ELIZABETH ALLSTON PRINGLE (1845-1921) was raised in affluence in antebellum South Carolina, but after a war that wrecked her world, she and her family struggled to survive. Bessie-as she was called-left a widow in her thirties, single handedly took on the daunting task of managing two rice plantations on the Pee Dee River. Her extraordinary life is well known through her two famous books, A Woman Rice Planter and Chronicles of Chicora Wood, and yet her poignant love story is one she left largely incomplete in her published writings.

This book explores that part of her life more intimately, as well as her wartime experiences, through her unpublished letters and diaries, revealing details about a long, unusual courtship, and a passionately happy marriage tragically cut short when her husband passed away at the age of thirty-four. His early, unexpected death was a devastating blow to her, but she found strength and courage through her faith, and went on to lead a remarkable and influential life as a planter and author.