Elizabeth Boatwright Coker: A Local Memoir

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Charleston Library Society

Elizabeth Boatwright Coker: A Local Memoir

The Library Society is honored to welcome Penelope Coker Hall and Eliza Wilson Ingle for the Charleston launch of A Curious Heart, their literary memoir on the life of Elizabeth Boatwright Coker, an award-winning author who challenged the status quo of the female role in the early 20th century. With sensitivity and insight, the authors chronicle the passion, the powers of observation, the gift of storytelling, and the fierce independence that propelled their mother and grandmother to The New York Times bestseller list and the South Carolina Hall of Fame. Quoting liberally from Elizabeth’s letters, journal entries, book passages, and interviews, A Curious Heart reflects the inner life of this complex, small-town Southern woman, who dreamed of becoming a published writer.

Presale for A Curious Heart begins September 30th, 2024, with Pub Date on October 7th, 2024, and is available through Buxton Books or through the launch event tickets below.

About the Book

In this poignant literary memoir, Penelope Coker Hall and Eliza Wilson Ingle give readers a front row seat to the remarkable life and career of award-winning author Elizabeth Boatwright Coker (1909-1993). Born in Darlington, South Carolina, in an era when women couldn’t vote and the legacy of the Civil War suffused nearly everything, Elizabeth was blessed with movie star beauty, extraordinary determination, a keen intellect, and a sense of humor. At an early age, she was mentored by inspired teachers and some of the great writers of the 20th century. She would go on to challenge the status quo, in her life and her books. Elizabeth’s journey juggling the demands of corporate wife and mother with that of working writer is a story of trial and triumph, heartbreak and joy. Her life spanned nearly the entire century, the second half of which yielded nine historical novels. Listed in Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in the World, she was on the board of the South Carolina State Museum Foundation, the South Caroliniana Society, the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation, and many others. She received an honorary degree from Converse College in 1987 and was inducted into the South Carolina Academy of Author’s Hall of Fame in 1991.

About Penelope Coker Hall

Born in Hartsville, South Carolina, Penelope Coker Hall matriculated to Sara Lawrence College and eventually settled in New York, becoming a writer and host for Metromedia’s Channel Five TV show “The New Yorkers.” Later at NBC, Hall worked as a co-producer of several TV specials, including “Vanishing 400” and “Debutante.” During this time, she met and married film producer William Wilson and in 1968 their daughter, Eliza, was born. In 1972, Hall left the performing arts and embarked on a new marriage with widower Mortimer Hall of Millbrook, N.Y. Ensconced in Millbrook for 50 years, Hall served as editor of Duchess Magazine while raising daughter Eliza as well as Morti’s five young children, along with a bevy of horses and dogs. Hall is author of several children’s books and the novel Riding High (under the pseudonym of Emily Brooks), written with former E.P. Dutton editor Ann LaFarge. Today, she divides her time between Charleston, S.C. and Millbrook.

About Eliza Wilson Ingle

Eliza Wilson Ingle is a New York native with Southern roots. She earned her BA in Dance from Middlebury College, and after a brief stint in New York City, moved to Charleston where she became a Professor of Dance at the College of Charleston. In addition to teaching, Ingle has been a performer and choreographer with Anonymity Dance Company. A dance reviewer for The Post and Courier covering Spoleto Festival USA, as well as a contributor to Charleston Magazine and Charleston City Paper, and creator and co-host of Just Imagine – a radio program covering local cultural events and people – she stays tapped into the arts and believes, as her grandmother did, in the power of story. She thanks her husband and three grown daughters for their love, laughter and support.

About Virginia Christian Beach

Virginia Christian Beach was born in Richmond, Virginia and earned a BA in English from the University of Virginia. From there she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in East Africa, after which she worked for Little, Brown publishers in New York. Beach is the author of four books and a writer and editor for numerous publications and periodicals. She and her husband reside in Charleston, South Carolina where their two grown children were raised.

$10.00 – $15.00