Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Tales of Edisto

Rate this book
An account of Edisto Island, SC.

166 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

Loading...
Loading...

About the author

Nell S. Graydon

18 books1 follower

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
14 (32%)
4 stars
15 (34%)
3 stars
12 (27%)
2 stars
2 (4%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
108 reviews
October 12, 2020
Oh Edisto!

The tales of Edisto could continue on and on. My childhood memories of Edisto are cherished and I love that the island has maintained the same lowcountry pause it is known for. After reading this book, I have a new list of places to visit there. Learning new things about Edisto`s history makes it even more cherished. Edisto will always have a piece of my heart, thanks to the author for writing this book.
1 review
June 3, 2023
This book was informative in terms of providing historical background on the island, but was hard to read due to the author's glorification of the antebellum period and assertions that slaves were happy and well-treated. I thought the 1986 epilogue would address this, but no, it just talked about the more recent development of the island.
183 reviews
November 1, 2020
Good book of the history of Edisto Beach, SC. We spent a week there in a beach front cabin in 2019 so I was interested it it's history. Very interesting book.
Profile Image for Molly Vaughan.
106 reviews
June 30, 2025
An absolute treasure. Learned many new facts and Southern customs. Was reminded of some I had forgotten.
Profile Image for Theresahpir.
61 reviews3 followers
July 18, 2015
I'm not familiar with the Edisto area of South Carolina, but I picked this book up from a local used bookstore for its liberal sprinkling of ghostly tales and legends. As a paranormal investigator, researcher, and blogger, I'm always interested in regional tales from throughout the United States. As an added bonus, I'll be visiting nearby Charleston, South Carolina soon and thought this collection of history, anecdotes, and even recipes from this southern island would get me pumped up for the trip!

Obviously, I was a big fan of the ghost stories, but I enjoyed the rest of the book way more than I imagined I would. Even without a prior knowledge of the geography or history of the area, I found the stories and family bios pretty fascinating. However, several parts of the book were a little dry and the overall organization of the stories and topics left much to be desired.

Another somewhat intriguing aspect of this book was that it was originally published in 1955. Although my copy was the edition released in 1986, little (if any) of the original text was altered. Therefore, it contains quite a bit of language that isn't really considered as PC as modern readers might be used to. If you can look past that, it really is a neat collection of stories and a unique glimpse into early life on the island.
Profile Image for Thomas.
125 reviews9 followers
October 11, 2014
Quite a hodgepodge of stories, including some transliterated Gullah and ghost stories and recipes.

Somewhat interesting if you know much about the geography of the island.

Romanticizes the "negroes" and plantations in much the way a book written in the Carolinas in 1955 ("revised" in 1986) would.
22 reviews
August 15, 2010
Great book. It was really cool to read about history on the island and then to see alot of the places it discussed.
489 reviews
August 19, 2015
I enjoyed this book and hope to visit the island someday
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews