In this Book
- The Cigar Factory: A Novel of Charleston
- Book
- 2016
- Published by: University of South Carolina Press
- Series: Story River Books
An empowering story of families and friendships forged through struggle, loss, and redemption
"The sun leaned for down bringing shade to the waterfront," begins Michele Moore's entrancing debut novel, harkening back to an era when the legendary fishermen of Charleston's Mosquito Fleet rowed miles offshore for their daily catch. With evocative dialect and remarkable prose, The Cigar Factory tells the story of two entwined families, both devout Catholics—the white McGonegals and the African American Ravenels—in the storied port city of Charleston, South Carolina, during the World Wars. Moore's novel follows the parallel lives of family matriarchs working on segregated floors of the massive Charleston cigar factory, where white and black workers remain divided and misinformed about the duties and treatment received by each other.
Cassie McGonegal and herniece Brigid work upstairs in the factory rolling cigars by hand. Meliah Amey Ravenel works in the basement, where she stems the tobacco. While both white and black workers suffer in the harsh working conditions of the factory and both endure the sexual harassment of the foremen, segregation keeps them from recognizing their common plight until the Tobacco Workers Strike of 1945. Through the experience of a brutal picket line, the two women come to realize how much they stand to gain by joining forces, creating a powerful moment in labor history that gives rise to the Civil Rights anthem, "We Shall Overcome."
Moore's extensive historical research included interviews with her own family members who worked at the cigar factory, adding a layer of nuance and authenticity to her empowering story of families and friendships forged through struggle, loss, and redemption. The Cigar Factory includes a foreword by New York Times best-selling author and Story River Books editor at large Pat Conroy.
Table of Contents
- A Note on the Language
- pp. xvii-xviii
- Part I: 1917: Charleston, South Carolina
- Chapter 10
- pp. 56-60
- Chapter 11
- pp. 60-75
- Chapter 12
- pp. 67-70
- Chapter 13
- pp. 71-77
- Chapter 14
- pp. 77-82
- Part II: 1923–1924
- Chapter 15
- pp. 85-91
- Chapter 16
- pp. 91-99
- Chapter 17
- pp. 99-107
- Chapter 18
- pp. 107-116
- Chapter 19
- pp. 116-120
- Chapter 20
- pp. 120-124
- Part III: 1929–1933
- Chapter 21
- pp. 127-131
- Chapter 22
- pp. 131-134
- Chapter 23
- pp. 134-139
- Chapter 24
- pp. 139-141
- Chapter 25
- pp. 141-148
- Chapter 26
- pp. 148-151
- Chapter 27
- pp. 151-154
- Chapter 28
- pp. 154-161
- Chapter 29
- pp. 161-166
- Part IV: 1934–1940
- Chapter 30
- pp. 169-174
- Chapter 31
- pp. 175-177
- Chapter 32
- pp. 178-181
- Chapter 33
- pp. 181-190
- Chapter 34
- pp. 190-196
- Chapter 35
- pp. 196-199
- Chapter 36
- pp. 199-201
- Chapter 37
- pp. 201-205
- Part V: 1941–1946
- Chapter 38
- pp. 209-212
- Chapter 39
- pp. 212-215
- Chapter 40
- pp. 215-218
- Chapter 41
- pp. 219-220
- Chapter 42
- pp. 220-226
- Chapter 43
- pp. 226-232
- Chapter 44
- pp. 232-235
- Chapter 45
- pp. 235-238
- Chapter 46
- pp. 239-244
- Chapter 47
- pp. 244-249
- Chapter 48
- pp. 249-253
- Chapter 49
- pp. 253-256
- Chapter 50
- pp. 256-262
- Chapter 51
- pp. 262-264
- Chapter 52
- pp. 264-268
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 308-311