Title
Dearest Hugh: The Courtship Letters of Gabrielle Drake and Hugh Mccoll, 1900 1901 (WOMEN'S DIARIES AND LETTERS OF THE SOUTH),Used
Sold by Ergodebooks, an authorized reseller.
Returns accepted within 30 days | support@ergodebooks.com
Shipping Information
- Free Standard Shipping — United States only
- Processing Time: 1–3 business days
- Estimated Delivery: 3–5 business days after dispatch
- Double-boxed, fully insured & discreetly packaged
- Tracking number sent via email once dispatched
- Orders over $250 require signature upon delivery. Taxes calculated at checkout.
Returns & Refund
Returns accepted within 30 days of delivery.
Damaged or Defective Item
Free return shipping + replacement or full refund
Wrong Item Received
Free return shipping + replacement or full refund
Change of Mind
Return shipping at customer's expense · 25% restocking fee applies
Payment Option
Dearest Hugh offers a window into courtship during the early twentieth century through a collection of some three hundred love letters exchanged between Gabrielle Drake and Hugh McColl from 1900 to 1901. Edited by Suzanne Cameron Linder Hurley, this correspondence illustrates the hopes and sacrifices of an upperclass couple forging a marriage in a small southern town.A resident of Bennettsville, South Carolina, Hugh McColl enjoyed the social status that came with being the son of the president of the Bank of Marlboro. Hugh was twentyseven and worked as a bank cashier at the time he began courting Gabrielle Drake in 1900. She was the daughter of James A. Drake, the clerk of court for Marlboro County, and was also a new graduate of Converse College, teaching at Bennettsville Graded School. The couple became engaged in May of 1901 and wed that November.Although most of their courting visits were chaperoned, Hugh and Gabrielle could speak more freely in their correspondence and exchanged notesoften two or three a daydetailing their private emotions, desires, and anxieties. The letters address equality within the relationship, Gabrielle's career, choosing and furnishing a home, and allocation of household chores. Hugh's letters are earnest, sincere, affectionate, and sometimes suggestive. His devotion to business and community is clear, as is his concern over being able to provide for a family. Gabrielle's writings are coquettish and playful, but she also anguishes over choosing between a career and a spouse. The attitudes expressed by both Hugh and Gabrielle also speak to the ambitious drive and communityminded dedication the McColls would later instill in their family, including grandson Hugh McColl, the former president and CEO of Bank of America.Hurley's insightful introduction places the correspondence into the broader context of recent scholarship on courtship rituals and the changing educational and social status for women during this time in American life.
⚠️ WARNING (California Proposition 65):
This product may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.
For more information, please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.