The Grandissimes Novel - Historical Fiction for Book Lovers

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.