The antebellum South is celebrated in this beautiful book featuring over 100 full-color photographs of restored plantation homes. The homes bespeak the grandeur of days gone by when plantation homes were decorated exquisitely, furnished lavishly, and surrounded by vast acreages of lush croplands. Full-page photographs are accompanied by text highlighting the history and outstanding architectural features of each home. The styles of the homes ae far-ranging and include excellent examples of Victorian Gothic, Colonial, Italianate, Acadian, and Southern Classical architecture, with some homes combining two or more styles. Destrehan, Edgewood, Houmas House, Nottoway, Magnolia Mound, Oak Alley, and Shadows-on-the-Teche- all carefully preserved and open to the public- are some of the 76 plantation homes featured in Louisiana Plantation Homes: A Return to Splendor. Constructed from cypress and other materials from the surrounding land, the homes, built over 200 years ago, feature such details as soaring Greek columns, hipped roofs, dormer windows, balconies, galleries, ceiling frescoes, and formal ballrooms. Finishing touches, brought in by riverboats, include wall coverings, chandeliers, and marble statuary. Preservation groups and owners consulted old documents, diaries, and personal papers as they meticulously restored the homes that were ravaged by the Civil War. As a result, many of the houses feature rooms decorated in their original colors displaying antiques from the appropriate period and re-creations of the original drapes. Paul and Lee Malone are native New Orleanians whose love for the plantation homes of Louisiana led them to devote untold hours of their time preparing this book. Paul Malone is the past president of the Professional Photographers of Louisiana and a member of the Professional Photographers of America and the American Society of Photographers. Lee Malone wrote the text along with researching and verifying the historical information.