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Lighthouse is about an historical figure, James Gould, who built the St. Simon's Island lighthouse and was its first lightkeeper. Copied and pasted from Wikipedia: "Lighthouse is a 1972 novel by Eugenia Price, the third and last of St Simons Trilogy. Previous two were- The Beloved Invader (1965) and New Moon Rising (1969).[1][2] The story centers on a man James Gould- founder of the Southern dynasty. He dreams to leave the cold New England hills where he was born and want to make better life for himself in the magnificent, untamed, post-Revolutionary south. How Gould pursues his strange ambition, the exotic people and places he encounters along the way, and especially the beautiful and strong willed young girl who comes to share the dream and the life he has chosen, make up the core of this novel."

I borrowed it from my friend Carol, and I have finished and returned it to her. ( )

My church book club, Page Turners, picked Eugenia Price’s novel, Lighthouse, for our September selection because it is considered a classic for those interested in the historic South and in particular the coast of Georgia. The novel was the third book written by Price, but chronologically it is first in her St. Simon’s Trilogy. Set in the years following the American Revolution and filled with real people and places, this is a must read for fans of historical fiction. The novel had been out of print for a number of years, but is now being reissued, along with many of Price’s other books.

Most of the characters in Lighthouse are historic. James Gould was a young man with a dream to build a lighthouse. Price follows James from his humble roots in Granville, Massachusetts through his accomplishments in building, timber, cotton planting and of course the building of the St. Simon’s lighthouse. Extensive research by the author, as well as a deft writing hand, make this novel beautifully crafted as well as historically accurate. James Gould is a very interesting character. He is single-minded in his work, faithful to his family and fair and even-handed in his dealings with his people, or slaves. But he is also a proud man who takes himself very seriously. Independent and uncomplaining, he also finds forgiveness hard. Many of his virtues become faults when not mixed with mercy and grace.

Written in 1972, I think Lighthouse would probably not have found a publisher in the secular world of today. Its worldview, with a natural expression of faith from its characters, makes it definitely read like a Christian novel. And in fact it is. Price took her Christian faith seriously. The issue of slavery in the novel is one case in point. It is portrayed as it probably was, with both good and bad slaveholders. But it in no way condones slavery. It portrays slavery as an insidious evil that lured men away from their convictions. Gould is anti-slavery at the beginning of the novel, yet by the end owns many slaves on his cotton plantation. Those with conscience viewed slavery as a necessary evil during the years before the Civil War. A necessary means to an end. But no matter how good the conditions, owning another human was and is wrong. Turning a blind eye did not make it go away. And neither does it today when there are still so many forced into slavery.

Recommended.

Audience: older teens to adults ( )

Another of my all time favorites!