Patriot of the Lowcountry by Tracy Lawson

A stirring historical tale of revolution, romance, and resilience, Patriot of the Lowcountry: Eliza Wilkinson and the Fall of Charleston by Tracy Lawson is a stark portrait of conspiracy and courage in the face of overwhelming odds, highlighting women’s indelible impact on the American Revolution.

Eliza Yonge Wilkinson is a widow whose deepest desire is a life where her liberty can go unchallenged, but with the British violently advancing through South Carolina, she is forced to abandon her estate and indigo harvest, while dodging very different kinds of advances from loutish soldiers. After being invited to spend the season in the relative safety of Charleston high society, she is faced with a sea of suitors and the opportunity to wage her own war against loyalists and Redcoats alike. Risking her reputation and prospects for the future, as well as her life, Eliza remains true to her rebellious roots and carves out a place in the resistance, with enemies closing in from every side.

Lawson’s mastery of 18th-century colloquial speech and nuanced historical detail makes Eliza’s story immediately immersive. Despite the time and setting, the storytelling is woven through with recognizable themes; Eliza’s hunger for independence, bodily autonomy, and the abolition of oppressive racial practices may be framed within a colonial backdrop, but they feel exceptionally timely for contemporary readers, making her an eminently relatable and inspiring heroine.

Balancing visceral experiences of wartime survival with the emotional minefield of aristocratic courtship, Patriot of the Lowcountry captures the myriad experiences of women in a time of muskets and brutish masculinity, for a work of historical fiction that is exciting, illuminating, and brimming with modern-day relevance.