Local Book Reviews
Orleans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre
by Laura Hunt
Orleans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre
TJ Fisher
Roy F. Guste, Jr.
Photography by Louis Sahuc
Morgana Press
Rather than lamenting over what post-Katrina New Orleans has lost, Orleans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre focuses on the beauty the city has retained. In the book’s introduction, TJ Fisher characterizes the Vieux Carre, or “Old Square,” as seductive and mysterious, a quality that is supported by melancholic photos of balcony silhouettes and church steeples poking into the sky. She invokes Lafcadio Hearn’s voice that declared of New Orleans: “There are none who can forget her strange charm.”
The bulk of the book consists of photos of lush garden scenes accompanied by captions that supply historical information. Behind the iron gates of the French Quarter’s secret gardens, the reader finds stone fountains covered in moss, wide palm leaves striped with sunlight, and vibrantly colored flowers. The architecture of the courtyards as well as small artifacts, such as a ceramic olive oil jar or a painted tile plaque of a Catholic saint, hint at the Spanish presence in New Orleans’ past. In this way, the gardens serve as windows into the city’s history. Built after the two fires that broke out during the Spanish domination, the courtyards are evidence that New Orleans has recovered from vast destruction before.
The close of the book urges readers to preserve New Orleans and to encourage the country to aid in its recovery. TJ Fisher dismisses the question “Should New Orleans be rebuilt?” that residents of the city find so ridiculous. The entire book answers the question with a resounding yes. Orleans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre goes beyond supportive words and images – 100% of its profits go to French Quarter Preservation.
Orleans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre
TJ Fisher
Roy F. Guste, Jr.
Photography by Louis Sahuc
Morgana Press
Rather than lamenting over what post-Katrina New Orleans has lost, Orleans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre focuses on the beauty the city has retained. In the book’s introduction, TJ Fisher characterizes the Vieux Carre, or “Old Square,” as seductive and mysterious, a quality that is supported by melancholic photos of balcony silhouettes and church steeples poking into the sky. She invokes Lafcadio Hearn’s voice that declared of New Orleans: “There are none who can forget her strange charm.”
The bulk of the book consists of photos of lush garden scenes accompanied by captions that supply historical information. Behind the iron gates of the French Quarter’s secret gardens, the reader finds stone fountains covered in moss, wide palm leaves striped with sunlight, and vibrantly colored flowers. The architecture of the courtyards as well as small artifacts, such as a ceramic olive oil jar or a painted tile plaque of a Catholic saint, hint at the Spanish presence in New Orleans’ past. In this way, the gardens serve as windows into the city’s history. Built after the two fires that broke out during the Spanish domination, the courtyards are evidence that New Orleans has recovered from vast destruction before.
The close of the book urges readers to preserve New Orleans and to encourage the country to aid in its recovery. TJ Fisher dismisses the question “Should New Orleans be rebuilt?” that residents of the city find so ridiculous. The entire book answers the question with a resounding yes. Orleans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre goes beyond supportive words and images – 100% of its profits go to French Quarter Preservation.