It was the 1940's, a year before Pearl Harbor.

It was a year that altered the lives of the citizens of Madison, S.C.

Mary Kinard and Frances Jackson bring us back to the eventful years in the forties when war was brewing in the world, and so were the lives of the Mad-ison people in a new book aptly titled Remem-ber the Year.

Who ever said small town life was humdrum?

James Merritt, a bank president in Madison, S.C., is faced with the apparent embezzlement of bearer bonds by a trusted employee.

His wife Elizabeth and their son edward and daughters Dabney and jane find their lives altered by the aftermath of Pearl Harbor.

The Episcopal rector, Charles Gaillard, unhappily married, becomes involved with Barbara Walker, a New Yorker temporarily living in Madison.

Vidalia, the Merritts' cook, is surprised by the return of her husband Eli, who fled after killing a man 20 years ago.

Elmore Stokes, wrongly suspected of embezzlement, leaves Madison for a chance at happiness by marrying Allie Cummings and escaping from his domineering mother.

It was a year that changed their lives forever.

The authors blend historical fact, family experiences, and fiction in their book having lived in the South in the 1940s.

A historical novel, Remember the Year is a nostalgic read with vivid descriptions that completely transport the reader to this unforgettable year.

Both authors became South Carolinians by marriage but now consider themselves natives having lived there for many years now.

Mary, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and retired librarian, is from Fayette, Ala.

Frances, a graduate of Bryn Mawr and French teacher until her retirement, grew up in New York.

Friends and neighbors for over 30 years, Mary Kinard and Frances Jackson are co-authors of another historical novel, A Silence After Trumpets: The Story of Sarah Buchanan Preston, which grew out of their work as docents for Historic Columbia.

("Remember the Year" by Mary Kinard and Frances Jackson. Publication Date: Oct. 16, 2003, by Xlibris Corporation, Philadelphia, a strategic partner of Random House Ventures, LLC.)