Celia Garth

My love for Celia Garth extends almost thirty years (!) to when I pulled it off the shelf in my middle school library; even then it was thirty years old. I loved learning about the South during the American revolution as it never seemed to be covered in history.

Celia grows so immensely during this novel that it’s more than a coming of age, but we get to see her become a woman. I always liked that she didn’t have all the answers and was ok with that, and she was the first one I’d heard about living in the present from. This is definitely a nostalgia read for me as it also was the first time I saw it spelled out that there was a difference between being in love with someone and loving someone.

I picked this up in a $1-a-bag sale at a local thrift store. I'm not sure why. Perhaps the cover caught my attention. Whatever the reason, I read the first page to see what it was about. Hours later, I realized I didn't want to put it down. Bristow deftly weaves the fictional story of Celia through the true strands of history - the Siege of Charleston, the terror of Tarleton, those who took the King's Oath and those who did not, those who received the houses of displaced patriots as rewards for service to the King - and what happened to those patriots. Bits of historical facts about culture and society gives the story a wonderful depth. And her characters - each is flesh-out, well-rounded, with flaws and depth and emotions. They feel show more real. They feel true. As if they might have really lived. The plot is a breathless - taking the reader through a gambit of emotion.
To anyone interested in American History, the Revolutionary War or Colonial Life, I highly recommend! show less

1779, Charleston, South Carolina. America is at war with Britain. Celia Garth is an apprentice at a dressmaker's shop. She doesn't think much about the war. She wants fun in her life and to prove herself more skilled at her needle than what people think. When the war lands right in the middle of Charleston, Celia fights to survive heartbreak and destruction.

I first read this as a teenager and it is just as good as I remember it! Celia is a character I loved following. She is sassy, cheerful and fierce. When she knows what she wants, she does her best to get it. When things don't go her way, she finds a way to move on.

The setting of this story is spectacular. The author did her research and it shows. The details make everything that much show more better.

For fans of Revolutionary War romance with a smidge of adventure and intrigue, this would be a perfect choice. show less

When her story opens, Celia is a bubble-headed sewing-girl of twenty, plotting how to get more complicated needlework from the shop that employs her and speculating whether any of the older women that work there were ever kissed (surely not). But as the Revolution reaches Charleston just as she becomes engaged, her world becomes more complicated very quickly. Fortunately, she rises to the occasion, making difficult decisions and taking real risks. She will see true horrors and suffer both indignity and great loss as she learns from the example of Viviane Lacy and her daring son Luke, with whom Celia feels a connection quite different than her love for steady Jimmy. Although one can predict the broad outlines of where the novel will go show more within the first few chapters, following Celia through the vicissitudes of war creates plenty of tension. The story is enchanting as a love story, a tale of war, and a coming-of-age. show less

I loved this book! I first read it many, many years ago and was fascinated by the story. Set during the American Revolution, Celia Garth is the story of a young girl who becomes a participant in the fight against the British. Not only was I taken by a book that had a female heroine, many of the other women in the book were strong figures who took an active part in the fight for America's future. Add in the marvelous backdrop of Charlestown at war and I couldn't put the book down. I've read it several times and it remains an all-time favorite.

I read this early on, in middle school - and loved it, both for the heroine (level-headed, sensible, patriotic and able to fall in love again after a shattering loss) and for the portrayal of Revolutionary-War era Charleston. And also - I took my pen-name partially from this book!

This is the tale of Celia Garth, a 20 year old woman trying to make a living as a seamstress in Charleston, South Carolina during the Revolutionary war. The author does a great job of setting up the scenes of the town and plantations, and the history of the time. We follow Celia and her friends through the seige of Charleston by the British, living through the constant shelling and lack of food until the final surrender.

At first, things seem normal after the surrender and Celia begins to build a new life, but tragedy strikes after the British go back on their promises and Celia must start life afresh. This time, while working as a seamstress she is also a bit of a "spy" for the colonials.

This was a wonderful story of love and courage, show more with a great dose of history thrown in. I don't know enough about the period to say how accurate it is, but I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in another century for a day or two. This is also a good choice for a younger reader, as the "love scenes", if you can call them that, are extremely chaste.

The book is out of print and readily available used, but I had no problem finding it at my local libary. show less