Vol. 35, No. 4
December 2005

New Orleans in Fact and Fiction

In August, Hurricane Katrina altered the city of New Orleans in ways that probably won’t be fully realized for decades.  One of the most historic cities in the United States, New Orleans is rich in tradition and lore and has provided the setting for many a novel.  The Library has quite a few books that explore the history and aura of this unique city through two centuries, and this may be just the time to revisit old New Orleans, as it was, or at least as it was in a writer’s imagination.

Several books detail the musical heritage of the city and the musicians who helped to invent jazz, including A Life in Jazz (RC26386) by Danny Barker. Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life (RC47274) by Laurence Bergreen, Treat it Gentle (RC43697 by Sidney Bechet, and Jelly’s Blues (RC57482) by Howard Reich.

Lyle Saxon wrote two books in our collection about New Orleans’ history, Fabulous New Orleans (RC36996), which records a series of impressions beginning with the festivals of Mardi Gras, and Lafitte the Pirate (RC32796) an account of the pirate-patriot Jean Lafitte, who helped to defeat the British in 1812.

There are two novels about the legendary voodoo queen Marie Laveau, Papa La-Bas (RC15347) by John Dickson Carr and Voodoo Dreams (RC37920) by Jewell Parker Rhodes.  In addition, there are three novels in our collection that are considered classics.  RC50482, A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1981, twelve years after Toole’s death.  The House on Coliseum Street (RC46302) by Shirley Ann Grau is often required reading for high school literature students, and Frances Parkinson Keyes immortalized Antoine’s restaurant in 1948 when she wrote Dinner at Antoine’s (RC13170).

The Library has four mystery series set in the Crescent City, including two framed in the present.  James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux is an ex-New Orleans cop and a recovering alcoholic.  We have many books in this series and the settings vary across southern Louisiana, but you might want to start with Black Cherry Blues (RC31052).  Julie Smith’s mysteries feature a policewoman named Skip Langdon who has connections with the old monied families of New Orleans.  The series begins with New Orleans Mourning (RC32430).  The Lew Griffin mysteries by James Sallis are set in the 1960’s and the series starts with Black Hornet (RC59326).  Barbara Hambly writes historical mysteries that take place in the 1830’s and feature Paris-educated Benjamin January, a free black man living in the midst of slavery.  Hambly’s series begins with A Free Man of Color (RC46286).

Jill Landis and Jennifer Blake both write historical novels that include spicy romance.  You might want to try Blake’s The Storm and the Splendor (RC44963) or Landis’ Day Dreamer (RC52626).  Finally, Lois Battle’s Storyville (RC35888) is a novel of two young women, both down on their luck, who meet in the red light district of New Orleans known as Storyville, the neighborhood where Louis Armstrong was born.