Join us for a reading and signing with F. Rutledge Hammes, author of the novel A Curious Matter of Men with Wings.
One day, Bohicket and Ley Walpole take their little sister, Dew, out on a johnboat to pirate the waterways for beer and loose change. Dew falls overboard and appears to drown, until two men with gigantic wings swoop down and carry her body away into the sky. The news of her disappearance hits the family hard, driving the mother to fashion wings so she can fly after the men who took her daughter. The Walpole boys set off in search of their little sister and discover love and the truth behind the centuries-old tale of the Flying Men, as well as numerous other mysteries native to the South Carolina Sea Islands.
“A Curious Matter of Men with Wings is where magic comes to life in a bold story that celebrates the Gullah world of the South Carolina Sea Islands. With lyrical prose, the novel takes us into a hidden realm where life is still enchanted, and storytelling abounds.” –Sue Monk Kidd, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings
“Atmospheric, penetrating, and imaginative … with a story layered in mythology, fairy tales, and Gullah folklore, Hammes enchants. As the mystery of the Flying People unfolds, two cultures come together and show us what we can be at our very best.” –Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis and The Bookshop at Water’s End
“In this beautifully written debut novel, master storyteller F. Rutledge Hammes weaves an enchanting tale that’s part fable, part folklore, and all magic.” –Cassandra King, author of The Sunday Wife