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Title: The French Quarter: An Informal History of the New Orleans Underworld by Herbert Asbury ISBN: 1-56025-494-7 Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press Pub. Date: February, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (4 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Wonderful-With Caveats
Comment: This book stops at 1917 with the closing of Storyville, and was first published in 1938. If at all possible, buy a good original printing. The trade paperback now out has poor, small reproductions of the original illustrations. This is a wonderful, engaging, laugh-out-loud book to be read time and time again. However, it has some factual errors. Asbury implies that Storyville was in the French Quarter-it was not. He also repeats verbatim some "legends" that were invented long after the fact. If you want a correct history of Storyville, see Al Rose's book.
Rating: 4
Summary: N'awlins rough
Comment: THE FRENCH QUARTER is a history of crime, vice, and general rascality in New Orleans from its founding in 1718 by the French to the abolition of the Storyville red-light district in 1917.
In fifteen chapters, author Herbert Asbury describes the disruptive roles played by keelboat ruffians, revolutionists, gamblers, duelists, prostitutes, corrupt cops and politicians, pirates, filibusters (soldiers of fortune), vigilantes, pickpockets, muggers, thugs, the Mafia, and voodoo practitioners in the lives of the otherwise law-abiding citizenry. Anyone reading Asbury's narrative might be led to believe that good folks were a miniscule minority.
THE FRENCH QUARTER suffers from being published almost seventy years ago. Aside from a number of old sketch reproductions, and several badly reproduced B&W photographs of bordello interiors and exteriors during the Storyville era, THE FRENCH QUARTER is sadly lacking in illustration. There's not even a map of the city from which to get one's bearings.
This work is wonderfully informative as far as it goes, perhaps occasionally more so than is needed to make the point that the city, especially in the mid-1800s, could be a noxious place. The narrative is sober and straightforward, only occasionally displaying dry humor. A couple examples from the text will suffice to give one a sense of the book's tone and the city's iniquity.
Regarding barrel-houses,the lowest form of drinking place: "The owner of one such establishment not only doped all of his liquor, but maintained his own staff of sneak thieves ... (who) worked on a percentage basis and took turns robbing the sodden wretches who were dragged from the barrel-house."
Regarding the streetwalkers of the Dauphine and Burgundy Street vice area after the Civil War:
" ... the perambulating bawds flung a piece of old carpet on the sidewalk and entertained their customers in full view of passers-by and the prostitutes in the houses ... (who) kept pails of hot water handy to discourage use of the doorsteps." Hmm, I would have thought ice water more effective at shrinking amorous ardor.
Decades after THE FRENCH QUARTER appeared, N'awlins is a model of purity. Why, would you believe me if I said you can't even spit on the street?
Rating: 5
Summary: I Loved This Book
Comment: I am so happy this book is being reprinted! I had a copy some years back and howled with laughter at the antics of some the the Quarter's historic gangs, crooks, and ne'er-do-wells. If you are planning your first trip to New Orlean's, this book is a must read, or if you just want to sit back and have a good time and be tickled by some truly amazing characters (like Bricktop) and their pecadillos, buy this book.
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Title: The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld by Herbert Asbury ISBN: 1560254084 Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Storyville, New Orleans, Being an Authentic, Illustrated Account of the Notorious Red-Light District by Al Rose ISBN: 0817344039 Publisher: Univ. of Alabama Press Pub. Date: December, 1974 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Gangs of Chicago: An Informal History of the Chicago Underworld by Herbert Asbury, Herb Asbury ISBN: 1560254548 Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Last Madam: A Life in the New Orleans Underworld by Christine Wiltz ISBN: 0306810123 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: January, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: French Quarter Fiction: The Newest Stories of America's Oldest Bohemia by Joshua Clark, James Nolan ISBN: 0971407673 Publisher: Light of New Orleans Publishing Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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