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History

South Carolina from A to Z

"C" is for Conroy, Donald Patrick (1945-2016)

By Walter Edgar

Published November 30, 2018 at 5:32 AM EST

'C" is for Conroy, Donald Patrick (1945-2016). Author. A military brat, Conroy came to South Carolina in 1961 where he attended Beaufort High School. A 1967 graduate of The Citadel, he taught in the Beaufort County schools—most notably an elementary school on Daufuskie Island. That experience became the basis for an autobiographical novel, The Water Is Wide. Turning to writing full time, Conroy produced four more novels inspired in large measure by his formative and young adult years: The Great Santini; Lords of Discipline; Prince of Tides; and Beach Music. Each became a national best seller and together they established him as one of the nation’s most popular writers. A consummate storyteller, in his novels, Pat Conroy related tales of family conflict, racism, and coming of age—all against the backdrop of the South Carolina lowcountry.

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South Carolina from A to Z history sc history culture Walter Edgar scetv.org

Walter Edgar

Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.

See stories by Walter Edgar