Book Description
As to her infantine bones, they were such as needed not to fail of straightness in the limbs, compactness in the body, smallness in hands and feet, and exceeding symmetry and comeliness throughout. Possibly between the two sides of the occipital profile there may have been an Incæan tendency to inequality; but if by any good fortune her impressible little cranium should escape the cradle-straps, the shapeliness that nature loves would soon appear. And this very fortune befell her.Download Description
As to her infantine bones, they were such as needed not to fail of straightness in the limbs, compactness in the body, smallness in hands and feet, and exceeding symmetry and comeliness throughout. Possibly between the two sides of the occipital profile there may have been an Incæan tendency to inequality; but if by any good fortune her impressible little cranium should escape the cradle-straps, the shapeliness that nature loves would soon appear. And this very fortune befell her. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Creole life in New Orleans, c.1800
Subtitled "A Story of Creole Life" and set in New Orleans during the early 1800s, the main thread of this novel revolves around a family feud between the Grandissimes and De Grapions. Various members of each family love and hate members of the other, which is eventually worked out to the satisfaction of some (Honore and Aurora) and the disappointment (even death) of others (Agricola and Palmyre). Cable's goal was to portray as realistic a picture of New Orleans and Creole society at the time when the city was still mainly French and Spanish (proud old Agricola hates the newly arriving Americans) as he could, and in that he mainly succeeds (even with many of the romantic elements that creep into the story, such as the developing love interest between Joseph Frowenfeld and Clotilde Nancanou). Beyond the feud, though, Cable depicts a society drenched in violence and racial hatred, and this is about as realistic as it could get. In one scene a black woman is lynched, then cut down just before she suffocates and told to run for her life; when she does she's shot dead. Bras Coupe, a one-time African prince who is now a slave, is an imposing character and worthy of respect. The book has a great deal of Creole and French dialect throughout, which may be problematic for some. A product of the deep South, Cable writes with vitriol against the slave system and the cruelty of white masters, but also reveals sympathy for a dying culture in New Orleans. Probably Cable's best work.

I had to read it & I ended up liking it !
To tell you the truth, I had to read this book for a class I took this year, which focused on literature from New Orleans.I don't mind reading books for classes; however, once I read the first couple of chapters of The Grandissimes, I thought that this would be one of those books that I would fall asleep reading.It seemed confusing and dealt with issues that did not really pertain to me, but I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting and complex the novel became.
Once the plot started to unfold, the novel grabbed my interest and I grew to respect and be amazed by it.I think that Cable did a great job tying major themes into this piece of literature, such as family pride, Creole lifestyle, Iron Virgins and Southern Belles, and the rigorous expectations of society.The Grandissimes takes place right after the Louisiana Purchase (1803), which allowed Cable to encompass ideas that many people are familiar with, such as a fear of change.The characters in the book where well developed and each seemed to carry their own message to the audience.For example, it is easy for everyone to relate to Joseph Frowenfeld, an American who finds himself wrapped up in the Creole society.This character was forced to be an outsider and the novel depicts how he dealt with the divisions of class and status.
The Grandissimes is titled after the Creole family from New Orleans who held most of the power and influence in society at the time.Throughout the book, the family must struggle through twists and turns of deceit and unexpected events, while still holding up their Old South charm.This book does a great job portraying how the family struggled to keep their position and power in society, in order to stay true to their roots.
If you are thinking of reading this book, I would suggest giving it a try.It may seem very complicated and choppy at first, but it will eventually tie together to make a great story. However, the only downfall to this book is that I could not truly like it until it was done and I reflected on it.It is one of those books that ends up surprising you!

Fantastic depiction of Creole Life
Cable's epic masterpiece details the adventures of a young protagonist stranded in New Orleans after his family succumbs to yellow fever. Through an acquaintance with a well-connected Doctor, he is able to enter a society that few people get to experience -- upper class New Orleans.

Mark Twain said that if you read the Grandissimes, you wouldn't have to go to New Orleans, because by reading it, you have already visited. Cable, with extensive detail, humor and intricate commentary on the Old South, has written a novel that stands the test of time, even though some of the characters (Agricola Fullister) do not.

Although the book is at points tenuous, the characters are vibrant and interesting enough to keep the plot moving along.

Of course, the most controversial aspect of The Grandissimes is the ending, which many feel is a let down after pages and pages of emotional build-up. Without giving anything away, the finals pages are somewhat of a disappointment. But the ending in its entirety is a well done.

Overall, the Grandissimes is a fascinating look at class and culture of the Creoles. It is recommended to anybody who enjoys reading New Orleans literature or literature in general.

"Do the Right Thing" - a century before the movie!
This farsighted inditement of Southern society is still powerful today.

Much of the story is seen through the eyes of Joseph Frowenfeld, a young Northerner of German background who has just moved to Louisiana with his family. He is soon left bereft by yellow fever, and with nothing to go back to is befriended by several kind souls, chief among them Honore Grandissime, the scion of a filthy rich Creole family.

He is quickly dismayed by the inequities of New Orleans society, a confession that prompts his new friend to pour out his heart to him. Honore, who knows what his family is, longs to reach out to his Mulatto half-brother and share the family business with him. He also wants to do right by the beautiful and virtuous Aurora Nancanou and her daughter Clotilde, who have been left destitute (by genteel standards, anyway) after Honore's father murdered Aurora's husband and swindled her. Honore would like to court Auroura, but honorable man that he is doesn't want to take advantage of her by performing his good deed barely before knocking on the door. In short, he wants an end to the moral decay of the old South.

He is not so deluded, however, as to think he can live happily ever after married to Auroura with his brother at his side. The Grandissime family will not give up it's ill-gotten wealth and prestige without a fight, and with few exceptions save his delightful cousin and protege Raoul - who is still too young to have a voice in family affairs - he is virtually alone.

Inspired by his new friend, Honore finally makes his lonely stand, unsure that his efforts will bear fruit - or even that they won't end with a Grandissime bullet in his back.

Honore must rank as one of the most likable of literary heroes - a good man who you can unreservedly sympathise with and root for. The point is not that he succeeds - we are left very much uncertain on that point - but that he has the strength to be the first to fight for what he knows in his heart is right. It's a struggle that many concientious white people are facing now long after this book was written.

Best Novel of New Orleans Before JK Toole
A native Louisianian, I didn't read this book for a long time, but was well rewarded when I finally got around to it. Cable caught a lot of hell for this book (along with OLD CREOLE DAYS) and it's easy to see why. Takingpotshots at popular historical myths (and making arguments for racialequality) was never popular, especially in Louisiana right afterReconstruction when this book was written. While the writing and some ofthe melodrama are considerably dated (if exquisitely lush and beautiful),Cable makes excellent (if occasionally strident and jarring) points of hisown while giving us a beautifully entertaining story of forbidden love andthe clash of cultures, (themes more than resonant in Southern literature),and his characters, particularly the strong-willed Aurore, the family blacksheep Honore de Grandissime, and the idealistic young Anglo (well, German,really) immigrant, Joseph Frowenfeld, stay in the soul's memory long afterthe book's finish. As an afterthought, the way Cable goes after Creolesociety has relevance today, as there is probably no other part ofLouisiana history and culture as misunderstood and yet sentimentallyapplauded as its Cajun and Creole components. A great novel not only on itsown terms, but also for the impact its had on perceptions of the South andespecially Louisiana. ... Read more

Book Description

A pioneering local-color writer about Creole New Orleans and a public advocate for black equality in his native South during and after Reconstruction, George Washington Cable (1844-1925) depicted in his writing the clash between American newcomers and a quaint but proud French-speaking population in post-Louisiana Purchase New Orleans.His work, including the short-story collection Old Creole Days (1879) and his most famous novel, The Grandissimes (1880), received widespread critical acclaim and was serialized in the country's best highbrow magazines.In 1880, Cable was commissioned to write a "historical sketch" of pre-Civil War New Orleans for a special section ofthe Tenth U. S. Census titled Report on the Social Statistics of Cities. Although subsequently revised and published as Creoles of Louisiana, Cable's original piece never appeared in print again except as a facsimile reprint.With The New Orleans of George Washington Cable, Lawrence N. Powell presents this rare text in its entirety for the first time, including Cable's copious footnotes and other material deleted from the original census publication by its editors.

Likened by northern critics to Nathaniel Hawthorne and Bret Harte, Cable was already a literary sensation by the time he undertook the census project.He approached writing history as seriously as he did writing fiction, and he attacked his new challenge with vigor. Instead of the "sketch" he was asked to provide, Cable turned in 313 pages of meticulously documented history--complete with 647 footnotes--on everything from the origins of the city and its role in the Indian wars to the effect of West Indian immigration, the War of 1812, and commercial expansion through the mid-nineteenth century. He used sources in English, French, and Spanish, drawing on published histories, early maps, official surveys, travel accounts, medical journals, sanitation reports, city ordinances, American State Papers, city directories, and the New Orleans-based DeBow's Review--a treasure trove of history, journalism, and useful statistics--for his lively account of the Crescent City.

In an invaluable introduction to Cable's text, Powell illuminates the circumstances surrounding Cable's turn to historical writing and sheds new light on his controversial relations with white Creoles.Cable's forays into Creole culture aroused considerable hostility, as Powell ably demonstrates in his analysis of Cable's rivalry with Creole historian Charles Gayarré. Although Cable's vocal support for full civil rights for African Americans eventually forced him to leave New Orleans for Massachusetts, he continued to write novels, stories, and nonfiction about the Crescent City and the South. As Powell shows in his introduction, Cable's vast historical research fundamentally influenced both his development as a writer and his evolution as a political reformer. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of George Washington Cable, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 2971 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Book Description
At the turn of the century, people outside of New Orleans viewed the city through the eyes of journalist and author George W. Cable. His writings portrayed a tropical European city nestled on the banks of an American river still teeming with the literary, artistic, and social developments of a late Renaissance. In his own romance with Louisiana, Cable came upon many stories written by its denizens. While Cable assisted some authors in finding places to publish their works, there were many stories he kept for himself. Much of this collection can now be found in "Strange True Stories of Louisiana."

"They are mine by right of discovery," writes Cable. "From various necessities of the case I am sometimes the story-teller, and sometimes, in the reader's interest, have to abridge; but I add no fact and trim naught of value away. Here are no unconfessed `restorations,' not one. In time, place, circumstance, in every essential feature, I give them as I got them--strange stories that truly happened, all partly, some wholly, in Louisiana."

"Strange True Stories of Louisiana" is Cable's compilation of seven unusual, factual accounts of life and history in the area. They include tales of two French sisters who made the dangerous trek to the unsettled lands of North Louisiana at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Focusing on New Orleans, Cable adds the story of "The `Haunted House' in Royal Street," which spurs the imaginations of ghost hunters more than a century after its original writing. There is also a diary account, in its first published form, of a Union woman trapped behind the battle lines during the Civil War. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Strange true stories from Creole Louisianna
As we traveled along Interstate 10 between New Orleans and "Red Baton," I mused about the girders which held the highway up out of the bayous. What must travel or life in general have been like in that part of Louisianna a century or so ago.

George Washington Cable first collected these seven stories about Louisianna and published them in 1888. He calls them true stories. They are stories from times before his own from 1782 to after the Civil War. At the same time these stories are strange to Cable because life had changed so much in Louisianna between the time that the stories occurred and his own time.

The stories start with the story of Louise who came to Louisianna and almost became the dinner of a local chief. This tragic tale is quickly followed by the "bright and happy" story of Francoise and Suzanne who travel through the "wilds" of Atchafalaya. Alix's story is next. She was once introduced to Marie Antoinette. Then the French Revolution came and Alix lost her first husband. She will be a character that I long admire but I ask you to read the story to see why. Salome Muller was a German who lost most of her family enroute to Louisianna. (Some 1200 of the 1800 who attempted to make that trip never arrived.) Salome became a slave. Yet some 20 years or so later her family took her case to the State Supreme Court to free her. The
"haunted house" is the house of Madame Lalaurie who chose to save her possessions rather than her slaves when a fire burned her house. The story of Attalie Brouillard reminds me of the con men of the movie "The Sting" with Paul Newman and Robert Redford. The last story is a diary of a Union woman who lived in the South during the Civil War. To these I would like to add the story of George W Cable who begins his book by telling his readers how he got these other seven stories.

These are true stories from people who lived in Creole Louisianna, a time strange to us now.

Strange True Stories of Louisiana
Seven unusual, true stories set in Louisiana comprise the reissue ofGeorge Washington Cable's STRANGE TRUE STORIES OF LOUISIANA.Firstpublished in 1888, these stories are a gold mine of cultural lore andhistorical facts.As interesting as the stories themselves are theaccounts of how Cable acquired them.

"The Young Aunt with WhiteHair" is set in Spanish occupied Louisiana in 1782 and describes thehorrors experienced by a young woman on the long journey to New Orleansfrom Germany: robbed by sailors on the ship; an Indian attack near themouth of the Mississippi River, during which her husband and baby arebrutally murdered; being held captive by Indians and told she was to be thechief's dinner.Her ordeal was so great that her hair turned snow white ina matter of hours, and she never recovered from the experience.

Humor andsuspense make "The Two Sisters" just plain fun to read.Twoteenage girls- one a tomboy and one a demure, sweet lady- undertake adangerous trek across the Atchafalaya swamp to North Louisiana in 1795. It's not only a good story, but the details of clothing, places and peopleare priceless. "Plaquemine was composed of a church, two stores, asmany drinking-shops, and about fifty cabins, one of which was thecourthouse.Here lived a multitude of Catalans, Acadians, Negros andIndians...It was at Plaquemine that we bade adieu to the oldMississippi.."

The story if "Alix de Morainville" readslike a fairy tale: the birth-deformed baby farmed out to a peasant family;the arranged marriage that turns out to be a love match; the convent stay;the marriage of dear friend Madelaine to Count Louis de la Houssaye and thecouple's departure for the Louisiana colony; presentation to Queen MarieAntoinette; Aleix's grand wedding at Notre Dame Cathedral; the onset of theFrench Revolution; widowhood; rescue; and flight first to England and thento Louisiana.

The other stories are "Salome Muller, The WhiteSlave," "The Haunted House in Royal Street," "AttalieBrouillard," and "War Diary of a Union Woman in the South." ... Read more

Book Description
Louisiana is known for its rich, complex cultural heritage, but even in Louisiana, the question "What is a Creole?" is often answered in a number of ways. In "Creoles of Louisiana," George Washington Cable knowledgeably addresses this question with precision and aplomb.

Originally published in 1884, "Creoles of Louisiana" builds on earlier explorations of the lives of the white descendants of early French and Spanish immigrants during the transitory post-Civil War period. Cable wrote faithful portrayals of the Creoles, with a pioneering ear for the dialect that earned him an acclaimed place as a leader of the local colorist movement.

From the early settlement of Louisiana, to the trials of the War Between the States, to the yellow fever epidemic, and on to "Brighter Skies," the chapters chronicle the Creoles' experience in the Pelican state. New Orleans emerges as a town carved out of the wilderness of the bayou, and together, city and citizens flourished. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Creoles of Louisiana
This was bought for a family member whose family had ties in Louisiana.She loved it.She already has several of Cable's books and was happy to get this one.

CREOLES
This is a fantastic book on Creoles, it is well researched and very enlightening.The word Creole means the original European natives of New Orleans, NOT light skinned African Americans, now I'm sure many light skinned blacks from New Orleans has Creole ancestry.The word has been eroneously used, when I tell people that my grandmother was of Creole and Austrian ancestry, they are like, wow, I did not know you were black..im like, uh, im not black, it's so annoying, and the media perpetuates the idea, that the word means any light skinned black person from Louisiana.Everyone in Louisiana should have to read this book in history class, then they could get educated on the word, and spread the information the the obtuse media.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description
Set in the mysterious French Quarter of New Orleans during the first quarter of the nineteenth century, Madame Delphine is filled with Creole allure. It tells the story of an old quadroon woman, whose life and home have spiraled downward from their prior state of grandeur.

Colorful characters are introduced throughout the tale. They include Pere Jerome, a rosy and rotund priest; Miche Vignevielle, a kind private banker; and of course, Madame Delphine, the ins and outs of whose life are revealed as the tale progresses. Many issues are eventually brought into question, including the true lineage of Olive, the young maiden being raised as Madame Delphine's daughter. ... Read more

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ILLUSTRATED ... Read more

Book Description
OLD CREOLE DAYS -- CONTENTS . ................................. ONE rgg OLD CREOLE DAYS. SIEUR GE0RGE.t IN the heart of New Orleans stands a large four- story brick building, that has so stood for about three-quarters of a century. Its rooms are rented to a class of persons occupying them simply for lack of activity to find better and cheaper quarters elsewhere. With its gray stucco peeling off in broad patches, it has a solemn look of gentility in rags, and stands, or, as it were, hangs, about the corner of two ancient streets, like a faded fop who pretends to be looking for employment. Under its main archway is a dingy apothecary- shop. On one street is the bazaar of a modiste elc robes et chapeaux and other humble shops on the other, the immense batten doors with gratings over the lintels, barred and bolted with masses of cob- webbed iron, like the door of a donjon, are over- hung by a creaking sign left by the sheriff, on which is faintly discernible the mention of wines I . Old Creole Days. and liquors. A peep through one of the shops re- veals a square court within, hung with many lines of wet clothes, its sides hugged by rotten staircases that seem vainly trying to clamber out of the rub- bish. The neighborhood is one long since given up to fifth-rate shops, whose masters and mistresses dis- play such enticing mottoes as Azc gagnd petit Innumerable children swarm about, and, by some charm of the place, are not run over, but obstruct the banquettes playing their clamorous games. The building is a thing of many windows, where passably good-looking women appear and disap pear, clad in cotton gowns, watering little outside shelves of flowers and cacti, or hanging canaries cages. Their husbands are keepers in wine-ware- houses, rent-collectors for the agents of old French- men who have been laid up to dry in Paris, cus- tom-house supernumeraries and court-clerks depu- ties for your second-rate Creole is a great seeker for little offices. A decaying cornice hangs over, dropping bits of mortar on passers below, like a boy at a boarding-house. The landlord is one Kookoo, an ancient Creole of doubtful purity of blood, who in his landlordly old age takes all suggestions of repairs as personal insults. He was but a stripling when his father left him this inheritance, and has grown old and wrinkled and brown, a sort of periodically animate Sietlr George. ,mummy, in the business. He smokes cascarilla, wears velveteen, and is as punctual as an executioner. To Kookoos venerable property a certain old man used for many years to come every evening, stumbling through the groups of prattling children who frolicked about in the early moonlight-whose name no one knew, but whom all the neighbors designated by the title of Sieur George. It was his wont to be seen taking a straight-too straight --course toward his home, never careening to right or left, but now forcing himself slowly forward, as though there were a high gale in front, and now scudding briskly ahead at a ridiculous little dogtrot, as if there were a tornado behind. He would go up the nain staircase very carefully, sometimes stopping half-way up for thirty or forty minutes doze, but getting to the landing eventually, and tramping into his room in the second story, with no little elation ti 5nd it still there. Were it not for these slight symptoms of potations, he was such a one as you would pick out of a thousand for a miser. A year or two ago he suddenly disappeared. A great many years ago, when the old house was still new, a young man with no baggage save a sinall hair-trunk, came and took the room I have mentioned and another adjoining. He supposed he might stay fifty days-and he stayed fifty years Old Creole Days. and over... ... Read more

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Leatherbound Easton Press edition of the Masterpieces of American Literature series ... Read more