Literary ties

Generations of writers have been inspired by the sweeping beaches and savannas of Charleston and the Low Country. Others have been drawn by the city’s arts community and the architecture of its restored historic district.

A sampling:

Dubose Heyward: A Charleston native, Heyward drew on his fascination with his city’s history and the Gullah culture in writing “Porgy,” the story of a Catfish Row beggar. With his wife, Dorothy, he wrote a dramatization of the novel, which George Gershwin made into “Porgy and Bess.”

Edgar Allan Poe: The 19th century master of the macabre is thought to have modeled the moody William Legrand from “The Gold Bug” on seashell expert Edmund Ravenel, a Charleston resident whom he befriended.

Margaret Mitchell: The rambling Italianate Calhoun Mansion may have inspired “Gone With the Wind.” Some say a young Mitchell visited the redbrick house when she came to Charleston to visit with her grandmother.