Category Archives: Baily, Waldron

Waldron Baily. June Gold. New York: W. J. Watt & Co., 1922.

It’s rare to find a novel about the illegal liquor trade in North Carolina that isn’t set in the mountains. This is that rare novel. It’s a prohibition era romance set around Bogue Banks. When one of their friends is blinded by bad liquor, a group of New York financiers decided to use a hunting preserve on Bogue Banks as a way station for their rum running. Lora Humphrey falls for one of the New Yorkers and spurns the attentions of a local coast guards man. Her jilted suitor seeks revenge by mobilizing the religious folks in the area against the liquor trade. When Lora takes her New Yorker to a revival they are singled out for condemnation; a well-described brawl ensues. As the locals start taking sides, Lora occupies herself helping a minister’s daughter and searching for long-buried treasure. All the plot lines come together in the end; along the way, the reader gets a good sense of the local geography.

Check this title’s availability and access an online copy through the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

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Filed under 1920-1929, 1922, Baily, Waldron, Carteret, Coast, Novels to Read Online, Onslow, Romance/Relationship

Waldron Baily. The Homeward Trail. New York: W. J. Watt & Co., 1916.

David Simmons and Ruth Swaim were childhood playmates, growing up on adjacent farms by the Yadkin River. Their parents assumed that the young people would some day wed, but when David bungles a sale of Mr. Swaim’s apples, he leaves the area. David’s plan is to earn the money to repay Mr. Swaim. Thus begin a picaresque tale in which David encounters an escaped Union prisoner and an Indian princess. David enjoys his time among the Croatan Indians (Lumbees) and comes to love the Princess Elizabeth. That in itself is a complicated situation, but the plot thickens when the Union soldier turns up where Ruth is staying and tells her about David’s new love. Ruth goes to David, and overhears David confess to Elizabeth his prior relationship with Ruth. Ruth and David recognize that their future is together, but leaving the Croatan settlement proves difficult.

Check this title’s availability and access an online copy through the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

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Filed under 1910-1919, 1916, Baily, Waldron, Novels to Read Online, Piedmont

Waldron Baily. When the Cock Crows. New York: Bedford Publishing, 1918.

Beaufort fisherman Ichabod Jones attempts to rescue New York socialite Ethel Marion from a nefarious opium-crazed doctor who has kidnapped her. While tracking down Miss Marion and her kidnapper, Captain Jones is reunited with an old love. Captain Jones’ pet rooster, Shrimp, is delightful addition to the plot.

Check this title’s availability and access an online copy through the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

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Filed under 1910-1919, 1918, Baily, Waldron, Carteret, Coast, Novels to Read Online

Waldron Baily. Heart of the Blue Ridge. New York: W. J. Watt & Co., 1915.

Making moonshine is part of the mountain culture in this novel set in Wilkes County. Zeke Higgins made the mistake of helping a revenue agent, earning the wrath of many people, including Dick Siddon, the guardian of Zeke’s sweetheart, Plutina. Zeke leaves the mountains to make his fortune, a journey that takes him to Greensboro, the Dismal Swamp, Norfolk, and New York. Back in the mountains, old Dick Siddon has a change of heart, but not before Plutina is kidnapped by a dangerous criminal. Zeke, and his dog, return to save the day.

Check this title’s availability and access an online copy through the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

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Filed under 1910-1919, 1915, Baily, Waldron, Mountains, Novels to Read Online, Wilkes