Overview

Legendary for an unusual combination of spiritual power, beauty, charisma, showmanship, intimidation, and shrewd business sense, Marie Leveau also was known for her kindness and charity, nursing yellow fever victims and ministering to condemned prisoners, and her devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. In separating verifiable fact from semi-truths and complete fabrication, Carolyn Morrow Long explores the unique social, political, and legal setting in which the lives of Laveau's African and European ancestors became intertwined in nineteenth-century New Orleans.

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9780813032146

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In an era when most black Southern women were slaves, this savvy woman found not only freedom but tremendous power through her resourcefulness. Long uncovers the fascinating story of the flesh-and-blood woman behind the legend and in so doing enriches our understanding of life in New Orleans in the nineteenth century. There are few figures in New Orleans history as alluring as Marie Laveau . . . a figure who stood at the very nexus of religion, magic, commerce, and history, and this fascinating, well-documented volume is the worthy result. According to mysterious, oft-told-tales, Laveau was an extraordinary celebrity whose sorcery-fueled influence extended widely from slaves to upper class whites. . . . The true story of Marie Laveau, though considerably less flamboyant than the legend, is equally compelling. Thanks to this writer's exhaustive, scrupulous, honest research debunking the false or questionable myths passed down through the generations, we can now be confident of what we know and do not know about Marie Laveau and her life and times in nineteenth-century New Orleans. --Gwendolyn Midlo Hall

Thanks to this writer's exhaustive, scrupulous, honest research debunking the false or questionable myths passed down through the generations, we can now be confident of what we know and do not know about Marie Laveau and her life and times in nineteenth-century New Orleans. --Gwendolyn Midlo Hall

"""Thanks to this writer's exhaustive, scrupulous, honest research debunking the false or questionable myths passed down through the generations, we can now be confident of what we know and do not know about Marie Laveau and her life and times in nineteenth-century New Orleans.""--Gwendolyn Midlo Hall"

Author Information

Carolyn Morrow Long, a research associate at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, is the author of Spiritual Merchants: Religion, Magic, and Commerce.

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