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Lost Plantations of the South
- Narrated by: John Burlinson
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
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Publisher's summary
The great majority of the South's plantation homes have been destroyed over time, and many have long been forgotten. In Lost Plantations of the South, Marc R. Matrana weaves together diaries and letters and other rare documents to tell the story of 60 of these vanquished estates and the people who once called them home.
From plantations that were destroyed by natural disaster, such as Alabama’s Forks of Cypress, to those that were intentionally demolished, such as Seven Oaks in Louisiana and Mount Brilliant in Kentucky, Matrana resurrects these lost mansions. Including plantations throughout the South as well as border states, Matrana carefully tracks the histories of each from the earliest days of construction to the often contentious struggles to preserve these irreplaceable historic treasures.
Lost Plantations of the South explores the root causes of demise and provides understanding and insight on how lessons learned in these sad losses can help prevent future preservation crises. Capturing the voices of masters and mistresses alongside those of slaves, this book explores the powerful and complex histories of these cardinal homes across the South.
The book is published by University Press of Mississippi.
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Slave traders are peripheral figures in most histories of American slavery. But these men - who trafficked and sold over half a million enslaved people from the Upper South to the Deep South - were essential to slavery's expansion and fueled the growth and prosperity of the United States. In The Ledger and the Chain, acclaimed historian Joshua D. Rothman recounts the shocking story of the domestic slave trade by tracing the lives and careers of Isaac Franklin, John Armfield, and Rice Ballard, who built the largest and most powerful slave-trading operation in American history.
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This is a Historical Study! And a Great Read
- By BookwormHLH on 08-15-22
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Martha Washington
- An American Life
- By: Patricia Brady
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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With this revelatory and painstakingly researched book, Martha Washington, the invisible woman of American history, at last gets the biography she deserves. In place of the domestic frump of popular imagination, Patricia Brady resurrects the wealthy, attractive, and vivacious young widow who captivated the youthful George Washington. And even as it brings Martha Washington into sharper and more accurate focus, this sterling life sheds light on her marriage, her society, and the precedents she established for future First Ladies.
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DAR Book Club
- By Kimberly Dillard on 12-26-23
By: Patricia Brady
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The Last Castle
- The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home
- By: Denise Kiernan
- Narrated by: Denise Kiernan
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Orphaned at a young age, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser claimed lineage from one of New York's best known families. She grew up in Newport and Paris, and her engagement and marriage to George Vanderbilt was one of the most watched events of Gilded Age society. But none of this prepared her to be mistress of Biltmore House. Before their marriage, the wealthy and bookish Vanderbilt had dedicated his life to creating a spectacular European-style estate on 125,000 acres of North Carolina wilderness.
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Very factual
- By Jennifer on 11-28-17
By: Denise Kiernan
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Empire of Mud
- The Secret History of Washington, DC
- By: J. D. Dickey
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Washington, DC, gleams with stately columns and neoclassical temples, a pulsing hub of political power and prowess. But for decades it was one of the worst excuses for a capital city the world had ever seen. Empire of Mud unearths and untangles the roots of our capital’s story and explores how the city was tainted from the outset, nearly stifled from becoming the proud citadel of the republic that George Washington and Pierre L’Enfant envisioned more than two centuries ago.
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Not what I thought
- By William Elliott on 09-30-20
By: J. D. Dickey
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Broadway
- A History of New York City in Thirteen Miles
- By: Fran Leadon
- Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Broadway takes us on a mile-by-mile journey that traces the gradual evolution of the 17th century's Brede Wegh, a muddy cow path in a backwater Dutch settlement, to the 20th century's Great White Way. We learn why one side of the street was once considered more fashionable than the other; witness construction of the Ansonia Apartments, Trinity Church, and the Flatiron Building and the burning of P. T. Barnum's American Museum; and discover that Columbia University was built on the site of an insane asylum.
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Give My Regards To Broadway!
- By Steven on 08-20-18
By: Fran Leadon
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Chicago's Great Fire
- The Destruction and Resurrection of an Iconic American City
- By: Carl Smith
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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From an acclaimed historian, the full and authoritative story of one of the most iconic disasters in American history, told through the vivid memories of those who experienced it. Carl Smith’s compelling narrative at last gives this epic event its full and proper place in our national chronicle.
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Fairly good
- By Jennett M. Harrell on 07-24-24
By: Carl Smith
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Revolver
- Sam Colt and the Six-Shooter That Changed America
- By: Jim Rasenberger
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 16 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Brilliantly told, Revolver brings the brazenly ambitious and profoundly innovative industrialist and leader Samuel Colt to vivid life. In the space of his 47 years, he seemingly lived five lives: He traveled, womanized, drank prodigiously, smuggled guns to Russia, bribed politicians, and supplied the Union Army with the guns they needed to win the Civil War. Colt lived during an age of promise and progress, but also of slavery, corruption, and unbridled greed, and he not only helped to create this America, he completely embodied it.
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Sam Colt, but not the Revolver
- By Eggleston on 08-01-20
By: Jim Rasenberger
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Union
- The Struggle to Forge the Story of United States Nationhood
- By: Colin Woodard
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Union tells the story of the struggle to create a national myth for the United States, one that could hold its rival regional cultures together and forge an American nationhood.
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Required Reading
- By Ben Brafford on 08-30-20
By: Colin Woodard
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Slaves in the Family
- By: Edward Ball
- Narrated by: Edward Ball
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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The Ball family hails from South Carolina - Charleston and thereabouts. Their plantations were among the oldest and longest-standing plantations in the South. Between 1698 and 1865, close to 4,000 Black people were born into slavery under the Balls or were bought by them. In Slaves in the Family, Edward Ball recounts his efforts to track down and meet the descendants of his family's slaves.
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Gives a good insight for moving forward today
- By Wendy Wood on 05-05-19
By: Edward Ball
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The Agitators
- Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women's Rights
- By: Dorothy Wickenden
- Narrated by: Heather Alicia Simms, Anne Twomey, Gabra Zackman, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 1850s, Harriet Tubman, strategically brilliant and uncannily prescient, rescued some seventy enslaved people from Maryland’s Eastern Shore and shepherded them north along the underground railroad. One of her regular stops was Auburn, New York, where she entrusted passengers to Martha Coffin Wright, a Quaker mother of seven, and Frances A. Seward, the wife of William H. Seward. Through exhaustive research, Wickenden traces the second American revolution these women fought to bring about, the toll it took on their families, and its lasting effects on the country.
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Excellent!
- By Nikki on 12-22-21
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The Invisibles
- The Untold Story of African American Slaves in the White House
- By: Jesse Holland
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Jesse J. Holland's The Invisibles is the first book to tell the story of the executive mansion's most unexpected residents: the African American slaves who lived with the US presidents who owned them. Interest in African Americans and the White House are at an all-time high due to the historic presidency of Barack Obama and the soon-to-be-opened Smithsonian National Museum of African American Culture and History.
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Riveting Book
- By Jean on 02-13-16
By: Jesse Holland
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Self Made
- Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker
- By: A'Lelia Bundles
- Narrated by: A'Lelia Bundles
- Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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The daughter of slaves, Madam C.J. Walker was orphaned at seven, married at 14, and widowed at 20. She spent the better part of the next two decades laboring as a washerwoman for $1.50 a week. Then - with the discovery of a revolutionary hair care formula for Black women - everything changed. By her death in 1919, Walker managed to overcome astonishing odds: Building a storied beauty empire from the ground up that would be run by four generations of Walker women until its sale in 1985.
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Please read the book and not rely on the Netflix series
- By Sweet Pea's Mommy on 04-27-20
By: A'Lelia Bundles
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At Home
- A Short History of Private Life
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.”
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Bryson does it again
- By Robert on 10-15-10
By: Bill Bryson
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Life in Ancient Rome
- By: Lionel Casson
- Narrated by: John Glouchevitch
- Length: 5 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Lionel Casson paints a vivid portrait of life in ancient Rome - for slaves and emperors, soldiers and commanders alike - during the empire's greatest period, the first and second centuries AD.
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Help me fill in the gaps!
- By Larry W. Patrick on 07-17-24
By: Lionel Casson
What listeners say about Lost Plantations of the South
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- micki
- 12-29-17
Perfect performance
I was given a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
Truthful, factual and honest.
The narrator takes you on a journey into the past--good and bad. His voice is perfect and makes what could easily be a dull and monotonous take on historical landmarks, a look into the lives and inner workings of farm life of over a century ago.
These tales have a place in my heart.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Drew
- 01-02-18
A travel thru southern history
Loved it. This book really helps you understand the south through their plantations. What they became and what they are now. The narrator was superb. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Rhonda
- 01-05-18
Absolutely wonderful and educational
I found this to be very educational as far as learning about these great plantations. I felt as though I was taken on a tour and shown everything about how they were built, managed, how ownership was transferred and even how they were eventually destroyed. Listening to John Burlinson narrate this book made me feel like I was given a personal guided tour. He did such a great job with the narration that I didn't get bored (some of these types of books can begin to drone on after a while). I highly recommend this book to anyone who thinks they may find it interesting. The only thing that would make it better would be if I could also look at pictures while listening! I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Vicky
- 12-27-17
Slave Deeds on the Christmas Tree
If you are interested in the architecture, agriculture, & the people groups populating the South, you will find a treasure trove of history in this straightforward work by Marc Matrana.
The American Southern style of neoclassical architecture is easily recognizable, & displays an effort on the part of plantation owners to transplant old world culture & history here in the colonies.
Matrana covers both sides of the dichotomy of the owner who "nurtured his family & enslaved people," with vivid descriptions. I requested & received a free review copy of the Audible version. I highly recommend the book for those interested in history.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 01-23-18
Exemplary
I just love old homes and architecture of the early homes and plantations. This book is beyond excellent. So much depth to each homes story. I have been looking up each one to see pictures. I’m listening to it a little at a time because I find myself playing it back to rehear some of the details again. I wish I had a better memory I love sharing bits and pieces of this book with others. What s gem! I received this book at no charge for an honest review. I’m so glad I took a chance on it. Continuing to Relisten to it hoping to gain even more gems to share. :)
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1 person found this helpful
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- Neesie315
- 08-14-18
Lost Plantations
This is an extensive study of Southern plantations that have been lost due to natural disaster, neglect and lack of foresight. The author has does a great job in researching these plantations. There are extensive descriptions of the start of the plantations, their various owners, the reasons for their demise and the treatment of the slaves owned by the planters.
I enjoyed listening to the book, but I think that this type of book would be better in a hard copy. The addition of maps, illustrations/photos, and a glossary for the various unfamiliar architectural terms would have been helpful in understanding what you are reading. Having lived close to a lot of these plantations, I especially enjoyed hearing about them and wish I could travel back to see the sites of the old mansions.
The narrator does a good job, but I had to speed up my Kindle to 1.5 in order to keep my interest.
If you are interested in the history of Southern plantations, the Civil War's impact on the South or just history in general, this is an interesting read.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amy Wollenhaupt
- 04-16-18
Not what I was expecting
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The book seemed to be interesting, but I would have changed the narrator. He was boring and very monochromatic.
What other book might you compare Lost Plantations of the South to and why?
This was a lot like several other history books that I have read. I can not come with a specific title.
What didn’t you like about John Burlinson’s performance?
It was too slow and monochromatic. Not very interesting.
Did Lost Plantations of the South inspire you to do anything?
Not really
Any additional comments?
I was given a copy of this book in an exchange for a honest review.
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- POLLY POIZENDEM
- 12-31-17
Lost Plantations ... AND their long lost stories!
Wow. This was a LOT more than I expected! Not just filled with architectural descriptions as the title might imply - but includes MANY awesome stories and facts about life on the individual plantations - most of which I guarantee you have not read elsewhere, ...unless you have a whopping huge library.
It really made it quite interesting with all these behind the scenes goings on! Hardships, frivolity, sadness, ingenuity and determination, and certainly not the way Hollywood portrays it! I learned LOTS of things that I never knew concerning how things were done back in the day.
Of course for the purist history buffs, there are also oodles of the who, what, wheres, names, dates, and places as well. And believe it or not, that was even fascinating too, hearing about how certain properties were acquired - stolen - or lost!
I thought the narrator did a great job. It was like you were getting a personally guided tour from one of the long time local historians. Pleasant mature voice. I can almost see him standing there wearing a white linen suit as he points to one of the buildings on the sprawling plantation. Lol.
Although I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request in exchange for my voluntary review, I can honestly say that I enjoyed this one.
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6 people found this helpful
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- April H.
- 12-31-17
Lost Plantations of the South
Lost Plantations of the South
: Marc R. Matrana
This is a good accounting of the history of southern Plantations. It was interesting to learn who had owned, visited, and what became of the plantation. The architectural descriptions let the listener "see" the past.
The narration was well done.John Burlinson's voice was pleasing to hear.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jess
- 01-07-18
Love the southern drawl
Fantastic in depth look at the lost plantations of the south. Love the combination of description on architecture to personal accounts of Plantation life. Great narration.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review
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