Grandeur Preserved - Historic Charleston Foundation

I was particularly interested in this book, because when we were in Charleston, I visited the Nathaniel Russell house. I’m pretty proud of myself for doing that by myself. For one thing, I took quite a trek that day, and normally my husband would explore touristy things with me when we’re at a conference city. After I finished my audio tour, I couldn’t find any books about the house. There were a bunch of random southern books but nothing specific. I asked one of the volunteers, and she recommended this out of print title. I found it for $12, and since I didn’t get my lapel pin (which is what I actually look for at touristy spots), I ordered the book.

The book covers two houses, the Nathaniel Russell house and the Aiken-Rhett house. I saw that one while we were wandering around, but when I researched both, I chose to tour the Russell house. It has a cantilever staircase that looked cool. It was even better in person. The book itself talks about the history of both houses, along with color and black-and-white pictures. I really liked being able to learn more history and catch things I might’ve missed on the tour.

I’m glad I chose the Nathaniel Russell house over the Aiken-Rhett. From the pictures, the Aiken-Rhett house hasn’t been remodeled and is in a pretty rough-looking state. I can appreciate the thought behind keeping the house in a natural state, but I really enjoyed seeing the house that showed more what it looked like in the past. It also helps to see it remodeled and not have to use my imagination. Because, honestly, there is no way I would’ve been able to conjure the sights that were in that house. Also, the Russell house had the staircase. I wasn’t able to walk on it, but I got a great picture of the way it wound up to the third floor.

I really liked this book, but just like the one for Boone Plantation, I’m not sure anyone would be interested in it if you didn’t have any exposure to the site. It gets a Good Book! review from me. 

And if you’re in Charleston, I recommend both the Boone Plantation and the Russell House. The plantation grounds were very cool, but I have to give the edge on house tour to the Russell house. I saw a lot more and had access to a lot more of the house. The plantation tour is only parts of the first floor, but the grounds wagon ride made up for it with the critters we saw. Also, if you’re into gardens, the plantation has great gardens. It’s also worth it to see the Avenue of Oaks. I appreciate the volunteer at the Russell House recommending this book to me. Personally, I don’t think they should’ve let it go out of print. I think it would be an excellent book to have in the gift shop.