T&E Book Club: The Art of Southern Charm

This summer our family enjoyed another great visit to the beautiful and historic city of Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston (also known as, The Holy City) is a city near and dear to us for many years and for many reasons. It's hard to capture the unique essence of this place. Suffice it to say that Charleston( and Kiawah Island) are always delightful destinations for this family from Virginia and reading a book associated with this city was just what the doctor ordered.

The Art of Southern Charm was written by Virginia-born Charleston resident Patricia Altschul - with Deborah Davis. The book was published earlier this year. I was looking forward to reading it; but, I wanted to wait until my summer trip to Charleston to purchase it. I thought that buying it in the city of Charleston would make the book a greater treasure. While I was not able to pick it up at the little shop on King Street as I'd hoped, I was able to order it on-line and have it delivered right to my door.

I became aware of Mrs. Altschul via a television program which is produced by her brilliant son, Whitney Sudler-Smith. I am a wife of a certain age who is the mother of two sons. I work as a children's etiquette consultant and teach. I studied french in college and earned a bachelors degree in English with a concentration in literature. I enjoy homemaking and entertaining. As such, I didn't find a character on the show that resonated with me until Mrs. Altschul entered the scene (literally and figuratively). She has a certain je ne c'est quoi and joie de vivre which makes me want to take a closer at how she does it. Thankfully, she has written a book which invites us on to her piazza, to look between her curtains, and make closer observations to learn more about her background, lifestyle, housekeeping, and etiquette and entertaining under a southern influence.

Without giving too much of the content away, I want to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed this book so very much!

The book is very well-organized, well-written, and chock full of advice and fun facts about her home management strategies. The Ask the Experts sections are wonderful. The information on home design, architecture and packing for trips are fantastic. I can't wait to try some of the recipes!

The only cautions I have for you is that there were a few questionable bits. Those few bits were the few proud references to confederate relations (but, that's a story for another post); and, the references to the television program co-stars (as these references make the book less classic in 12 years we probably won't remember most of those people). I would have been happy to have seen those bits replaced with more charming advice and/or anecdotes.

I encourage all ladies - especially those with southern sensibilities - to pick up this book. I just know you will enjoy it, too!

#BookClub #book #PatriciaAltschul #TheArtofSouthernCharm #SouthernCharm #Charleston #SouthCarolina #KiawahIsland #housekeeping #homemaking #etiquette