The Fennel Family Papers

The greenhorn history professor wants to make his mark, not to mention earn tenure. As if by divine providence, one of his not-so-outstanding students turns out to come from a family whose copious records just might lead to the next great revision of Civil War history. Our professor decides its time to charm his way into the Fennel family conclave -- only to find out it's a nautilus housing ghosts (both real and metaphorical) from the shameful past. ----- Baldwin creates a zany, comic set-up, wherein our hero must deal with the likes of a mysterious voodoo house-maid, a growing romantic attraction to his student, a knuckle-headed cousin who vies for her affections, and a family matriarch who insists that the Fennel family honor not be compromised by the research. ----- There is the invevitable sexual encounter with the student -- but was it? The supernatural starts enveloping this prestige-starved prof, and like an uncomig fog, keeps the reader peering for clues from the misty horizon of the story line. Both reader and narrator struggle with attempts to untangle from the Fennel family web. The experience is quite funny, but do watch out. Just as the humor hits full-stride, a sudden turn toward the terrifying occurs. There is something either evil or redemptive about Old Captain Jack's lighthouse on the rocky shoal! As the secrets of that Fennel beacon come into focus, you will find that this has been a most memorable family visit.