George Washington Cable (1844–1925)

Strange True Stories was written in 1888 when history was largely still a branch of literature and the boundaries between fact and fiction were not as clearly defined as today. Cable's stories are true, but one sees the author taking some editorial liberty and blurring the lines. In that sense it is like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. Cable inserted dialogue and dramatized the stories to pull in the reader and emphasize his message. As a white southerner in the post-reconstruction, Jim Crow, "New South" Cable mocked slavery and the hypocrisy of white supremacists, poked fun at the New Orleans elites, and promoted black civil rights through these stories.… (more)

An amazing and enthralling read. Less florid (and much more 'readable') than most from that era. Recommend it highly to all. Brings history to life on a personal level. Reads like a historical novel but much more compelling as Cable sticks to the facts and cites his sources (though he does include one clearly identified case of local legend and folklore). The primary source 1780s diary and letters which he translated are priceless windows into the past (as is the civil war diary). A riveting eye-opener. I put this as one of my top ten amazing reads of the year. [Free E-Book available at Gutenberg.org and/or Archive.org]

"An old book was a time capsule... You only had to turn a page to travel back in time." - Steve Parrish… (more)

The Grandissimes by George Washington Cable was published in 1880 after first appearing as a serial novel and tells the tale of two Creole families in early 1800 New Orleans.

I was disappointed that my Kindle edition didn't include the illustrations that accompany the original book. However, I looked them up on Gutenberg.org.

The Grandissimes is a fine piece of literature. There are many well drawn characters and descriptions of life in the exotic setting of New Orleans at the time of the Louisiana Purchase. Using the character of Frowenfeld, a northerner of German extraction, as our guide, Cable educates us about Louisiana Creole society and uses Frowenfeld to voice the author's criticisms of slavery.

I found the book to be challenging reading for a number of reasons, all of which I blame on my own shortcomings:

1. The 19th Century writing style is difficult to acclimate to for this modern reader. I took about 9-10 chapters to fully settle into the novel. Even so, I sometimes found myself confused as to what exactly was meant by the author.

2. Cable wrote the dialogue in Creole and Plantation dialect and he did so exceptionally well. However, I found it slowed down my reading quite a bit as I needed to speak the dialogue aloud to myself in order to comprehend what was being said.

3. The style of prose included long descriptions of the landscape and environs interspersed with the narrative also served to limit forward movement of the storyline.

I did learn a lot about the European Creoles, the mixed race Creoles and their interactions with each other and with the slave population.

For anyone who's interested in New Orleans and Creole culture, this book is worth the effort. I'm glad I read The Grandissimes.… (more)