The goodness of St. Rocque, and other stories

by Alice Ruth Moore Dunbar Nelson

A stunning short story collection that takes the reader into the heart of the Creole community in late-nineteenth-century New Orleans, from a key poet and journalist of the Harlem Renaissance—featuring an introduction by Danielle Evans, the award-winning author of The Office of Historical Corrections“[Dunbar-Nelson]’s airy, easy eloquence is a pleasure.”—The New York Times This vivid collection transports readers to New Orleans, from the delights of Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street, to the quiet Bayou where lovers meet, and to fish fries on the shore of the Mississippi Sound. Alice Dunbar-Nelson focuses the struggles and joys of the Creole community in these intimate stories featuring unforgettable characters. In the title story, Manuela goes to the Wizened One for a charm when her lover strays; in “Little Miss Sophie,” a young woman goes to extreme lengths to get back a ring she pawned; in “M’sieu Fortier’s Violin,” a talented musician finds himself at a loss when his greatest passion is taken away; and in “The Fisherman of Pass Christian,” Annette, an aspiring opera singer, falls in love with a beautiful fisherman who has a secret. Together these stories provide a unique window into the world of everyday Creole Louisianians. This edition also features a selection of stories from Dunbar-Nelson’s first collection, Violets and Other Tales, which beautifully compliments The Goodness of St. Rocque, making it the essential text for readers looking to discover this underappreciated writer.The Modern Library Torchbearers series features women who wrote on their own terms, with boldness, creativity, and a spirit of resistance.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, African American, 19th Century, African American Literature

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1899

Reviews

[Bill on GR Sabbatical · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume collects all of the stories of The Goodness of St. Rocque, published in 1899, as well as a selection from the 1895 debut collection, Violets and Other Tales, providing a generous introduction to the work of Alice Dunbar-Nelson, albeit from the earliest period of her writing career, before she left New Orleans. Set in the Creole society of her youth, many of these melodramatic sketches portray occasional victors and frequent victims of the vagaries of love, often within the structures and strictures of the omnipresent Catholic Church.

I was unfamiliar with Dunbar-Nelson before reading this book, but a quick look into her biography revealed a fascinating life as a multiracial, bisexual woman, married three times, first to poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, and that she was a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance and a lifelong activist for African-American civil rights and women's rights, as well as a poet, journalist, and teacher. I'd be interested in learning more about her.

[Alan (the Lone Librarian) Teder · Rating 3 out of 5]

1895-99 Creole New Orleans
Review of The Modern Library paperback edition (February 2022) of the original hardcover The Goodness of Saint Rocque (1899) + selected stories from Violets and Other Tales (1895)

There had been a picnic the day before, and as merry a crowd of giddy, chattering Creole girls and boys as ever you could see boarded the ramshackle dummy-train that puffed its way wheezily out wide Elysian Fields Street, around the lily-covered bayous, to Milneburg-on-the-Lake. Now, a picnic at Milneburg is a thing to be remembered for ever. One charters a rickety-looking, weather-beaten dancing-pavilion, built over the water, and after storing the children—for your true Creole never leaves the small folks at home—and the baskets and mothers downstairs, the young folks go up-stairs and dance to the tune of the best band you ever heard. For what can equal the music of a violin, a guitar, a cornet, and a bass viol to trip the quadrille to at a picnic? - excerpt from the short story "The Goodness of Saint Rocque."

[3.5]
I subscribe to the email newsletter from The Modern Library and the last one announced a new printing in their Torchbearers series of the early short story fiction of journalist/ suffragette/ activist Alice Dunbar-Nelson (1875-1935). I didn't previously know Dunbar-Nelson's work, but the synopsis that promised "this vivid collection transports readers to New Orleans, from the delights of Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street, to the quiet Bayou where lovers meet, and to fish fries on the shore of the Mississippi Sound" did make it sound intriguing.

Only a few of the stories are completely immersive in the mixed French/English patois of Creole vernacular and I enjoyed those the most. The French language texts are not translated in footnotes, but even with my poor French knowledge I had no trouble understanding sentences such as "Ah, ma petite, you tak'? Cing sous, bébé , may le bon Dieu keep you good!"*. I think the context will make for easy comprehension by most readers.

The stories are quite short. There are 20 of them in the 125 pages of story texts. 14 of them are from the original The Goodness of St. Rocque (1899), and that includes 3 which are repeated from the earlier Violets and Other Tales (1895). A further 6 stories from the earlier collection are then added in this 2022 edition. The 3 repeated stories have minor edits. I didn't do a complete A/B comparison, but the conclusion of Titee was turned into a "happy ending" version from the earlier one The charitable young boy dies from exposure in the first version, but survives in the second..

So there was nothing earthshaking here, but this was a very enjoyable period fiction collection that takes you back to late 19th century Creole New Orleans.

Other Reviews
She Was Hard to Impress by Brent Staples, New York Times, April 14, 1985. This is actually a review of the posthumous publication of her diaries in Give Us Each Day: The Diary of Alice Dunbar-Nelson (Norton, 1985), but it gives quite an excellent portrait of her. Her fiction is not even remembered, as she is described as a "columnist, poet, popular platform speaker, former suffragette and - though she secretly chafed under this identifier - the widow of the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar."

Trivia and Links
* excerpt from The Praline Woman.

Alice Dunbar-Nelson's two books of fiction and poetry are in the public domain and can be read online at Project Gutenberg.

Table of Contents
1. The Goodness of Saint Rocque
2. Tony's Wife
3. The Fisherman of Pass Christian
4. M'sieu Fortier's Violin
5. By the Bayou St. John
6. When the Bayou Overflows
7. Mr. Baptiste
8. A Carnival Jangle [repeated from the original Violets and Other Tales]
9. Little Miss Sophie [repeated from the original Violets and Other Tales]
10. Sister Josepha
11. The Praline Woman
12. Odalie
13. La Juanita
14. Titee [repeated (but w/edits) from the original Violets and Other Tales]
Selected Stories from Violets and Other Tales**
15. Violets
16. The Woman
17. Anarchy Alley
18. A Story of Vengeance
19. In Our Neighbourhood
20. The Bee-Man
** The complete book contains 14 poems and 15 stories.

[Antonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really adore her writing! It's smart and digs in just enough for the critiques of society to be obvious but not overbearing. I can't wait to read her biography soon.

[Kristin Fouquet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read this last summer, I must confess this is a long overdue book review. Prior to acquiring this collection from Crescent City Books in December of 2019, I had read only one short story by Alice Ruth Moore Dunbar-Nelson. It was "A Carnival Jangle"... a poignant brief tale I was delighted to reread along with the other thirteen stories in this slim volume. Her brevity is in bountiful economy and she wrote long before the term "flash fiction" was coined to describe some of the shortest of short stories.

Her stories in The Goodness of Saint Roch are charming in their affectionate detail but equally as important in documenting a bygone era of New Orleans by one of her native daughters. Thank you, Second Line Press, for preserving this important work! The cover is too stunning not to mention as well.

[gpears · Rating 4 out of 5]

picked this book up on a whim when i saw it on display in the library and im so happy i did! each story was an immersive vignette into life in the 19th century Creole community in New Orleans..stories followed the characters tragedy and triumphs and the clever and poignant writing grappled with racism, sexism, sexuality, class, Catholicism, love and heartbreak. absolutely stunning collection! And learning about Dunbar-Nelson’s life in the introduction was fascinating I had no idea she was bisexual..looking forward to reading more of her work in the future

[Dídac Gil Rams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aquesta autora ha sigut un gran descobriment. Les seves petites històries són tant plenes de vida i realitat que es viuen com fets més que fantasies. Una capacitat de transmetre fragments de vida amb totes les seves conseqüències, molts cops no gaire bones.

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A colorful exploration of 1800s New Orleans Creole life, everything lushly detailed and real feeling, but plot lines were never very gripping. [A young, beautiful girl, yearning for or spited by love, something bad usually happening to her at the end.] The nature descriptions, of the bayou and Mississippi sound, and flowering orange groves and sweet grasses, were what I liked best.

[Janice LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re native to New Orleans, you’ll be transported back in time when you read Alice Dunbar’s short stories. You’ll easily recognize the sights, sounds, scents of old New Orleans. Written in old Creole vernacular, you’ll probably get nostalgic to hear these voices. I loved ‘em.

[Humphrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of charming stories set in Louisiana: impressionistic in description, local color in subject matter, and largely romantic (in the aesthetic sense) in plot.

[Juliano · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Outside the long sweet march music of many bands foated in as if in mockery, and the flash of rockets and Bengal lights illumined the dead, white face of the girl troubadour.” Allegedly the first short story collection published in the US by an African American, The Goodness of Saint Roch captures Alice Ruth Moore Dunbar-Nelson’s view of Creole culture in 1880s/1890s New Orleans. Published in 1899 as a companion piece to her husband’s poetry, it is comprised of fourteen varied short stories; there’s ‘By the Bayou St John’, a beautiful and brief descriptive piece with little plot, just a moment in time, and there’s ‘The Praline Woman’, similarly short but so different, being comprised almost entirely of dialogue. Dunbar-Nelson’s descriptive prowess is by far her greatest asset: “Dinner came and went, and the gray soddenness of the skies deepened into the blackness of coming night.” And elsewhere, “When the sun goes down behind the great oaks along the Bayou Teche near Franklin, it throws red needles of light into the dark woods, and leaves a great glow on the still bayou.” And her profiles of wronged women are so totally compelling: “how is one to learn that in this world there are faithless ones who may glance tenderly into one’s eyes at mass and pass the holy water on caressing fingers without being madly in love?” Thanks to my pal and New Orleans inhabitant Danielle, who sent this slice of NOLA goodness my way, alongside a novel (The Sound of Building Coffins) by Louis Maistros, which I’ve already dived into and will be finishing very soon. Feeling very immersed!

[Loocuh Frayshure · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unfortunately best known (for now) for being married to Paul Laurence Dunbar for a time, Alice Dunbar-Nelson has been slowly rediscovered, and thank god: Turns out this motherfucker can WRITE!

For starters, she accomplished something impressive: She made me want to visit the Deep South. All the stories in this collection are set in New Orleans and environs and she gave it the kind of mystic, chaotic feeling that just really pulls you in. Each story in this is really, really good too—there are some that feel more “okay” but most are easy 8/10 or higher. The 2022 Modern Library Torch Bearers edition even includes some gems from her earlier collection. For an 1890s short story collection, this deserves to be included among the ranks of works like Winesburg and My Antonia that are helping shape a distinctively American modernism

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who hasn't read Alice Dunbar-Nelson by now needs to fix that ASAP; she was one of the most seminal and influential Black writers preceding the Harlem Renaissance and her life story is one of fascination but also pain, and reclamation. If you love New Orleans, you need to read her stories -- they're dripping with New Orleans and from a much-needed, vital perspective.

[Jay Gabler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Random House for the free book. You can keep the Mardi Gras party going with this new Modern Library edition of Alice Dunbar-Nelson’s classic stories about life in late 19th century New Orleans: the pageantry, the poetry, the pathos.

[Kanye Waldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of short stories by Dunbar-Nelson. Perfectly encapsulates Creole people and communities in New Orleans and Louisiana as a whole during Dunbar-Nelson's young years. Enjoyed reading.

[Catie]

Review copy provided by publisher - January 2022

[Xoxojillzian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mardi Gras nostalgia

[DEVONIA BOURGEOIS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful!!

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating higher because I liked the super short stories at the end of this collection more than the main story.

[caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

i love new orleans <3 this book had beautiful imagery and although most of the stories didn’t stand out to me, i really enjoyed reading something new and interesting.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of those bookstore finds that I knew nothing about. Reading the back of the book I discovered that the author was a Black bisexual poet and journalist who was a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Of course I had to grab this collection of her short stories and I'm so glad that I did. Her stories focus on vivid characters and descriptive settings in New Orleans at the turn of the century. The stories here are very short but I really appreciated getting a small glimpse of many lives and the challenges faced by Black New Orleans residents at the time. I don't know how she managed to break my heart in as little as five pages. These characters will stay with me.

[Jeff Hobbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

The goodness of Saint Roch --2
Tony's wife --2
The fisherman of Pass Christian --3
M'sieu Fortier's violin --3
By the Bayou St. John --1
When the Bayou overflows --3
Mr. Baptiste --3
A carnival jangle --3
Little Miss Sophie --3
Sister Josepha --2
The praline woman --2
Odalie --2
La Juanita --3
Titee--3
***
Hope deferred --3
The stones of the village --4
Summer session --2

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Remarkable more for its author than its content. Many of the stories are tonally, thematically, and narratively reminiscent of Thomas Hardy, but lack his craft. "A Carnival Jangle" is the only story that stands out.

[Louise Carlson Stowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this little book of short stories. It gave me an insight into life in New Orleans in the 1800's.