Delirium of the Brave by William C. Harris

Savannah, 1864. Confederate Captain Patrick Driscoll and his dear friend and manservant Shadrack Shad Bryan leave their tearful families to help fight for the Southern cause. They are to set up fort at Raccoon Island off Georgia's coast in a last-ditch effort to save their beloved city from Union attack. But only days into their assignment, the two men die in each other's arms in a Yankee bombardment. Though the men are gone, their legacy will live on-as will the legend of the priceless Driscoll family treasure the two men have buried on Raccoon Island. Four generations after the Civil War, many Confederate families still remain in Savannah, struggling through the twentieth-century in a South rife with hardball politics, personal vendettas and the hangover of war. John-Morgan Hartman, son of a newspaper man and great-great grandson of Captain Patrick Driscoll, goes to serve his country in Vietnam, unaware of the physical and psychological wounds that will befall him... Tony O'Boyle is an ambitious young politician who will stop at nothing and spare no one to get ahead-but his family's dark past will come back to haunt him... Lloyd Bryan, descended from slaves, is determined to succeed where his ancestors didn't. But his celebrity as a professional football player immerses him in a world of temptation that ultimately turns him toward religion... Charlotte Drayton, a successful television reporter, has always used her beauty to get her way-but the one man she can't have is the only one she wants... After many years, four friends will meet on the very island where the two confederate soldiers died in each other's arms. To find where they buried Driscoll's treasure-and to uncover the dangerous secrets of a prominent Savannah family. A gripping novel of history, intrigue, war, and love, Delirium of the Brave follows four generations of families contemplating the pain of the past and the promise of the future. Get swept away by this glorious saga rich with the sights, sounds, flavors, and people of the South's most stunning locale. Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly The success of this gossipy but somewhat overwritten debut novel by a 51-year-old Savannah, Ga., podiatrist resulted from local media buzz rather than stellar literary qualities. Originally published by the small Savannah publisher Frederic C. Beil, the novel was a word-of-mouth sleeper, eventually replacing John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil on regional bestseller lists (Book News, May 17). In an auction, St. Martin's acquired world rights in what was reported (Hot Deals, July 5) to be a six-figure, two-book deal. The ambitious, well-researched roman ? clef begins during the Civil War and moves into the present day, building on a legend about buried treasure on tiny Raccoon Island (one of the barrier islands that dot the coastal waterways around Savannah). The plot centers on the progeny of a young Confederate officer, Patrick Driscoll, and his devoted slave companion, Shadrack Bryan, who bury a chest of valuables to keep it from Yankee looters. Both men are killed, taking their secret to the grave. Skimming across generations, the plot leapfrogs into the late 1930s, when hot-tempered young reporter John Morgan Hartman marries into the Driscoll family. It is Hartman's son John-Morgan and John-Morgan's contemporary, Father Lloyd Bryan, who become the novel's protagonists, their destinies mixed with that of a powerful and corrupt Savannah family headed by politico Tony O'Boyle. A mythic wild boar, a serial killer, an unsolved fratricide, blackmail, sex, sleazy politics and a Hemingwayesque recovery from war-related impotence move the narrative along. While Harris lacks the storytelling gifts that have distinguished many a Southern yarn, he is skilled at plot control. Something of a diamond in the rough, the novel has enough whispered scandal about prominent families to keep reading lamps burning late in the South; whether it can develop national appeal remains to be seen. Agent, Nancy Stauffer. $100,000 ad/promo; author tour. (Nov.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Having barely recovered from John Berendt's gossipy Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (LJ 1/94), Savannah gentry are now dealt another literary blow with Harris's first novel, a regional best seller originally published by a small Georgia press. The difference: while Midnight concerns one Savannah murder, Delirium takes on most of that city's Irish Catholic aristocracy. In 1864, as Savannah awaits the pending invasion of Sherman's army, Confederate captain Patrick Driscoll and his slave Ezekiel Bryan bury the Driscoll family fortune on Raccoon Island. They are killed in battle before telling anyone where the treasure is hidden. Four generations of Driscoll descendants and most of Savannah search for the legendary fortune before it is finally found. Harris ably details that search, but, more importantly, he relates the story of the Driscoll and Bryan families and their conflict with the politically powerful O'Boyles. Intricately intertwined are tales of high school love gone wrong, a serial murderer who terrorizes the city, war, political intrigue, and corruption of power. Harris is a masterly storyteller, and his novel is made more compelling by its being based on truth. Midnight fans will clamor for this one. Highly recommended.AThomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review I'm not taking anything away from Mr. Berendt, but I personally believe that Dr. Harris' Delirium of the Brave catches a lot more of the romance and intrigue that are the real heart of Savannah.--Regina Odom, Regina's Books and Cards, Savannah An entertaining novel that effectively evokes a Savannah of another time. --Savannah Morning News Word is out that literary lightning has struck Savannah again... Delirium of the Brave has had the historic, smugly aristocratic city twittering over the thinly disguised roman a clef.--Publishers Weekly From the Publisher Due to a printer's error, some copies of DELIRIUM OF THE BRAVE have a blank page for page 366. The following is the text of that page: consumed by guilt over the pride that had driven him out to the island. He babbled on and on about how Pride always goes before a fall, and how he had fallen as far as any man could. He was arrogant, steeped in pride, responsible for another man's death. John-Morgan tried to reason with him, but the tormented priest could not be moved. This is probably the end of my ministry, he said, the only thing in my life that was ever really worthwhile. Now someone will need to hear my confession. As he gazed at Tony's wounds, Lloyd had another, wrenching thought. What do we tell his wife? What do we tell his father? That I lured him out here because I knew that Big Tony murdered his own brother forty years ago? I don't know, Lloyd, said John-Morgan as he shook his head in disbelief, I just don't know. Following her instincts, Ann Marie made half a dozen cellphone calls to locate Mike and Bubba. She finally tracked them down at the WTOC broadcast booth. She carefully explained to Mike why she was concerned about John-Morgan. Something's crazy wrong, Mike. I know it is. Listen, ya'll take John-Morgan's old Whaler and go look for him, please. Her voice cracked. I'll run it down to the marina and have it in the water by the time you get here. She was afraid. What's goin' on, Ann Marie? Where is John-Morgan, anyway? asked Mike, a thread of terror coiled inside him. Ya'll come on, she said. Hurry now. When Mike and Bubba drove up, Ann Marie met them. She was pale. Her face seemed to have aged. I'm sure he went to Raccoon Island. I'd go too, but I can't leave the children, Brendan's sick. The boat's in the water. Plenty of gas in it. Hurry! About the Author William C. Harris, a native Savannahian, is a graduate of Georgia State University and the Pennsylvania College of Podiatric Medicine. He practices podiatry in Savannah, where he lives with his wife Pamela and three daughters. This is his first novel. About the Author William C. Harris, a native Savannahian, is a graduate of Georgia State University and the Pennsylvania College of Podiatric Medicine. He practices podiatry in Savannah, where he lives with his wife Pamela and three daughters. This is his first novel.