With the summer rapidly approaching, it will soon be the perfect time of year to grab a few books and this reading list and either escape into the air conditioning or to the beach! The Foundation would love to recommend five titles to your summer reading list – all available online and in person at the Museum Shop, and admission is not required to shop on-site! 

Suppose you are looking to expand your knowledge of all things Middleton Place. We highly recommend Virginia Beach’s American Landmark: Charles Duell and the Rebirth of Middleton Place. Virginia’s work brings forth the three centuries-old story of Middleton Place. This story resonates with national and international themes centering around the Revolution and Civil Wars, the international slave trade and emancipation, and how Middleton Place became a cultural heritage site. 

May is an extraordinary time in Charleston because it is national historic preservation month! Two books we recommend to learn about how these efforts shaped Charleston’s built environment are Alice: Alice Ravenel Huger Smith, Charleston Rennaisance Artist by Dwight McInvaill, Caroline Palmer, and Anne Tinker and The Green Book of South Carolina: A Guide to African American Cultural Sites. Both books tie in the arts, history, and culture and how because these sites are protected and adequately preserved, multiple generations can experience them in the future. 

Finally, if you are looking for the cultural impact of place, music, and identity, these two titles may leave you inspired and surprised by the resiliency of South Carolina. Gullah Spirituals: The Sound of Freedom and Protest in the South Carolina Sea Islands by Eric Crawford tells how a song can inspire change and connect generations through Gullah culture. And Certainly, last but not least, The Grim Years: Settling South Carolina 1670 – 1720, by John Navin, shows the history of the first fifty years of South Carolina history and how as a colony, Charles Towne came close to near destruction a few times.