Annie and the Prince of Wales

Annie and the Prince of Wales April 30

Duane Robert Pierson will be at the Camden Public Library on Tuesday, April 30, at 7:00 pm to talk about his new book, Annie and the Prince of Wales: Portland 1860. Pierson is a poet as well as the author of Annie, a historical novel about the visit to Maine of the future King of England. Pierson’s talk is part of Maritime Month at the Camden Public Library.

Pierson is a frequent speaker at the Portland Public Library, and Rachael Weyand, Portland’s program director, is very enthusiastic about his talks. “In the telling of this captivating story,” she says, “Pierson uncovers details about Portland’s past that he has obviously brought to light through hours of historical research. I think you’ll really enjoy the talk!” The Prince of Wales comes to Portland, Maine, as does the British fleet, on the eve of our Civil War. There is a magnificent ball for the officers; a thousand militiamen escort the Prince down Congress Street to the harbor. Thousands of visitors come to the peninsula to see it all. Annie Murphy and Addie Harman fall in love and meet their future husbands.

“Duane Pierson’s fascinating historical novel, Annie and the Prince of Wales, reveals a Portland I would never have imagined,” says Bill Lundgren of Longfellow Books in Portland, “a place of great strategic importance where many of the forces shaping the still-developing United States come together in the events at the heart of this wonderfully entertaining book.

“The Annie of our title is a farmer’s daughter that Pierson describes with a great fondness. But the main character of this novel is the city of Portland and it is rendered in exquisite historical detail. It is October 1860 and in two weeks the nation will elect Abraham Lincoln as President, precipitating the steps leading up to the Civil War. The young country is also in the throes of one of its periodic eruptions of religious fervor, this time known as the Second Great Religious Awakening. Amidst all these tensions and social dynamics the future king of England, the Prince of Wales, arrives in Portland accompanied by the British fleet on the final leg of a 90-day tour of North America.”

Duane Robert Pierson’s education began in a one-room school, with one teacher, nine grades, no electricity, no indoor plumbing. Possessing a desire to play big time football and inflicted with romantic notions about the Old South (long exorcised), the poet graduated from University of Alabama majoring in history and biology. He later received Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Cornell University.