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Palmetto Leaves
This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1873
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170 people want to read
About the author
Harriet Beecher Stowe
1,526 books1,416 followersGreat political influence of
Uncle Tom's Cabin
, novel against slavery of 1852 of Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe, American writer, advanced the cause of abolition.
Lyman Beecher fathered Catharine Esther Beecher, Edward Beecher, Henry Ward Beecher, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, another child.
Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe, an author, attacked the cruelty, and reached millions of persons as a play even in Britain. She made the tangible issues of the 1850s to millions and energized forces in the north. She angered and embittered the south. A commonly quoted statement, apocryphally attributed to Abraham Lincoln, sums up the effect. He met Stowe and then said, "So you're the little woman that started this great war!" or so people say.
AKA:
Χάρριετ Μπήτσερ Στόου (Greek)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet...
Lyman Beecher fathered Catharine Esther Beecher, Edward Beecher, Henry Ward Beecher, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, another child.
Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe, an author, attacked the cruelty, and reached millions of persons as a play even in Britain. She made the tangible issues of the 1850s to millions and energized forces in the north. She angered and embittered the south. A commonly quoted statement, apocryphally attributed to Abraham Lincoln, sums up the effect. He met Stowe and then said, "So you're the little woman that started this great war!" or so people say.
AKA:
Χάρριετ Μπήτσερ Στόου (Greek)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet...
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 8, 2021
Harriet Beecher Stowe's venture into travel sketches, Palmetto Leaves, I selected because I've read and taught quite a bit by this famous author but never what she wrote about Florida. And I was intrigued that she bought property and spent winters in Florida not merely to escape the cold, like many other New Englanders of means, but hoping to help her son's health. (I need to read more about this detail in one of the Stowe references on my bookshelf).
While not terribly engaging in dramatic tension (usually absent in 19th-century travel sketches), I read with interest in the burgeoning real estate development of the era and what tourists then considered essential and/or satisfying when living in a new terrain. Stowe's writing certainly reveals some of that. Day-long outings by boat and rail for fishing and picnic expeditions, making rustic cottages feel a little more like home, enduring damp winter weather (without snow), enjoying early flowers--a bit of this and that contribute to an interesting read from a social history perspective. As always in Stowe's writing, her perspective of white privilege and racism pokes through, in spite of her good intentions.
I plan to use the book in a research methods course this fall and, fortunately, still have several weeks to figure out exactly how I will do that.
While not terribly engaging in dramatic tension (usually absent in 19th-century travel sketches), I read with interest in the burgeoning real estate development of the era and what tourists then considered essential and/or satisfying when living in a new terrain. Stowe's writing certainly reveals some of that. Day-long outings by boat and rail for fishing and picnic expeditions, making rustic cottages feel a little more like home, enduring damp winter weather (without snow), enjoying early flowers--a bit of this and that contribute to an interesting read from a social history perspective. As always in Stowe's writing, her perspective of white privilege and racism pokes through, in spite of her good intentions.
I plan to use the book in a research methods course this fall and, fortunately, still have several weeks to figure out exactly how I will do that.
November 19, 2024
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Harriet Beecher Stowe sure did know how to write about oranges. Reads like letters from a friend who makes a commission off of every person who moves to Florida.
July 14, 2019
A delightful travel guide to Florida of the 1870s that over and over emphasizes a fact no less true today "... that people cannot come to heartily like Florida till they accept certain deficiencies as the necessary shadow to certain excellences."
January 6, 2019
I selected this when I found it by accident, a lovely surprise. I knew nothing of this side of the famous Harriet Beecher Stowe and as I now also live in Florida,I looked forward to her Connecticut reaction, perhaps to compare with mine, from Massachusetts, more than 100 years apart. I read a replica of the 1873 edition.
The book exceeded all expectations. The descriptions of Florida, residents, and visitors are charmingly right on the mark. She says so much in a few lines.
Her closing line is sadly timeless and has been so widely ignored " In leaving this subject, we only have to repeat our conviction, that the prosperity of the more Southern States must depend, in a large degree, on the right treatment of the negro population. "
1873 Florida
NB My only regret is that I read a library book that had to be returned. I'd like to have one of my own to dip into short chapters, letter writing, magnolia week , may in Florida on whatever whim or excuse.
The book exceeded all expectations. The descriptions of Florida, residents, and visitors are charmingly right on the mark. She says so much in a few lines.
Her closing line is sadly timeless and has been so widely ignored " In leaving this subject, we only have to repeat our conviction, that the prosperity of the more Southern States must depend, in a large degree, on the right treatment of the negro population. "
1873 Florida
NB My only regret is that I read a library book that had to be returned. I'd like to have one of my own to dip into short chapters, letter writing, magnolia week , may in Florida on whatever whim or excuse.
June 25, 2022
I decided to read Palmetto Leaves because I have lived all but four years of my life on two of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s previously owned thirty acres in Florida. Being just steps from the interracial school that she helped build, the Episcopal Church that her family helped organize, and the post office which drew her to Mandarin in the first place made reading this book all the more special.
I felt I was sitting right next to Stowe as she described the oak trees (some of which are likely still standing in my own front yard), magnolias, oranges, & bugs that signified her experiences here. I also loved reading this while overlooking the St. John’s River & imaging it before the development of bridges, residential docks, & pristine banks.
I highly recommend this book to those with an interest in the experiences, while not terribly exciting, of an intelligent woman who was on a mission to implement much needed change everywhere she resided.
I felt I was sitting right next to Stowe as she described the oak trees (some of which are likely still standing in my own front yard), magnolias, oranges, & bugs that signified her experiences here. I also loved reading this while overlooking the St. John’s River & imaging it before the development of bridges, residential docks, & pristine banks.
I highly recommend this book to those with an interest in the experiences, while not terribly exciting, of an intelligent woman who was on a mission to implement much needed change everywhere she resided.
Read
January 25, 2025A great resource of life on the St. John’s River circa 1870. Lots of physical descriptions, from scenery to activities to economic pursuits.
August 3, 2013
Excellent historical reading about Florida. The book is a series of articles written by Harriet Beecher Stowe to tell others about FL. She lived near current day Jacksonville in what is now the neighborhood of Mandarin. Living in Jacksonville myself I quite enjoyed reading about when the area was still wild and one could while away a day sailing the St Johns observing the wildlife.
September 8, 2017
This was an interesting book, an account from the author most famous for Uncle Tom's Cabin, who lived in Mandarin, FL prior to its modern inclusion as just a suburb of Jacksonville. It is a collection of letters/articles throughout 1872 and describes life in North Florida at that time. It is fascinating throughout. It must be said that the last chapter, Who Works in the Field, is a difficult one for a modern liberal reader. On one hand, Stowe is responsible for a novel that got the nation talking about slavery and led to emancipation. On the other, she is a product of her time and even when she praises African Americans for their ability to learn, it sounds as condescending as if she were talking about a breed of dog. It's hard not to get angry with Stowe, and to keep in mind that Stowe represents the real picture of a 19th century Southern liberal: the belief that ALL men and women should be free, but an obvious undercurrent that also believed that the races were not equal. As a historical document, this obscure work is probably better than her more famous one.
July 21, 2020
This book was simply a delight to me. I have lived in this area of Florida and just reading her experiences of living her so long ago just really opened up so much to my eyes.
The descriptions of birds, trees, swamps and the river would really stand out as I would go walking in areas that I thought she may have.
I, so much enjoy observing birds, flowers and trees in every way. I feel grateful to live here in this area.
The descriptions of birds, trees, swamps and the river would really stand out as I would go walking in areas that I thought she may have.
I, so much enjoy observing birds, flowers and trees in every way. I feel grateful to live here in this area.
February 4, 2024
This was a great read, especially for someone living in Florida. Good reminder of historic Florida and its people, flora and fauna. Also, a reminder of Author Stowe's contribution to the understanding of the newly freed peoples of Florida.
December 29, 2024
This is Harriet Beecher Stowe at her most joyful time in life—living in Florida among all the flora and fauna. However pleasurable Stowe’s life is to her, it is deadly boring to us.
January 18, 2025
A pleasure to read, especially as a Florida native who loves history. Well written and interesting to read.
March 25, 2025
Home. Though written with a northern attitude, and through the eyes of a wealthy transplant, it elegantly seeks to describe what was certainly at one time, and may still be, one of the most beautiful places on earth.
October 25, 2022
In Palmetto Leaves, Stowe describes Florida before its development. She was an early New England tourist in Mandarin, Florida, and seemed to write this book as a travel guide. She spoke of flowers and birds and flowing water. There were mythologic references and similarities and contrasts between Florida and New England.
Since I lived in Connecticut for forty years, I appreciated Stowe’s comparison of the St. Johns River in Florida to the Connecticut River. St. Augustine is also called the Newport of Florida. Unfortunately, some parts of the book droned on and were of little interest. It certainly wasn’t one of Stowe’s significant works, yet it was a quick read, and those who are new to Florida might find it worthwhile as a study of Florida of yesteryear and its modern iteration.
As a recent transplant to Florida, I love this quote:
“It is not to be denied that full half of the tourists and travellers that come to Florida return intensely disappointed, and even disgusted. Why? Evidently because Florida, like a piece of embroidery, has two sides to it,—one side all tag-rag and thrums, without order or position; and the other side showing flowers and arabesques and brilliant coloring. Both these sides exist. Both are undeniable, undisputed facts, not only in the case of Florida, but of every place and thing under the sun. There is a right side and a wrong side to every thing.”
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Palmetto-Leaves (p. 10). Kindle Edition.
Since I lived in Connecticut for forty years, I appreciated Stowe’s comparison of the St. Johns River in Florida to the Connecticut River. St. Augustine is also called the Newport of Florida. Unfortunately, some parts of the book droned on and were of little interest. It certainly wasn’t one of Stowe’s significant works, yet it was a quick read, and those who are new to Florida might find it worthwhile as a study of Florida of yesteryear and its modern iteration.
As a recent transplant to Florida, I love this quote:
“It is not to be denied that full half of the tourists and travellers that come to Florida return intensely disappointed, and even disgusted. Why? Evidently because Florida, like a piece of embroidery, has two sides to it,—one side all tag-rag and thrums, without order or position; and the other side showing flowers and arabesques and brilliant coloring. Both these sides exist. Both are undeniable, undisputed facts, not only in the case of Florida, but of every place and thing under the sun. There is a right side and a wrong side to every thing.”
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Palmetto-Leaves (p. 10). Kindle Edition.
August 1, 2014
Life in Florida, shortly after the Civil War: what a distinguished Christian New England author experienced. The author is Harriet Beecher Stowe, she of Uncle Tom's Cabin fame, here quietly asserting the virtues of her new discovery, a state largely traversed by steamboat, yacht, and mule-drawn wagon. While tourists had begun to winter here (never voyaging much south of Mellonville, now Sanford), the railroads built by Flagler et al. hadn't arrived in 1873, and life here was much more exotic than in the Old South. Stowe describes idyllic landscapes, wondrously lush and burgeoning with strange fruit and flowers. The series of essays that make up this volume were first published in The Christian Union, which handled most of Stowe's writings, and they were read by much of educated New England - thus comprising the first series of travelogues drawing Northerners to Florida. She gives practical advice on clothing, food, travel, buying land, and raising citrus, as well as describing daily winter life for those who can afford to escape winter. She shows that Florida is not Massachusetts without snow - she depicts a land and a life whose shape and substance must be recognized as different and legitimate, not a new land waiting to be transformed into a warm Puritan paradise. Her final chapter, on the potential future for the black population in Florida - now nearly all uneducated, mostly former slaves little used to democratic ideas - show her realistic and hopeful vision for a different life for those around her.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews