Spires in the Sun: The Carpenter Gothic Episcopal Churches of Florida, written by Jonathan Rich and photographed by Phil Eschbach, was published by Frederic C. Beil, Savannah, GA on October 24, 2023. A work of nonfiction, Spires in the Sun celebrates the Upjohn-style rural wooden churches raised by the Episcopal Church in Florida in the 1800s. Given the era involved, the book is also a history of the germinal years of the Diocese of Florida.
Measuring 8 1/2 by 11 inches, this is a beautiful, hardcover book of the highest production values, with a dust jacket and Smyth sewn binding. It consists of over 500 pages of text with interspersed historical black-and-white photographs and contemporary color photographs by Phil Eschbach (with these images appearing on practically every page). In addition, the book includes a table of all the Carpenter Gothic Episcopal churches originally built in Florida (including their names, construction dates, and their eventual fate, i.e., current state of existence/nonexistence, preservation, modification, etc.). The book also includes endnotes, a bibliography, a glossary of relevant architectural and ecclesiastical terminology, and an index.
