What do you think?
Rate this book
Georgia Trilogy #1
Bright Captivity
They met in the final days of the War of 1812. Anne Couper, daughter of a prominent planter, led a sheltered life on Georgia's St. Simons Island, dreaming a young woman's dreams of love with a romantic stranger. Then one day her handsome stranger arrived: John Fraser, a charming British lieutenant who captured her heart and soul.
960 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1991
82 people are currently reading
976 people want to read
About the author
Eugenia Price
85 books230 followersEugenia Price was born in Charleston, WV, June 22, 1916, to Walter (a dentist) and Anna Price. At the age of ten, she decided she wanted to be a writer and entered a poem in her school's literary magazine. She was raised as a member of the Methodist Church, but had left the church behind by the time she graduated from high school, at the age of 15, in 1932. She decided to leave writing behind to follow in her father's footsteps and pursue a career in dentistry. She attended Ohio University for three years, declaring herself an atheist during this time. In 1935, she became a student at Northwestern Dental School, the only woman admitted that year. She studied dentistry for two years, but writing continued to draw her. In 1939, she was hired to work on the NBC radio serial In Care of Aggie Horn. She continued as one of the writers for the show until 1942. She left NBC, going to work for the Proctor and Gamble show Joyce Jordan, M.D. from 1944-1946. In 1945 she founded her own television and radio production company, Eugenia Price Productions, developing other serials for Proctor and Gamble.
In 1949 Eugenia Price underwent a profound life change, giving up her college atheism to embrace Christianity. She considered a career change, but accepted a position with WGN Radio as writer, producer, and director for Unshackled, another radio serial. The popularity of the show led her to a lecturing career throughout the United States and Canada for several years.
Price began yet another career in the early 1950s when she was approached by one of the owners of Zondervan publishing. The 1953 publication of Discoveries Made from Living My New Life, a chronicle of her newfound faith and the experiences that led her to it, launched Eugenia Price into a new career as an inspirational writer. Other inspirational books followed, addresses issues of importance to women and children and other self-help concerns and urging readers away from advances in psychology and analysis and toward a life based on Biblical tenants. Many of her inspirational books are still in print, a testimony to the comfort and empathy many readers found in her works.
Eugenia Price gained a much wider audience though when she began publishing historical romances set in the American South. These novels were praised as "compelling sagas that blend personal stories of love and tragedy. . . with the dramatic events of a region's history." Her first historical romance, The Beloved Invader, was inspired her visit to Saint Simons Island, Georgia and based on one of the island's nineteenth-century inhabitants. The Beloved Invader was published in 1965 and followed by two other romances, New Moon Rising (1969) and Lighthouse (1971), to form the St. Simons Trilogy.
Her historical romances made Price a frequent member of the best-seller lists and brought her millions of readers. Although she continued to write and to publish inspirational works, it was her romances that brought her the greatest attention.
Eugenia Price died May 28, 1996, in Brunswick, Georgia of congestive heart failure and is buried in the Christ Church cemetery, Frederica, GA. Many of her books remain in print and have translated into 17 languages, charming readers of all ages and nationalities. Her manuscripts are housed at Boston University.
In 1949 Eugenia Price underwent a profound life change, giving up her college atheism to embrace Christianity. She considered a career change, but accepted a position with WGN Radio as writer, producer, and director for Unshackled, another radio serial. The popularity of the show led her to a lecturing career throughout the United States and Canada for several years.
Price began yet another career in the early 1950s when she was approached by one of the owners of Zondervan publishing. The 1953 publication of Discoveries Made from Living My New Life, a chronicle of her newfound faith and the experiences that led her to it, launched Eugenia Price into a new career as an inspirational writer. Other inspirational books followed, addresses issues of importance to women and children and other self-help concerns and urging readers away from advances in psychology and analysis and toward a life based on Biblical tenants. Many of her inspirational books are still in print, a testimony to the comfort and empathy many readers found in her works.
Eugenia Price gained a much wider audience though when she began publishing historical romances set in the American South. These novels were praised as "compelling sagas that blend personal stories of love and tragedy. . . with the dramatic events of a region's history." Her first historical romance, The Beloved Invader, was inspired her visit to Saint Simons Island, Georgia and based on one of the island's nineteenth-century inhabitants. The Beloved Invader was published in 1965 and followed by two other romances, New Moon Rising (1969) and Lighthouse (1971), to form the St. Simons Trilogy.
Her historical romances made Price a frequent member of the best-seller lists and brought her millions of readers. Although she continued to write and to publish inspirational works, it was her romances that brought her the greatest attention.
Eugenia Price died May 28, 1996, in Brunswick, Georgia of congestive heart failure and is buried in the Christ Church cemetery, Frederica, GA. Many of her books remain in print and have translated into 17 languages, charming readers of all ages and nationalities. Her manuscripts are housed at Boston University.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
April 12, 2020
EDIT: Tried it. Didn't like it. Boring, preachy, & overloaded with As You Know, Bob. 😶 Sorry, Grandma.
....
Original review:
So I was helping my father clean out the garage & found this trilogy buried in a box of random crap. I guess I've had it since the mid-90s? *shrug* My grandmother used to read Eugenia Price; she gave me Savannah & Stranger in Savannah (both of which I still have), but outside that quartet of novels I've had trouble liking EP, & I had maybe 6 others that went into the donate bag several years ago. This trilogy was one my grandma rec'd to me** because it didn't have as much 'preachy God stuff,' so I requested the whole thing in its entirety, but never got around to reading it.
...As 2020 is nearly upon us, it's probably time to see if it's worth keeping. :P
**Grandma also rec'd me Gone With the Wind (❤️), Jurassic Park (also loved), The Shell Seekers (eh), some random Danielle Steel book (made me lol), Carl Sagan (at least I enjoyed the space pics), & Jan Karon (zzzzzz). Clearly my grandma had a weird spread of reading tastes.
....
Original review:
So I was helping my father clean out the garage & found this trilogy buried in a box of random crap. I guess I've had it since the mid-90s? *shrug* My grandmother used to read Eugenia Price; she gave me Savannah & Stranger in Savannah (both of which I still have), but outside that quartet of novels I've had trouble liking EP, & I had maybe 6 others that went into the donate bag several years ago. This trilogy was one my grandma rec'd to me** because it didn't have as much 'preachy God stuff,' so I requested the whole thing in its entirety, but never got around to reading it.
...As 2020 is nearly upon us, it's probably time to see if it's worth keeping. :P
**Grandma also rec'd me Gone With the Wind (❤️), Jurassic Park (also loved), The Shell Seekers (eh), some random Danielle Steel book (made me lol), Carl Sagan (at least I enjoyed the space pics), & Jan Karon (zzzzzz). Clearly my grandma had a weird spread of reading tastes.
March 8, 2013
This book is a historical novel based on real people and real events. That is what grabbed my attention at first. The first book may be a bit slow in spots, but you must read the other two books in the trilogy to enjoy the whole story of this awesome family. I flew through the next two books because they were powerfully written and page turners. This family and their values will stay with you for a very long time when you are done reading their story.
August 28, 2012
I sincerely enjoy historical fiction, and no one writes it better than Eugenia Price. Her books are thoroughly researched through geneology, local historical records, family cemetery plots and experts. Bright Captivity is the first in the Georgia Trilogy. The settings of all her stories take place in the south, where she personally resided until her death. Ms. Price is a master at developing character and as a wordsmith.
This book begins toward the end of the War of 1812. The basic plot is that the plantation owner's daughter Anne, falls in love with a British lieutenant. His regiment invades St. Simons island to free the slaves. How both Anne and John Fraser grow personally and jointly, and how each wrestled with their personal convictions is the main focus of this saga. They had to struggle with where they would live: England, where John wanted to rejoin the military, or St. Simons, where Anne's father had offered him a section of land. Reading about their relationship of 200 years ago is syruppy by 21st century standards, but I'm sure it was normal at the time. Their marriage vows included the term, "I plight thee my troth." It was funny to me, only because Anne's vow was to "give thee my troth." She wondered why she would give, and John would plight. Maybe it was early attempts at gender equality!
Ms. Price takes liberty to get inside the head of a slave, a dangerous undertaking by today's politically correct environment, but all of her books have some slave owner sympathies. In this volume, Anne's father John Couper is a merciful and caring slave owner, who treats them well and values their contribution to his plantation. He trusts his people, and regards them as advisors. He strongly objects to a neighbor, who treats his slaves like expendable property.
I think I have read all of her books, and it's enjoyable to me as a reader to become reintroduced to characters I have met in her other books. Reading a novel is more pleasurable than poring over a stuffy textbook. I plan on re-reading the rest of this trilogy.
This book begins toward the end of the War of 1812. The basic plot is that the plantation owner's daughter Anne, falls in love with a British lieutenant. His regiment invades St. Simons island to free the slaves. How both Anne and John Fraser grow personally and jointly, and how each wrestled with their personal convictions is the main focus of this saga. They had to struggle with where they would live: England, where John wanted to rejoin the military, or St. Simons, where Anne's father had offered him a section of land. Reading about their relationship of 200 years ago is syruppy by 21st century standards, but I'm sure it was normal at the time. Their marriage vows included the term, "I plight thee my troth." It was funny to me, only because Anne's vow was to "give thee my troth." She wondered why she would give, and John would plight. Maybe it was early attempts at gender equality!
Ms. Price takes liberty to get inside the head of a slave, a dangerous undertaking by today's politically correct environment, but all of her books have some slave owner sympathies. In this volume, Anne's father John Couper is a merciful and caring slave owner, who treats them well and values their contribution to his plantation. He trusts his people, and regards them as advisors. He strongly objects to a neighbor, who treats his slaves like expendable property.
I think I have read all of her books, and it's enjoyable to me as a reader to become reintroduced to characters I have met in her other books. Reading a novel is more pleasurable than poring over a stuffy textbook. I plan on re-reading the rest of this trilogy.
July 28, 2011
LOVE Eugenia Price!!! I love her books about the deep south, especially St. Simons Island, as I lived there for so many years!! Highly recommended historical fiction!
January 18, 2008
It was ok, my mother asked me to read these books because she had taken a liking to them. Right off I knew it wouldn't be a trashy romance because my mother doesn't read anything but stories with a strong, historically accurate, typically southern plot. That is what this book was.
March 19, 2016
Beautifully written, very romantic historical novel based on the true story of the Coupers and Frasers of St. Simons Island. It begins during the War of 1812 when the British Royal Marines occupied the island and surrounding territory. That is how Anne Couper meets her handsome Lieutenant John Fraser, and it's love at first sight. The book takes them through the trials of being separated during the war and then his return to England, but eventually they are able to marry and begin their life together in London. There is a constant struggle because John wants to regain his commission in the Marines while Anne, of course, wants to return to live in Georgia. Lots of wonderful characters and much fascinating history! The author actually lived on St. Simons and extensively researched every person and event in the book. It was as enjoyable as reading someone's journal from the time. The only reason I didn't give it a full five stars was that I found Anne Couper Fraser quite annoying at times, but I suppose that's just the way people were back then! I still enjoyed the book very much.
April 10, 2011
I read Gone With the Wind right before this book which might have made this one pale in comparison. I enjoyed it, but somehow I couldn't lose myself in this story and get inside the characters. I was always aware that there was an author behind this generating the conversations and events, which is odd since this was based on real people and an actual timeline of events. I see a lot of potential in this story if it had just been better written. It bothered me how many times the title of the book popped up in the speech of multiple characters. I just didn't find a lot of the thoughts, feelings, motivations, and conversations to be realistic and believable. This resulted in the book feeling more like a shallow romance novel and less like a well-developed fictional telling of historical events and lives. Good book...not great but good enough that I'll read the rest of the series.
June 4, 2014
Great book enjoys every minute of it. One of my favorite books, read the review from above. The story line and plot was good. This took place during the slave days in south Georgia, good character description, great history, and has a good plot. If you like history, romance and a good story you must read this book. The author has since deceased but her great books are still alive.
December 1, 2007
This is the first volume of the Eugenia Prices's Georgia Trilogy, centering on a young woman who fell in love with a British soldier when he came to St. Simons Island to capture contraband property during the War of 1812. Based on a true story, it is inspiring and beautifully written.
Read
September 5, 2011I had never read anything by Eugenia Price. My sister has read all of her books and recommended this author. It was so wonderful that we ended up reading this book at the exact same time, even though we are separated by over 2,000 miles.
January 7, 2012
this was a good read. Became very interesting when i found out at the end it was base on a real family on St. Simons' Island GA. Went out and bought the other books. Interesting story. Author has written many different stories about the families on that island.
July 26, 2012
my favorite book of all time during high school (until i discovered christian authors like francine rivers and staci & john eldredge). great book about life in the south during the the late 1800 and early 1900s. :)
November 1, 2015
This book never gets old. The story of Anne and John Fraser grabbed me years ago when I first read their story. This series made me fall in love with St. Simons Island. It is truly one of the most beautiful places to visit.
May 7, 2009
Nice introduction to life in the barrier islands around the War of 1812 - since we were visiting Cumberland Is I wanted to read this trilogy.
January 11, 2010
This is a wonderful member of Eugenia Price's books about the coastal area of Georgia and it's development in the 1800's. I've read the whole series at the point and it is all wonderful.
July 16, 2010
Good, clean, historically accurate, well-written
September 4, 2023
I haven't read a Eugenia Price saga in a LO-O-NG time. I used to love them as a young girl(teen). For at least the first half of this book, I was exasperated at the juvenile, over dramatic characters. But towards the end I was surprisingly invested in what was going to happen. I still can't quite enjoy the drama, the way the author writes pages and pages about the characters' emotional thought lives... Not sure if I'll tackle the remaining books in the series or not.
April 30, 2013
The year is 1815 and Anne Couper is excited about her upcoming 18th birthday, convinced that something really good is going to happen. The location is St. Simon's Island, Georgia. She and her mother, brother, and best friend Anna Matilda attend a house party at another plantation on the island. The first night of the party, a group of Royal Marines capture the house and everyone in it in order to set up their base of operations. Among the leaders of the regiment is Lt. John Fraser. Not only does he capture the house, he captures Anne's heart. Over the next few weeks as the Marines are working to lure away plantation slaves, a romance develops between John and Anne. When word comes that a peace agreement has been reached, ending the War of 1812, the regiment withdraws. John finds a way to return and ultimately marries Anne. The book is the first in the trilogy about their relationship.
Re-read in 2013. I had forgotten that this series takes place on St. Simon's so it was a pleasant surprise to find a number of the same characters from Price's other trilogy mentioned - like contact with friends you haven't seen for a while. From reading the afterward, it is clear that Price did a great deal of research into the life and culture of southern plantation life as well as life in England during that period. It comes out in the writing so I really have a sense of the period. I'm looking forward to re-reading the other 2 books in this set.
Re-read in 2013. I had forgotten that this series takes place on St. Simon's so it was a pleasant surprise to find a number of the same characters from Price's other trilogy mentioned - like contact with friends you haven't seen for a while. From reading the afterward, it is clear that Price did a great deal of research into the life and culture of southern plantation life as well as life in England during that period. It comes out in the writing so I really have a sense of the period. I'm looking forward to re-reading the other 2 books in this set.
March 16, 2021
I have found with renewed vigor why Eugenia Price will always be my favorite historical fiction author. I treasure her 13 novels most among my collection of books which currently number 589. They will stay with me until my death. She was the best at creating wonderful characters that were real people. One of my highlights in life was visiting St Simons Island while in Savannah with my granddaughter. We saw the beautiful stained glass in Christ Church Frederica where Eugenia Price lies, as we visited her grave I was astounded to see all these stones and recognized them immediately as the characters in her wonderful novels. Not all but a number of them are buried there rest in peace Eugenia. You made them come alive for us.
September 17, 2017
Eugenia Price novels are rich, epic tales. They are based on real, historical people. Eugenia tells her version of their story. This is the story of Anne Couper and John Fraser. It begins in the final days of the War of 1812. John is a British lieutenant when they meet. About a year after they meet, they marry. John struggles with no longer being in the military. During their honeymoon, they spend time in London-John's home and travel into Scotland- the ancestral home of both.
November 28, 2010
I thought this was just OK. I ended up skimming a bunch of pages. I found the main female character, Anne, rather annoying. That's probably just my 21st sensibilities, though. It's pretty cool that the book is based on real people.
September 28, 2009
A real page turner.
July 17, 2015
She brought the history of Georgia alive....spellbounding
Read
September 14, 2024No rating because I DNF. I made it to page 60 and then jumped to read the last 20 pages or so to see if the ending would justify persevering, but it did not.
I did try to read it. Eugenia Price is an author my mother enjoyed very much and I read at least one of her books when I was a teen. I wanted to enjoy the book, but the writing was so leaden, repetitious, and detached I didn't want to continue. It is written in a more or less shifting limited 3rd person POV. The reader is supposed to identify with the character, I think, because we get long paragraphs of Anne's thoughts and feelings. But the POV isn't deep enough to truly identify with her and her thoughts go round and round like a hamster on a wheel. I don't think this was intentional on the author's part. I felt like I was being repeatedly hit in the face with a blatant statement of HEROINE FEELS EXCITED, rather than seeing it through her actions and words and physical sensations. All this exposition on feelings stretched out the plot events over so many pages that it felt dreadfully slow-paced. And Anne's motivations shifted with the wind. For almost 50 pages, the narration kept saying she was certain something grand was going to happen, but there was no reason she felt that way. Nothing in her circumstances or the backstory would have provided such a certainty, and Price never convinced me that Anne was a person who was prone to foresight. When the hero finally made his appearance, Anne was instantly enthralled, but for absolutely no discernible reason. That was about the time I gave up.
I was disappointed because the book had the potential to be both thought-provoking and interesting. The setting--southern coastal Georgia at the end of the War of 1812--provided potential for fascinating explorations of the growing stability of the young United States amid the complexities of slavery that were undermining the Republic at the same time. The prologue, featuring an illegal shipment of slaves from Africa and Anne's father's uneasy conscience over both breaking the law and his enmeshment in the system of slavery, made me deeply uncomfortable in a very good way. It stirred consideration of how our contemporary economic and political systems also enmesh us in insoluble ethical quandaries that we can't figure out how to get out of. And I appreciated the reminder that the issue of slavery was not as simple as it often appears to us in hindsight. As someone recently said to me about something else, "The simple answers aren't true and the true answers aren't simple." This isn't to dismiss the very great evil of slavery. In an ethically perfect world, slavery would have been abolished at the founding of the Republic. But the real world is messy and broken and full of complicated, contradictory people trying to navigate through it. If this book had wrestled with those things in any depth, it would have been a very good book indeed. But it didn't. The dull and saccharine romance that it provided instead was clearly going to be a waste of time. Onto the discard pile it goes...
I did try to read it. Eugenia Price is an author my mother enjoyed very much and I read at least one of her books when I was a teen. I wanted to enjoy the book, but the writing was so leaden, repetitious, and detached I didn't want to continue. It is written in a more or less shifting limited 3rd person POV. The reader is supposed to identify with the character, I think, because we get long paragraphs of Anne's thoughts and feelings. But the POV isn't deep enough to truly identify with her and her thoughts go round and round like a hamster on a wheel. I don't think this was intentional on the author's part. I felt like I was being repeatedly hit in the face with a blatant statement of HEROINE FEELS EXCITED, rather than seeing it through her actions and words and physical sensations. All this exposition on feelings stretched out the plot events over so many pages that it felt dreadfully slow-paced. And Anne's motivations shifted with the wind. For almost 50 pages, the narration kept saying she was certain something grand was going to happen, but there was no reason she felt that way. Nothing in her circumstances or the backstory would have provided such a certainty, and Price never convinced me that Anne was a person who was prone to foresight. When the hero finally made his appearance, Anne was instantly enthralled, but for absolutely no discernible reason. That was about the time I gave up.
I was disappointed because the book had the potential to be both thought-provoking and interesting. The setting--southern coastal Georgia at the end of the War of 1812--provided potential for fascinating explorations of the growing stability of the young United States amid the complexities of slavery that were undermining the Republic at the same time. The prologue, featuring an illegal shipment of slaves from Africa and Anne's father's uneasy conscience over both breaking the law and his enmeshment in the system of slavery, made me deeply uncomfortable in a very good way. It stirred consideration of how our contemporary economic and political systems also enmesh us in insoluble ethical quandaries that we can't figure out how to get out of. And I appreciated the reminder that the issue of slavery was not as simple as it often appears to us in hindsight. As someone recently said to me about something else, "The simple answers aren't true and the true answers aren't simple." This isn't to dismiss the very great evil of slavery. In an ethically perfect world, slavery would have been abolished at the founding of the Republic. But the real world is messy and broken and full of complicated, contradictory people trying to navigate through it. If this book had wrestled with those things in any depth, it would have been a very good book indeed. But it didn't. The dull and saccharine romance that it provided instead was clearly going to be a waste of time. Onto the discard pile it goes...
July 30, 2025
Started while in St Simon’s and finished via library book from home. This book took a whole bunch of pages to not get anywhere. The only thing that kept me going was that each of the characters are real people, and offered an interesting perspective of a plantation owner on slavery - but still very much glossed over the evils and wickedness of slavery itself.
The main characters are maddening.
The slave owner and his family refuse to call them slaves (“our people” is preferred) and “wrestles” with the fact he owns them, but still buys more every year and calls it a “necessary evil.” Also, despite the fact that multiple slaves are featured and it’s explained that the family taught them English and reading/writing, the author insists on using misspellings, incorrect words, and mispronunciations for the slaves’ speech and writing. If you, a well-educated white person, taught a slave to speak, read, and write English.. wouldn’t you have taught them correctly too? The only answer is the author’s view of slaves as less intelligent and incapable of understanding or using the right words and spellings after learning them. This is also despite her explanation in the postscript that the two black people she knows gave her permission to write from a slave’s perspective.
I cringed the entire time.
All in all, 1/5 stars for historical accuracy but a lot of yike and getting nowhere.
The main characters are maddening.
The slave owner and his family refuse to call them slaves (“our people” is preferred) and “wrestles” with the fact he owns them, but still buys more every year and calls it a “necessary evil.” Also, despite the fact that multiple slaves are featured and it’s explained that the family taught them English and reading/writing, the author insists on using misspellings, incorrect words, and mispronunciations for the slaves’ speech and writing. If you, a well-educated white person, taught a slave to speak, read, and write English.. wouldn’t you have taught them correctly too? The only answer is the author’s view of slaves as less intelligent and incapable of understanding or using the right words and spellings after learning them. This is also despite her explanation in the postscript that the two black people she knows gave her permission to write from a slave’s perspective.
I cringed the entire time.
All in all, 1/5 stars for historical accuracy but a lot of yike and getting nowhere.
June 22, 2025
A friend reads books by this author quite frequently and recommended this book to me. This is a story that takes place in the 1800s near the end of the War of 1812. Anna Couper is the teenaged daughter of plantation owners who live on St. Simons Island in Georgia. The British invade the southern US and a young British officer takes the plantation captive, and Anne and Lieutenant John Fraser fall for each other. After long walks and dinners they decide to stay in touch and a year later he returns. They marry, but his love for British Royal Marines and that career interferes with her plans to continue life at St. Simmons. Her father makes a gift of a small house and plantation to them in hopes that they will settle there. John continues to seek reassignment, but with peace with Britain, this does not happen to him. Still, he continues with this hope for his career. He talks with his Father, a wine merchant in London and they move there for a time to work in the business. John still checks on his reenlistment, much to Anna’s dismay.
The couple travel with a cousin to Scotland and there John realizes his selfishness and decides to move his family to St Simons after all.
This is almost a Hallmark story ending!
It is a story of 700 pages.
The couple travel with a cousin to Scotland and there John realizes his selfishness and decides to move his family to St Simons after all.
This is almost a Hallmark story ending!
It is a story of 700 pages.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
September 17, 2019Excellent book. Historical fiction at its best. Price delivers details that carries readers to every site she describes in her story, whether it is St. Simon Island or the hills of Scotland. I am looking forward to reading the next two books in this trilogy. This long book carried me to the days of the the American Revolution and kept me there for too short a time.
September 1, 2025
Loved everything about this book. From the setting and characters to the plot, climax, and ending. Great book as a whole. I'm also excited to have found a new author to love and delve into the works of
May 5, 2017
I love historical fiction. This book was pretty good; it is certainly well written, but there is just a bit too much romance and angst in it for me.
June 22, 2018
Boring, redundant drawn out. Although, historical facts were interesting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews