Author
Richard N. Côté
A
friendly, knowledgeable, and versatile speaker, Richard
N. (“Dick”) Côté is the nationally
known, award-winning author of books that focus on extraordinary
women and the richness of Southern history and culture. A Connecticut
native, and Vietnam veteran, he majored in journalism and political
science at Butler University. In 1979, he joined the staff of the
South Carolina Historical Society, where he worked for several years
before turning to writing full-time. He has appeared as an expert
commentator on Dateline NBC, The Weather Channel, and C-Span 2/Book
TV, and has also made numerous guest appearances on regional and
local television and radio programs. In 2004, he was awarded the
Bobby Gilmer Moss Award in History by the Daughters of the American
Revolution.
A resident of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, near Charleston, Dick
delights in sharing his love of Southern history and culture with
a variety of audiences. He travels nationwide to conduct speaking
engagements and provide interactive discussions of history, biography,
and writing for graduate, undergraduate, and high school students.
He donates part of his speaking fees to Charleston’s Crisis
Ministries, which operates a homeless shelter, a shelter for battered
women, and a soup kitchen, where he also serves as a volunteer.
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At 9:51 PM on August 31, 1886, William Ashmead
Courtenay, the much-respected mayor of Charleston, South Carolina,
was relaxing aboard the Etruria, an elite luxury liner bound
for New York from Liverpool. At that same moment, the most
powerful earthquake ever to hit the East Coast struck South
Carolina and devastated Charleston, killing over 150 people
and damaging or destroying over 90% of the historic city’s
masonry buildings within sixty seconds. Within ten minutes,
it had spread terror throughout half the nation, causing panic
and damage as far north as Toronto, east to Long Island, south
to Cuba, and west to St. Louis. The nation was stunned. No
one in Charleston, or anywhere on the East coast, ever thought
such an unthinkable catastrophe of such magnitude could possibly
strike east of the Mississippi. They were very, very wrong.
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 MARY'S
WORLD:
Love, War, and
Family Ties in Nineteenth-century Charleston
By Richard N. Côté
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This powerful true story of planter-aristocrat
Mary Pringle, her husband, their 13 children, and their 337
slaves, explores their life before, during, and after the
Civil War through 167 of Mary's own letters to and from her
children. 480 pp. (Biography: women / Civil War)
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STRENGTH
AND HONOR:
The Life of Dolley Madison
By Richard N. Côté
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Born a sprightly Quaker farm girl in the North
Carolina wilderness in 1768, Dolley Payne became the wife
of John Todd, a mother, a widow, the wife of President James
Madison, a national hero of the War of 1812, a social and
fashion icon, and the best-loved First Lady of the 19th century.
464 pp. (Biography: women / First Ladies)
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THE
REDNECK RIVIERA
A novel by Richard N. Côté
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This warm, poignant tale of the power of
a mother's love to heal deep wounds of the heart explores
the mother-daughter bond. It also pokes good-natured fun
at Baby Boomer parents, Canadian tourists, on-the-make single
men, and the secret life of golfers in the wacky, tacky
parts of Myrtle Beach, S.C. the Chamber of Commerce
brochures don't mention. (Contemporary fiction -
women)
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THEODOSIA
BURR ALSTON:
Portrait of a Prodigy
By Richard N. Côté
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Vice President Aaron Burr had a vision. Her name was Theodosia.
He gave his stunning young daughter a man's education and
groomed her to become Empress of Mexico. A mysterious portrait
holds her secret: lost at sea or killed by pirates in 1813?
"What a monumentally exciting story!" -- South Carolina
Historical Magazine. 442 pp. (Biography: women / Federal
period)
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