Nannie Hayes’ tranquil childhood is turned on its end by the Civil War’s impact, not only on her family but on her city of birth, Charleston, South Carolina.
Following a devastating loss, the Hayes family flees the horror of relentless bombardment by the Union Navy: the Charleston siege. Nannie watches, powerless, as her family descends into poverty on the heels of fire, war, theft, and relocation. Determined to support her troubled mother and gain her favor, Nannie becomes a rescuer, ultimately vowing to avoid marriage and higher education to care for her parents.
From an early age, though, a recurring dream has suggested another path. This dream intersects with a medium’s cryptic message when Nannie attempts to help her mother with lingering grief. Meaning is revealed in another of the persistent dreams, yet a looming question remains. Who is the dream-man on the pier and why does he keep reappearing?
Not until Nannie is grown do events propel her to an answer, forcing the most agonizing decision of her life. Will she remain true to her beloved city and parents, or take a terrifying leap of faith into a place, a way of life, and an entire perspective foreign to her?
Her brother Tupper provides a pivotal clue. Armed with a final lucid understanding, Nannie makes the choice that will define her life’s course.
Praise for Tupper’s Coins
“In Tupper’s Coins, Betsy Reeder renders the Civil War home front in striking detail, centering on a Southern family grieving the loss of their eldest son to a war they didn’t choose. Told through the voice of Nannie, a young girl during the war who grows into the doting daughter of a grief-stricken mother after, this novel offers a delightful blend of mysticism and historical depth. Daughter of a shopkeeper from Connecticut, Nannie struggles to find her place in the world while the ever-displaced family ventures from Charleston to Greenville and back again. With a trove of characters vying for marriage and more, the book evokes the literature of the era, hinting of Alcott and Austen. In a world in the which the youngest daughter was often marked as caretaker to her aging parents, the reader roots for the quiet yet snarky Nannie to escape from her mother’s narcissistic clutches. In the end Nannie must decide whether to fulfill family obligations or become her own woman.
Tupper’s Coins is about family and hope in a world torn asunder. It reminds us that history is rarely as clearly drawn as we would like to believe.”
—Culley Holderfield, author of Hemlock Hollow
“T“upper’s Coins follows one Southern family’s poignant struggles during and after the Civil War. With clarity and precision, Reeder captures the heartbreaking destruction of Charleston and the valiant efforts of its people to rebuild their lives and their city after enduring so much loss.”
—Donna Meredith, editor of Southern Literary Review and author of Buried Seeds and The Glass Madonna
Betsy Reeder, Writer 