Palmetto Leaves

Over the past few days, I read a book called Palmetto Leaves by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Wikipedai says:

"Palmetto Leaves is a memoir and travel guide written by ... Stowe about her winters in the town of Mandarin, Florida, published in 1873. Already famous for having written Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), Stowe came to Florida after the U.S. Civil War.

After visiting [her son in the area], she became so enamored with the region she purchased a cottage and orange grove for herself and wintered there until 1884. Parts of Palmetto Leaves appeared in a newspaper published by Stowe's brother, as a series of letters and essays about life in northeast Florida.”

I wish I'd read it in my first months. I landed in Mandarin (now a neighborhood of Jacksonville) on New Year's Eve 2012, and the book begins with Stowe's arrival in January of 1872, so the season fit. This excellent guide to Florida in its early years of being noticed would have helped me learn more about the area at the time, instead of the stark change I experienced. It is summer now, but my husband only arrived mid-May, so I hope he reads it soon. It's a wonderful introduction to the area.