The King's Man

About this issue

The King's Man: A Tale of South Carolina in Revolutionary Times by A.J.H. Duganne appears in this Beadle's Dime Novel (No. 42). The narrative opens in June 1776 Charleston with the wedding of Louise Arnoult to her cousin Ernest Rivière at the mansion of merchant John Rivière. Among the aristocratic colonial guests, the discarded suitor Robert Atnee plots with his friend Yancey, both Tory sympathizers conspiring against the patriot family. The ceremony is interrupted by cannon fire—the outbreak of the American Revolution. Ernest receives orders from Colonel Moultrie to defend Sullivan's Island; Louise releases him to his country's service. The second chapter introduces Moultrie and the volunteers fortifying Sullivan's Island against the approaching British fleet. The serial romantic and political drama involving divided loyalties, war, and family conflict continues across chapters.