Frontlist | Local author publishes his 18th book : CHARLES TOWN

Frontlist | Local author publishes his 18th book : CHARLES TOWN
on Jan 11, 2021

CHARLES TOWN — Nationally recognized author Bob O’Connor, who lives in Charles Town, has just released his 18th book – “Catesby The Final Chapter”. This historical novel is the third book in the Catesby trilogy – following “Catesby Eyewitness to the Civil War” and “The Return of Catesby”. Catesby is a real man who was both a slave and a blacksmith at Beall-Air, the plantation owned by Colonel Lewis Washington, great grand nephew of George Washington. Beall-Air is just east of Charles Town and is a gated community. Colonel Washington’s home still stands on the property. Colonel Washington, Catesby, and several other of the Beall-Air slaves had been captured by John Brown in the raid of October 1859. The first Catesby book followed him through the American Civil War. The second book saw his return to Harpers Ferry where he was a teacher at Storer College. The Final Chapter tells the rest of the story, starting with an explanation of what happened following Catesby’s tragic fall from the train bridge. Catesby is author Bob O’Connor’s favorite local character. “Catesby overcame so much to make the progress he did, including being born a slave, having a badly injured leg that caused him to limp, being captured as a United States Colored Troops blacksmith and incarcerated in the famed Andersonville Prison. To end up owning his own blacksmith shop, becoming a teacher, and writing for several local publications were just some of his accomplishments. He is a fascinating man.” The long-awaited conclusion to Catesby’s saga has caused quite a commotion with O’Connor’s readers. The author admitted that, “Barely a day goes by when someone doesn’t ask, ‘When’s the final Catesby book going to come out?’ Now it’s finally out.”