Fabulous New Orleans

by Lyle Saxon, E.H. Suydam (Illustrator)

This classic reprint evokes a city steeped in the traditions and idiosyncrasies of three cultures--French, Spanish, and American. Known widely as one of Louisiana's great writers, Lyle Saxon documented many of the quirks and mysteries of New Orleans. His narratives include a vivid picture of Mardi Gras as seen through the eyes of a young boy, a brief history of the city, and accounts of strange and remarkable events, including the great Mississippi flood of 1927, the year of the great plague, and a voodoo cult ceremony. By any standards, New Orleans is a unique city, and Saxon depicts it unadorned, with all its flaws and glories.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Historical

427 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1928

About the author

Lyle Saxon was a journalist and author best known for his work with The Times-Picayune and his leadership of the Louisiana WPA Writers' Project during the 1930s. Born in 1891, likely in either Baton Rouge or Washington State, Saxon was raised in Baton Rouge and later became a central literary figure in New Orleans. He lived in the French Quarter, where his home became a gathering place for writers like William Faulkner and Sherwood Anderson. His grandmother, Elizabeth Lyle Saxon, was a noted suffragette and poet.
Saxon authored several notable books exploring Louisiana's culture and history. Among these are Fabulous New Orleans, Old Louisiana, and Gumbo Ya-Ya, a celebrated collection of Louisiana folktales. He also wrote novels including Lafitte the Pirate, which inspired Cecil B. DeMille's film The Buccaneer, and Children of Strangers, set among Creole communities along the Cane River. His book The Friends of Joe Gilmore reflects his personal relationship with his Black valet.
Saxon embraced New Orleans traditions, especially Mardi Gras, participating with theatrical flair. Openly gay within artistic circles, he led a vibrant social life that intertwined with his literary pursuits. He died in 1946 and is buried in Baton Rouge.

Reviews

[Max Nemtsov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Сказочная книга о сказочном городе — одном, как не устану повторять, из примерно пятерки любимых в мире. Написал ее новорлеанский Гиляровский — только Лайл Сэксон, пожалуй, поколоритнее Дяди Гиляя хоть и тоже городской персонаж, — а проиллюстрировал Эдвард Сайдэм. Читать такое — всегда как домой возвращаться, только душа болит очень, потому что не там.

[Jody Severson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read only one brief history of New Orleans that gives a feel of the place up to the 1930s, this is it.

[Katia Rutledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

[Karen Klink · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a couple years ago and, now that I'm visiting New Orleans, I'm reading it again. Though it was published in 1923, this is a wonderful history of the city up to that time, and contains many anecdotes about what happened to individual people. The author has a way of making history read almost like fiction.

The wonderful first chapter is the story of the author's introduction to the city as a small boy at the turn of the century. He has a knack of putting there with him.

He does it again at the end of the Spanish section in: "At the convent near the river bank, black-robed nuns are counting their beads in the high-walled garden; others pass with quiet steps over the worn door sill, and climb the dim stairs. One heas the sleepy sound of children's voices droning pious verses in unison; the cooing of pigeons under the eaves, and the click of their red claws on the tiles...."

If you find history books dry, try this one.

[Scott Pomfret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fabulous New Orleans is an elegy by a nonnative who made the city his own. Best of the tales is his recounting of his first experience in the city during carnival when he was just a small boy visiting with his grandfather. The writing is rich, the details precise, the little boy amazement palpable. The rest of the book is a recounting of various tales and histories that seem to become less precise as pages turn as if he was running out of material. In any event, it was a fine read, with the occasional cringeworthy casual racism one would expect from a book of the vintage.

[Meagan Boeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This non-fiction narrative story book starts at the turn-of-last-century New Orleans. What a fun read! Anyone that loves the The Big Easy should read this book.
I read this book years before Katrina and felt then that it captured the heart and soul of a New Orleans that was rapidly becoming lost because of property developers and corporate take-over. The picture presented here is surely all the more valuable these days.

[Paulv.g. · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a great book on th ehistory of NOLA

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was beyond awesome! It was so exciting to read, and I couldn't put it down! I think I finished it in like, a day.

[Bill3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

An old favorite. Put New Orleans on the map.