Book excerpt: A new edition of the New York Times best seller, presented by Turner Publishing The St. Simons Trilogy. . . the Florida Trilogy. . . the Savannah Quartet. . . For twenty-five years Eugenia Price has captivated millions of readers with her spellbinding historical sagas. Now, with Bright Captivity, the first volume of her eagerly awaited Georgia Trilogy, she returns for her most powerful and unforgettable story to the richness and color of life on Georgia’s St. Simons Island. The story begins as the War of 1812 is in its final days. Anne Couper, the spirited young daughter of a prominent St. Simons family, is attending a house party at Dungeness, an estate on nearby Cumberland Island, when a contingent of British Royal Marines, on a mission to free slaves, invades the island. They make Dungeness their headquarters, and all its occupants, including Anne Couper, become their captives. From the moment Anne meets British lieutenant John Fraser, she knows her once-secure life as the sheltered only daughter of planter John Couper will never be the same. It isn’t. Within a year of their initial separation at the end of Britain’s war with the United States, John Fraser, no longer needed by the Royal Marines because his country has finally defeated Napoleon, returns to Georgia to make Anne his wife. Eugenia Price has created her most complex and believable characters in John and Anne, who, in 1816, are caught in much the same tangled dilemma experienced today by any young couple attempting to stretch their love to cover almost contradictory backgrounds. The couple must now decide where to live: at Cannon’s Point, Anne’s beloved family plantation in Georgia, or in London, where John can’t bring himself to relinquish the only life where he feels at home—as an officer in the Royal Marines. While Anne and John struggle with their decision, Ms. Price takes her readers on a moving journey from war-torn Georgia to the shores of England—and even to Abbotsford, Scotland, the country home of Sir Walter Scott. Written in Ms. Price’s signature style—a seamless blend of keen imagination, meticulous research, and narrative artistry—Bright Captivity will capture the hearts and minds of new readers and devoted fans alike.