Mamba's daughters : A novel of Charleston

Set in the humid, historic streets of early‑20th‑century Charleston, the story follows Mamba, a seasoned waterfront woman near fifty, who decides to undertake a bold venture that could change her fate. Her plan draws her into the world of the Wentworth family, former plantation aristocrats now living modestly near the Battery, each burdened by past glories and present expectations. As she moves between the divided Black community and the city’s genteel society, she encounters both unforeseen allies and subtle resistance.

The Wentworth matriarch is a widowed figure of intelligence and unyielding industry, determined to keep her children in their rightful social place. Her son, St. Julien, fourteen, wrestles with a thirst for knowledge against a restrictive school system, while his sister Polly, twelve, begins her debut in Charleston’s dance circles. Through these intersecting lives the novel offers a keen portrait of a city still healing from war, where old class lines blur and new ambitions stir.