Nell Cropsey and Jim Wilcox: The Chill of Destiny - Paperback

by William E. Dunstan (Author)

An absorbing tapestry, this true story brims with romance, murder, and intrigue. The illustrated narrative pulls readers into the complex, dark secrets of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. This bustling town overlooks the breathtaking Pasquotank River but lurches dangerously from political and racial hatreds in the decades after the Civil War. Jim Wilcox, born 1876, reaches manhood in this fractured world. In 1898 he begins courting Nell Cropsey, after she arrives in Elizabeth City from Brooklyn, but the young lovers eventually drift into heavy-laden turmoil and strife. Then the autumn of 1901 brings ruin. Nell disappears from her riverside house one cold November night, and her strange, unnatural story becomes a national sensation. Hysterical accusers point angry fingers at Jim, but has another person covered an unthinkable sin? William E. Dunstan's painstaking sleuthing peels back the fa ade of Southern gentility to reveal a secret-ridden town teetering on storm and frenzy at the turn of the twentieth century.

Author Biography

A gifted educator and writer, William E. Dunstan serves as a visiting scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His comprehensive professional journey includes notable achievements as an archivist at the Virginia State Archives, managing editor of the history quarterly Virginia Cavalcade, and editor of historical publications at the National Archives. He earned his doctorate in history at Carnegie Mellon University and pursued postdoctoral studies at Harvard University. Winning numerous awards for his teaching skills, Dr. Dunstan has taught at Carnegie Mellon University, Brevard College, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Chronicle of Higher Education hailed him as an innovative scholar and author with a deft hand for creating pitch-perfect literature. He regales readers with his delightfully witty six-book memoir Adventures of a Southern Boyhood. His other insightful publications include two radiant novels as well as three breathtaking books exploring the social, cultural, and political footprints of antiquity: The Ancient Near East, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome. William E. Dunstan's next book--a gripping novel--will introduce readers to a future, robot-ruled Earth, where primitive, illiterate humans meekly obey their machine masters, with the exception of one bold wizard.