Pocketbooks, Purses and Handbags

Whatever you call them, they are an essential item in most women’s wardrobe. 

I have a collection of old ones that I hold dear. The largest, tapestry one, as well as the tiny, beaded one belonged to my great grandmother. Mother’s oldest sister carried the soft, black purse. I found the black one with the silver handle in an antique shop.

Agnes Marie Hopper, the main character in my book, also loves purses. She found her favorite, a red-leather soft as a baby’s behind, in a garage sale. She carries it everywhere, even to the retirement home’s front porch where she rocks and knits and tries to straighten out her tangled thoughts.  

Agnes always has a Cox Brothers Funeral Home fan resting in an outside pocket of her big purse. The small southern town of Sweetbriar can be sultry hot, just like that July day when she moved to The Manor. Only on that day, when she needed it the most, her fan had seemed to vanish.  

Agnes believes: “Every woman ought to have a rain bonnet, a fan, headache powder, and a clean hanky in her purse at all times."

Do you have a favorite purse?
Is it old or new?
What items do you carry?

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