A new book traces the beloved writer’s work and life along the SC coast
Bestselling author Pat Conroy lived in the Lowcountry for half of his life, and the region informed many of his most highly regarded books, including The Lords of Discipline, The Prince of Tides, The Great Santini, and Beach Music. Lynn Seldon, a travel writer based in Beaufort, South Carolina, considered Conroy a mentor and friend, and says the new release, Pat Conroy’s Lowcountry, “is a book I was meant to write.”
Instead of offering just biography or discussion of Conroy’s work, it blends history about Conroy’s life with a closer look at his favorite Lowcountry destinations, with extra attention paid to the places that modern-day visitors can explore, including historic sites, dining recommendations, bookstores, and art galleries.
In this excerpt from Pat Conroy’s Lowcountry, Seldon talks about Conroy’s 2009 book South of Broad, a No. 1 bestseller that showcases many sections of the Holy City and the surrounding area, including The Citadel, Rainbow Row, King Street, and Folly Beach. Read along and follow Conroy’s footsteps in the place he called “this incomparable portion of earth.”
Pat Conroy’s Lowcountry excerpt
Conroy’s ninth book opens with the main character, Leo Bloom King, completing his early morning paper route, providing a unique view of the city’s iconic South of Broad neighborhood. King’s paper route starts at Colonial Lake, where he picks up copies of the News and Courier (now the Post and Courier). He proceeds down Rutledge Avenue to Tradd Street toward the Cooper River, tossing a paper to a Charleston lawyer “playing” Citadel wide receiver to his quarterback. Other Charleston landmarks on the paper route include Charleston Harbor; St. Michael’s Church; historic Dock Street Theatre; the mansions on East Bay Street, including Rainbow Row; and much more. Bloom’s paper route ends at “Henry Berlin’s Men’s Store,” which is today’s iconic Berlin’s (clothing for men and women), at the corner of Broad and King Streets.
There’s much more of Charleston and the surrounding area to savor in South of Broad. In addition to the newspaper route’s highlights, various places making mostly cameo appearances in South of Broad include the historic seven-story 1923 Fort Sumter Hotel (now Fort Sumter House condominiums); The Citadel (including Lesesne Gate, Summerall Chapel, the parade ground, and Padgett-Thomas Barracks, among many Citadel spots Conroy knew well); historic Hyman’s Seafood (see following); the “slave market” (now the Old Slave Mart Museum), which Conroy’s character reports is crowded with tourists in flip-flops, T-shirts, and Bermuda shorts, just like today; the Four Corners of Law; the “Mills-Hyatt House” hotel (likely today’s Mills House Charleston hotel, where I first met Conroy); Piggy Park on Rutledge Avenue, which closed in 1960; “Riley Real Estate” office (a nod to Conroy’s friend Mayor Joe Riley); Washington Square, home of the Charleston mayor’s office and including the fictional “Washington Square Bar & Grill” (nearby Husk and 82 Queen are ideal “replacements” today); Folly Beach; Bowens Island (of Bowens Island Restaurant fame); Wadmalaw Island; James Island; Sullivan’s Island; and even Edisto Island (where most of this book was written), to name many, but not all.
South of Broad fittingly comes full circle as the book closes, with Leo Bloom King once again completing the same paper route as a grown man, throwing imaginary newspapers in the book’s epilogue, “A Final Prayer.” As he did when the book opened, he starts at Colonial Lake, again passing many Charleston landmarks. Conroy has King think to himself that, for the rest of his life, he will be lucky enough to sing the Holy City’s praises. We were lucky enough for Pat Conroy to sing his praises of Charleston in books like South of Broad and elsewhere.
Of course, the Charleston dining scene is world-class, and Conroy enjoyed dining out in the Holy City whenever he was in town. Husk and 82 Queen are just a few doors apart on Queen Street, and both are highly recommended for their traditional and creative Lowcountry fare.
East Bay Street’s Slightly North of Broad (S.N.O.B.) is also a special Charleston restaurant for me, as it was the location of the first time I broke bread with Conroy back in 2009. The story of that lunch is shared in the addendum, in an essay I wrote for Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy.
Meeting Street’s Hyman’s Seafood is another popular Charleston restaurant with Conroy connections. Though I never ate there with him, he praised the Hyman’s vibe and food. I’m not sure Conroy knew it, but the restaurant placed a “pat conroy ate at this table” plaque where he liked to sit. They also display a picture of Conroy with fourth-generation Hyman’s owner Eli Hyman, as well as a dinner plate that Conroy signed for them.
When Conroy was working on South of Broad, he often ate lunch with Sean Scapellato, the current board chair of the Pat Conroy Literary Center. Scapellato was helping Conroy with research for the novel, including the character Leo Bloom King’s paper route that opens South of Broad. Scapellato told me that lunch favorites of Conroy north of Broad Street included 39 Rue de Jean, Virginia’s on King, and aforementioned Slightly North of Broad, where Scapellato recalls that Cassandra King joined them and then-chef Frank Lee prepared a chef ’s tasting menu that still has Scapellato salivating almost two decades later.
Pat Conroy’s Lowcountry: A History & Guide, excerpt published with permission from The History Press/Arcadia Publishing
