Margaret bradham thornton biography samples images

Growing up in Charleston, S. Southern women get a bad rap. I wanted to write about what was real to me and what I thought was authentic. I wanted to write about the South from the inside out.

In her first novel, “Charleston,” Margaret

Friends, who I grew up with, are doctors, lawyers, judges, journalists, painters, some own their own businesses. The couple chose Palm Beach because of the beauty of the town and because it was equidistant to Delray Beach, where their sons played tennis, and Wellington, where their daughter rode horses. Thornton said she was impressed with the Palm Beach Day Academy for their two youngest sons.

Thornton played competitive junior tennis until suffering knee problems. Thornton worked on Wall Street for Goldman Sachs. But throughout her life, writing was always a passion and she particularly enjoyed writing short stories. The project was supposed to take three years, but expanded to 10 after Thornton unearthed more and more notes — many were undated and scribbled into a book or onto loose paper.

Hugh Holman Prize for the best volume of Southern literary scholarship. Does she return to her life in London with her current boyfriend or risk it all for her true love, Henry? Although both Eliza and Thornton grew up in Charleston, attended Princeton and lived in New York and London, Thornton said the character she created is pure fiction. Charleston native turns to roots, not reality, for first novel.