Dorothea Benton Frank – författare

The rich atmosphere of South Carolina, both Hilton Head and Charleston, is brought vividly to life by Dorothea Benton Frank, a South Carolina native who, with her exquisitely evocative prose, makes you smell the sea air, see the palmettos, and savor the sweet tea, but this time it comes with a side of antipasti.

Hilton Head, South Carolina. Retirement heaven -- at least it''s supposed to be, but for Big Al and Connie, the move from New Jersey to this southern paradise has been fraught with just a few complications. Especially for their daughter, Grace.

Well, that''s what she likes to be called. Her family insists on Maria Graziella. Seriously, enough with the Neopolitan. That might have been okay in New Jersey but now it''s just plain silly and Grace at thirty-one is, horror of horrors, still unmarried. No wonder her family drives her crazy. Well, that and the fact that she''s living with the man she would marry if they both weren''t so commitment phobic. Michael is a doctor and a scientist and Grace has a good idea that he''s also an atheist. Over the years, Grace has become a bit ambivalent about her faith but her family is as old-fashioned Italian as they get. The stage is set for a major showdown that might just change Grace''s outlook on life, family, and the new South.

Performed by Susan Bennett

Dorothea Benton Frank is one of America''s most insightful writers weaving highly addictive tales of the conundrums of life with hilarity and heat. Now, in The Land of Mango Sunsets, Frank gives us one woman''s journey toward a hard-won truth—that life isn''t always what it appears to be, and the sooner you realize that pride won''t keep you warm at night, the happier you will be.

Meet Miriam Elizabeth Swanson, in a full-blown snit, buoyed by a fabulous cast who run the gamut from insufferable to wonderful. Miriam spins out from the revolving door of her postured life as a Manhattan quasi socialite while she thirsts, no, starves for recognition. How did she become what she hates the most and what does she endure to realize it? And where are the answers? It takes a few spins, dips and one spectacular fall until Miriam gets her head on straight. Then in a whoosh she''s off to the enchanted and mysterious land of Sullivans Island, deep in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Told straight from the heart in her vivid, highly entertaining style, The Land of Mango Sunsets just might be Frank''s finest work to date. If you plan to listen to this book, don''t make plans to do anything else for a while.

Theodora is the matriarch of a family that has grown into a bunch of truculent knuckleheads. While she''s finally gotten them all together in South Carolina to celebrate, this Christmas looks nothing like the extravagant, homey holidays of her childhood.

What happened to the days when Christmas meant tables groaning with home-cooked goodies, over-the-top decorations, and long chats in front of the fire with Pearl, her grandmother''s beloved housekeeper and closest confidante?

Luckily for Theodora, a special someone who heard her plea for help arrives, with pockets full of enough Gullah magic and common sense to make Theodora''s Christmas the love-filled miracle it''s meant to be.

“Dottie Frank’s books are sexy and hilarious. She has staked out the lowcountry of South Carolina as her personal literary property.” —Pat Conroy, author of The Prince of Tides

Bulls Island is a supremely satisfying tale of honor, chance, and star-crossed love, infused with Southern wit, grace, and charm, from the phenomenal New York Times bestseller Dorothea Benton Frank. The much beloved author of Plantation, Return to Sullivan’s Island, Land of Mango Sunsets, and a host of other winning novels of the North Carolina lowcountry, Frank stands tall alongside Anne Rivers Siddons, Sue Monk Kidd, Rebecca Wells and the other masters of contemporary southern women’s fiction. Devoted Dottie Frank fans and newcomers alike will adore this sun-drenched story of the uncomfortable homecoming of a former Bulls Islander who plans to transform the unspoiled paradise for profit…and her inevitable reencounter with the scion of a wealthy family whom she once was scheduled to marry until cruel innuendo destroyed their engagement.

“Dottie Frank’s books are sexy and hilarious. She has staked out the lowcountry of South Carolina as her personal literary property.” —Pat Conroy, author of The Prince of Tides

Bulls Island is a supremely satisfying tale of honor, chance, and star-crossed love, infused with Southern wit, grace, and charm, from the phenomenal New York Times bestseller Dorothea Benton Frank. The much beloved author of Plantation, Return to Sullivan’s Island, Land of Mango Sunsets, and a host of other winning novels of the North Carolina lowcountry, Frank stands tall alongside Anne Rivers Siddons, Sue Monk Kidd, Rebecca Wells and the other masters of contemporary southern women’s fiction. Devoted Dottie Frank fans and newcomers alike will adore this sun-drenched story of the uncomfortable homecoming of a former Bulls Islander who plans to transform the unspoiled paradise for profit…and her inevitable reencounter with the scion of a wealthy family whom she once was scheduled to marry until cruel innuendo destroyed their engagement.

Still spry at ninety-three, Theodora has lived long enough to see her family grow into an insufferable bunch of truculent knuckleheads. Having finally gathered the whole bickering brood together for the holidays at her South Carolina home, the grand matriarch pines wistfully for those extravagant, homey Christmases of her childhood. How she misses the tables groaning with home-cooked goodies, the over-the-top decorations, those long, lovely fireside chats with Pearl, her grandmother''s beloved housekeeper and closest confidante. These days, where is the love and the joy . . . and the peace?

But this is, after all, a magical time. Someone very special has heard Theodora''s plea—and is about to arrive at her door with pockets full of Gullah magic and enough common sense to transform this Christmas into the miracle it''s truly meant to be.

A moving story of the power of love and the miracles of life—chock full of Southern wit, sass, and charm

Grace is an intelligent, (struggling-to-be) independent 31-year-old single woman living (in sin!) with the man she’d marry if they both weren’t so commitment phobic. Michael is a doctor and a scientist and Grace has a good idea that he’s also an atheist. Over the years, this dutiful Catholic girl has become ambivalent about her faith. But her family is as devoutly old-fashioned as it gets.

The stage is set for a major showdown that might just change Grace’s outlook on life, family,and the South itself.

Her despicable husband left her for a lingerie model who''s barely more than a teenager, and her kids are busy with their own lives. But before Miriam Elizabeth Swanson can work herself up into a true snit about it all, her newest tenant, Liz, arrives from Birmingham with plenty of troubles of her own. Then Miriam meets a man named Harrison, who makes her laugh, makes her cry, and makes her feel like a brand-new woman.

It''s almost too much for one Manhattan quasi-socialite to handle—so Miriam''s escaping to the enchanted and mysterious land of Sullivans Island, deep in the low country of South Carolina, a place where she can finally get her head on straight—and perhaps figure out that pride is not what''s going to keep her warm at night . . .

“Her books are funny, sexy, and usually damp with seawater.”

—Pat Conroy, author of The Prince of Tides

In Return to Sullivans Island, Dorothea Benton Frank revisits the enchanted landscape of South Carolina’s Lowcountry made famous in her beloved New York Times bestseller Sullivans Island. Frank focuses on the next generation of Hamiltons and Hayes, earning high praise from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which writes, “Frank brings to vivid life the rich landscape and its unpretentious folks….A reader need only close her eyes for a moment to feel that thick-sticky heat, smell the wild salt marshes.” If you enjoy getting lost in the works of Anne Rivers Siddons, Rebecca Wells, and Pat Conroy—novels brimming with atmosphere and strong Southern charm—you are going to love Dotty Frank’s Return to Sullivans Island.

“Her books are funny, sexy, and usually damp with seawater.”

—Pat Conroy, author of The Prince of Tides

In Return to Sullivans Island, Dorothea Benton Frank revisits the enchanted landscape of South Carolina’s Lowcountry made famous in her beloved New York Times bestseller Sullivans Island. Frank focuses on the next generation of Hamiltons and Hayes, earning high praise from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which writes, “Frank brings to vivid life the rich landscape and its unpretentious folks….A reader need only close her eyes for a moment to feel that thick-sticky heat, smell the wild salt marshes.” If you enjoy getting lost in the works of Anne Rivers Siddons, Rebecca Wells, and Pat Conroy—novels brimming with atmosphere and strong Southern charm—you are going to love Dotty Frank’s Return to Sullivans Island.

“Frank…writes with genuine adoration for and authority on the South Carolina Lowcountry from which she sprang….[Her] stuff is never escapist fluff—it’s the real deal.”—Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Return to Tall Pines in the long-awaited sequel to Dorothea Benton Frank’s beloved bestseller Plantation. Lowcountry Summer is the story of the changing anatomy of a family after the loss of its matriarch, sparkling with the inimitable Dot Frank’s warmth and humor. The much-beloved New York Times bestselling author follows the recent success of Return to Sullivans Island, Bulls Island, and Land of Mango Sunsets with a tale rich in atmosphere and unforgettable scenes of Southern life, once again placing her at the dais, alongside Anne Rivers Siddons, Sue Monk Kidd, Rebecca Wells, Pat Conroy, and other masters of contemporary Southern fiction.

“Dottie Frank’s books are sexy and hilarious. She has staked out the lowcountry of South Carolina as her personal literary property.”—Pat Conroy, author of The Prince of Tides and South of Broad

The incomparable Dorothea Benton Frank is back with her latest Lowcountry Novel, Folly Beach. As she has with Lowcountry Summer, Return to Sullivans Island, Land of Mango Sunsets, and so many other delightful literal excursions to this magical Southern locale, the perennial New York Times bestselling author enchants readers with a heart-warming tale of loss, acceptance, family, and love—as a woman returns to the past to find her  future. Folly Beach is a constant delight from “a masterful storyteller” (Booklist) who has already secured her place alongside Anne Rivers Siddons, Sue Monk Kidd, Rebecca Wells, Barbara Delinsky and other contemporary queens of bestselling women’s fiction.

“Dottie Frank’s books are sexy and hilarious. She has staked out the lowcountry of South Carolina as her personal literary property.”—Pat Conroy, author of The Prince of Tides and South of Broad

The incomparable Dorothea Benton Frank is back with her latest Lowcountry Novel, Folly Beach. As she has with Lowcountry Summer, Return to Sullivans Island, Land of Mango Sunsets, and so many other delightful literal excursions to this magical Southern locale, the perennial New York Times bestselling author enchants readers with a heart-warming tale of loss, acceptance, family, and love—as a woman returns to the past to find her  future. Folly Beach is a constant delight from “a masterful storyteller” (Booklist) who has already secured her place alongside Anne Rivers Siddons, Sue Monk Kidd, Rebecca Wells, Barbara Delinsky and other contemporary queens of bestselling women’s fiction.

Experience the sultry Southern atmosphere of Atlanta and the magic of the Carolina Lowcountry in this funny and poignant tale of one audacious woman’s quest to find the love she deserves, from New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank.

Leslie Anne Greene Carter is The Last Original Wife among her husband Wesley’s wildly successful Atlanta social set. His cronies have all traded in the mothers of their children they promised to love and cherish—’til death did them part—for tanned and toned young Barbie brides.

If losing the social life and close friends she adored wasn’t painful enough, a series of setbacks shake Les’s world and push her to the edge. She’s had enough of playing the good wife to a husband who thinks he’s doing her a favor by keeping her around. She’s not going to waste another minute on people she doesn’t care to know. Now, she’s going to take some time for herself—in the familiar comforts and stunning beauty of Charleston, her beloved hometown. In her brother’s stately historic home, she’s going to reclaim the carefree girl who spent lazy summers sharing steamy kisses with her first love on Sullivans Island. Along Charleston’s live oak- and palmetto-lined cobblestone streets, under the Lowcountry’s dazzling blue sky, Les will indulge herself with icy cocktails, warm laughter, divine temptation and bittersweet memories. Daring to listen to her inner voice, she will realize what she wants . . . and find the life of which she’s always dreamed.

Told in the alternating voices of Les and Wes, The Last Original Wife is classic Dorothea Benton Frank: an intoxicating tale of family, friendship, self-discovery, and love, that is as salty as a Lowcountry breeze and as invigorating as a dip in Carolina waters on a sizzling summer day.