This book was not as good as I had anticipated. It did give a bit of the life of Laura on the plantation, but she was only a child and the home was not the focus of her tales. ( )

I bought the book after touring the Laura plantation. I don't think the book stands alone, but it does complement the tour. The tour provides much more information on the lives of the enslaved on the plantation, but the book provides the historical timeline for the generations of Laura's family, from the Revolutionary War (where her great-grandfather fought with the French and Spanish), to the Louisiana Purchase, to the Civil War, to the sale of the plantation. The book also paints a clearer picture of how money was mismanaged in her parents' generation. Laura grew up in the lap of luxury, staying months at resorts or at the best hotels in New York City, dancing at balls, etc., and died in near-poverty surrounded by mementoes of her childhood.

This book also enlightened me as to the amount of work that goes into presenting a tour of a historical site. The story of how Laura's manuscript was found is an eye-opener. ( )

I bought this book because I recently visited the Laura Plantation. This was a fascinating look at Laura’s life and life on this Creole plantation that was run for the majority by women. It covers many years of life and gives a good accounting of what life was like on the plantation.

When we visited the Laura Plantation it was a fascinating look into life there and so I had to get this book and I’m glad I did some of the stories were of course part of the tour but others were more a slice of life that I found very interesting.

You don’t need to go to the Laura Plantation to enjoy this story ( if your ever in that neck of the woods I would recommend visiting though) but if you would like to read a firsthand account of someone who lived on this actual plantation I would highly recommend Laura Locoul Gore’s memories.

3 ½ stars ( )

a Creole family album bout "Laura Plantation" in Vacherie, Louisiana