THE WHITE ROSE OF MEMPHIS.

by William C. (Col.) (Text) Cantwell Falkner

"Here is a story of the Mississippi River South in its great days of the steamboat era, by one of its most distinguished citizens. THE WHITE ROSE OF MEMPHIS is first of all a it is the story of innocent people caught in the web of circumstantial evidence, trapped by the real murderers. More than a crime story, its drama of good and evil parallels Hawthorne's and Melville's preoccupation with the same problem, and oddly enough prefigures Kafta's, and its psychological terrorism makes the dilemma of its central characters singularly modern."

Genres: Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1909

Reviews

[Blake Dickerson]

Interesting book
Very plot driven
Full of romance and mystery, which was fun

[Melinda]

I have a special reason for reading this book. In my family, a certain grandmother named her daughters for the heroines in the books she read when she was pregnant! One daughter was named Lottie Wallingford, after the heroine of "The White Rose of Memphis". Wanting to know more about this heroine, I jumped in to find out more!

William Clark Falkner (1825 - 1889) is the great-grandfather of the more famous William Falkner (1897 - 1962). I have never pretended to like William Falkner the younger's writing, but I have to say that I prefer the writing of William Falkner the elder.

The book reminds me a great deal of the old silent films of the 1900's, complete with cloaked villain and innocent maid tied to the railroad track. Here are a brief list of sensational scenes --
1) young girl saved from being hit by a train by a heroic young boy
2) the reported death of a young woman causes the breakdown of her fiance, until it is revealed she was only in a death swoon
3) a young woman is put on trial for the poisoning death of her younger brother, but is found later to be innocent after the vile plot to take the family fortune away from her is revealed
4) the mistaken identity of a young man causes his best friend to believe the worst about him, until the truth is revealed as a plot to destroy the reputation of the young man
5) striking court room drama that would make Perry Mason proud, as the innocent young woman rises to cross-examine several witnesses who have plotted to destroy her young friend
6) forced confessions on stand during the trial
7) a masquerade ball on board a Mississippi river boat... and yet there is more!

But I have to say I enjoyed the book a great deal. While the plots are cliche-ish, they were still enjoyable and fun.

Don't read this book for high art. But do read it for fun.

Read http://www.mswritersandmusicians.com/... for a good biography of WCF.

[Kyra Miller]

I love this book. I have a copy I inherited from my grandmother, and I have read it several times. I have not read any other Faulkner books, but I have always loved this one.

[Lee Felker]

This was Mama Kit's favorite novel, and I loved reading it and thinking of her.