rather torn about this one, I really liked learning how divided Carolina was between the city folk and those of the upper country, along with the building tensions as some support independence and others remain loyal to the crown. Matriarch Elizabeth Manning was a lot of fun, especially with her schemes and plots to get her beloved grandson Drew and ---- together. As for the relationship between Drew and Laurel and the subsequent love triangle? I liked it, but at times it seemed a bit forced and considering Drew can only end up with one woman in the end, it was fairly easy to guess that *something* was going to *happen* to bring it about. Drew also was a bit self-centered for most of the book, but that might be chalked up to his young age - I'll withhold judgment until I read more in the sequel, The Drums of December, as war breaks out and further divides the Colonies and the Manning clan.
The Mannings of South Carolina are ruled by family patriarch Elizabeth. Older brother John holds the family's Lowland rice plantation and Joseph ekes out his livelihood in the acreage he's given in hills of the "Upcountry". While the colonies chafe at English rule without representation, Carolina itself is rife with tension between the Lowlanders of Charles Town and residents of the Upcountry who feel they don't receive equal support and protection of the government as outlaws are allowed to roam the countryside unpunished. Frustrated, the more radical of them have formed their own *police* force, the Regulators. Joseph's younger son Andrew (Drew) is an ardent supporter of the movement, but his political leanings sets him at odds with both his City cousins and the woman he was betrothed to at a young age, the cold-blooded self-centered and oh-so-haughty Joanna Templeton.
Drew knows with every fiber of his being that Joanna is the wrong woman for him, but is unwilling to dishonor his family by breaking the contract, let alone ticking off Joanna, but when he meets Laurel Boggs he decides she's the woman for him. Laurel's humble beginnings with her trashy family gets him disinherited as well as earning Joanna's eternal hatred, but he and Laurel look forward to building their own plantation in the upcountry - that is until an act of revenge taken against Drew for his activities with the Regulators sets their life on unexpected paths.
Despite the appearances of the cover and the plot description, there's a lot more to this than just a romance, and any sex in this is very tame. I found myself rather torn about this one, I really liked learning how divided Carolina was between the city folk and those of the upper country, along with the building tensions as some support independence and others remain loyal to the crown. Matriarch Elizabeth Manning was a lot of fun, especially with her schemes and plots to get her beloved grandson Drew and ---- together. As for the relationship between Drew and Laurel and the subsequent love triangle? I liked it, but at times it seemed a bit forced and considering Drew can only end up with one woman in the end, it was fairly easy to guess that *something* was going to *happen* to bring it about. Drew also was a bit self-centered for most of the book, but that might be chalked up to his young age - I'll withhold judgment until I read more in the sequel, The Drums of December, as war breaks out and further divides the Colonies and the Manning clan.
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