'Our Man in Charleston' follows a Civil War 'spy in plain sight'
Go back in American history and you鈥檒l find a scorpion tongue flicking at the foibles of the powerful. Just like today鈥檚 master political satirists, this young man draws heat from a cauldron of wit, passion, and righteous anger. But his audience is tiny, his opinions are secret,and his life is on the line. His name is Robert Bunch, and he鈥檚 a British diplomat embedded in South Carolina as the Civil War looms.
A spy in plain sight, Bunch spends his days and nights with the Southerners he despises. One moment, he鈥檚 glad-handing the Charleston swells and trying to convince them to trust him. Another moment, he鈥檚 mocking the slavery-loving 鈥淔ire Eaters鈥� in secret missives to London and plotting how he can help destroy slavery once and for all.
Maneuver, manipulate, report. And then repeat. Bunch is good at all three essential diplomatic skills, but he鈥檚 playing a dangerous game in a dangerous time. As war comes closer, Bunch鈥檚 big mouth could place him in danger. Will his dedication to the demise of slavery cost him his life, bring the UK into the war or both?
The answers await in Our Man in Charleston: Britain's Secret Agent in the Civil War South, a fascinating page-turner that takes on special relevance as South Carolina fills our thoughts in the summer of 2015. Author Christopher Dickey, son of poet James Dickey, brings life to a feverish Southern city, an un-united nation of states, and the 鈥渓ively and indiscreet, indefatigable and thoroughly British鈥� man in the middle.
Bunch鈥檚 job in 1850s and 1860s Charleston is to represent British interests and the British people. As one of only two full-time consuls for the UK in the US, he spends much of his time making sure that ships can engage in shipping. His country, after all, relies hugely on slave-picked Southern cotton to keep its textile mills running, putting it in an awkward position despite its 鈥渄eep British loathing鈥� of human bondage.
Even more than some of his bosses, Bunch hates slavery and the banned-for-now slave trade. But here he is, living in the hottest of secessionist hotbeds, a state devoted more than any other to making the federal government heel. To make matters worse, he has to charm a wealthy upper class devoted to the cultivation of refined leisure on the backs of slaves.
Bunch 鈥渨as deeply disturbed by the mixture of arrogance and fear, cruelty and luxury, piety and hypocrisy that were so deeply ingrained in Southern culture,鈥� Dickey writes. Like a 19th-century version of Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert, however, Bunch tries to observe it all with what Dickey calls 鈥渄etached irony.鈥�
The most enjoyable parts of "Our Man in Charleston" are the letters from Bunch, who鈥檚 a blend of drama queen (he fears 鈥渁lmost certain death鈥� in a pestilent Charleston summer) and catty commentator on current events. But also like today鈥檚 Stewart and Colbert, his bitterness sometimes shines through his jibes. His anger even replaces sarcasm entirely when he鈥檚 especially frustrated: 鈥淚 hate the US and am most anxious to get away.鈥�
Dickey, the author, is a veteran foreign correspondent and brings helpful perspective about international intrigue to the book. He clearly understands the dance of diplomacy that evolves day by day as personalities and priorities change. 聽
Charleston is a character in itself, one that will sound familiar to readers who鈥檝e never been there but followed last month鈥檚 events. Rebel slave leader Denmark Vesey, the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Meeting Street all make appearances, bringing the story home in a way the author could have never anticipated.
The story of Bunch鈥檚 ultimate fate won鈥檛 be spoiled here. But we do know what happened next in South Carolina: defeat, disgrace, and never-ending bloody efforts to turn back time.
Sadly, Bunch would recognize more than the landmarks today in the refined but troubled city he reluctantly called home, even in a state with a black US senator (the first to represent the South since Reconstruction), and the nation鈥檚 first Indian-American female governor.
Then again, he harbors a 鈥渟neaking kindness for our American off-shoot,鈥� a place with a 鈥渟ubstratum of conservative common sense鈥� lurking under 鈥渢he fantastic folly of the masses.鈥� From a larger perspective, he believes, the nation is 鈥渇ull of faults鈥� but 鈥渉as much to do yet for the good of mankind.鈥�
His brand of faith, the product of a man choosing hope over the despair within, shines bright in the words he left behind.
