Mark R. Jones is more than just an author and tour guide. He is also an entertaining and
masterful speaker. Mark gives speeches and presentations about Charleston history for
corporate, academic and private groups. Some of the most recent clients include: Vemeer
Corporation, John Deere, North Carolina Realtors Association, the University of South
Carolina Author's Series, The Citadel Senior Scholars, and the King Charles Inn.
Mark's history presentations are perfect for groups such as Rotitarians, Lion's Clubs,
Garden Clubs and such. For booking details contact Mark at:
mark@blackcattours.com or Call: 843-568-2285
Mark will be glad to tailor a presentation for your group.
Some of his suggested topics include:
WICKED CHARLESTON: Sex, murder & sin! Based on Mark’s Wicked Charleston books, this is the
tabloid version of Charleston history – murder, prostitutes, wayward ministers, political corruption,
bootleggers and transvestites. From Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper, called “the greatest whoremaster” by
King Charles II, to Florence O’ Sullivan, an “ill-natured buggery of children” for whom Sullivan’s Island
is named, Wicked Charleston is a no-holds-barred history of ribald and seedy Charleston history.
DOIN' THE CHARLESTON: A music-filled presentation covering the development of ragtime and
jazz in Charleston by following the founding and growth of the Jenkins Orphanage band. Listen to the
stories, and the music of some of the most influential musicians in the 20th Century. Based on Mark's
forthcoming book.
- Jabbo Smith: Once considered a competitor to Louis Armstrong, Smith's career was cut short due
to substance abuse. The music he recorded in 1928-30 is now considered some of the best early jazz
as well as the forerunner to be-bop.
- Cat Anderson: Considered to be one of the greatest high-note trumpet players ever, Anderson
played for the Duke Ellington Orchestra for more than 20 years. He also led his own band and left
behind a rich recorded legacy of heavily blues-influenced jazz.
- Freddie Green" 'Mr. Rhythm" had the longest career in jazz music - 50 years as the guitarist for
the Count Basie Orchestra. Green was also a noted composer and arranger who recorded
extensively with Billie Holiday.
ROMANTIC CHARLESTON: The Holy City is full of romantic tales. Based on the forthcoming book. A
few romantic tales would include:
- Charleston's first great love story was between Affra Harleston and John Coming, who met on the
voyage of the first settlers in 1670.
- The Revolutionary war romance of Col. William Washington and Jane Elliott.
- Anna Lee: A tragic romance made famous by Edgar Allan Poe.
- Ruth Lowndes and Francis Simmons, an unusual marriage that was never consummated.
- Samuel Gilman / Caroline Howard: the touching romance of a Boston minister and his wife who
became part of Charleston history.
CHARLESTON WOMEN: A lively discussion of women who made the difference in a male-dominated
society. Based on Mark's forthcoming book Pride & Petticoats.
- Eliza Lucas Pinckney: as a teenager, she cultivated the first successful indigo crop in the
Carolinas, and later gave birth to a signer of the Constitution. Pres. George Washington served as
one of her pall bearers.
- Elizabeth Timothy: first female newspaper editor in the American colonies.
- The Grimke sisters: Born and raised in Charleston affluence, they turned their backs on the Holy
City, converted to Quakerism and became staunch abolitionists.
- Susan Pringle Frost: Patron saint of preservation movement in Charleston.
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