I can think of a couple ( though not the one which has disappered into the mists of time)
Anya Seton "Smouldering Fires" --another "Green Darkness" type novel, where a character is inhabited by a French-Acadian woman from the past. Not one of her better novels, imo.
Antonine Maillet "Pélagie: the Return to Acadie" (English translation)
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French Louisiana
Pélagie sounds really interesting, Annis. I hadn't heard of it but just put it on my Amazon wish list! I agree with you on Smouldering Fires, which I'd forgotten about.
Remembered one more on colonial Louisiana - Elizabeth Shown Mills' Isle of Canes begins in the 1730s. (The quote on the front cover is from an old review of mine. With exclamation points added!)
Remembered one more on colonial Louisiana - Elizabeth Shown Mills' Isle of Canes begins in the 1730s. (The quote on the front cover is from an old review of mine. With exclamation points added!)
- Margaret
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It looks like the best of these is Pélagie, which won the Prix Goncourt in 1979. It's not set in Louisiana, though - it's about an Acadian woman who becomes a slave in Georgia, and later makes the difficult journey back to Canada.
Hotchner's Louisiana Purchase focuses on Washington D.C. politics, Aaron Burr's scheme to set up his own colony, and the Lewis & Clark Expedition. It didn't get good reviews - too bad, because Hotchner wrote the well-regarded biography of Hemingway, Papa Hemingway, so this looked promising.
Smoldering Fires is about a 20th century high-school girl who remembers a past life as an Acadian exile in Connecticut.
The others are set in some part of southern French Louisiana, mostly New Orleans.
Thanks, everyone! I'll be adding all these to my website.
Hotchner's Louisiana Purchase focuses on Washington D.C. politics, Aaron Burr's scheme to set up his own colony, and the Lewis & Clark Expedition. It didn't get good reviews - too bad, because Hotchner wrote the well-regarded biography of Hemingway, Papa Hemingway, so this looked promising.
Smoldering Fires is about a 20th century high-school girl who remembers a past life as an Acadian exile in Connecticut.
The others are set in some part of southern French Louisiana, mostly New Orleans.
Thanks, everyone! I'll be adding all these to my website.
Browse over 5000 historical novel listings (probably well over 5000 by now, but I haven't re-counted lately) and over 700 reviews at www.HistoricalNovels.info
Another one for you, Margaret, set in 18th century Louisiana:
"The Passions of Princes", by Eloise Genest
And yet another, though this one was published in 1936, and is hard to find
Ruth Cross "Soldier of Good Fortune"
Historical fiction based upon the life of the founder of Natchitoches, Louisiana, Louis St. Denis. Natchitoches is the oldest white settlement west of the Mississippi.
"The Passions of Princes", by Eloise Genest
And yet another, though this one was published in 1936, and is hard to find
Ruth Cross "Soldier of Good Fortune"
Historical fiction based upon the life of the founder of Natchitoches, Louisiana, Louis St. Denis. Natchitoches is the oldest white settlement west of the Mississippi.
Last edited by annis on Wed February 17th, 2010, 1:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
[quote=""annis""]I can think of a couple ( though not the one which has disappered into the mists of time)
Anya Seton "Smouldering Fires" --another "Green Darkness" type novel, where a character is inhabited by a French-Acadian woman from the past. Not one of her better novels, imo.
Antonine Maillet "Pélagie: the Return to Acadie" (English translation)[/quote]
Annis, as much as I love Seton that is one that I could not finish. The *present* parts in the 70's are sooooo dated its unreadable IMHO. I couldn't last long enough to get to the parts in the past.
Anya Seton "Smouldering Fires" --another "Green Darkness" type novel, where a character is inhabited by a French-Acadian woman from the past. Not one of her better novels, imo.
Antonine Maillet "Pélagie: the Return to Acadie" (English translation)[/quote]
Annis, as much as I love Seton that is one that I could not finish. The *present* parts in the 70's are sooooo dated its unreadable IMHO. I couldn't last long enough to get to the parts in the past.
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Seton's work can be uneven. I had a similar reaction to The Mistletoe and the Sword, which she published just the year after Katherine. A great difference beween the sophistication of those two novels.
Thanks for the additional titles, Annis. Will add them both. The Passions of Princes appears to be self-published, though it has a better cover design than the usual self-published novel. Hard to keep up with the floods of self-published historicals!
Thanks for the additional titles, Annis. Will add them both. The Passions of Princes appears to be self-published, though it has a better cover design than the usual self-published novel. Hard to keep up with the floods of self-published historicals!
Browse over 5000 historical novel listings (probably well over 5000 by now, but I haven't re-counted lately) and over 700 reviews at www.HistoricalNovels.info
Not sure if this is the place to put it but..are there any novels about the unique relationships with blacks and whites during the 1800s before the American Civil war? I mean I know they had clubs with quadroons to find lovers n stuff. I would be interested in a book like that.
News, views, and reviews on books and graphic novels for young adult.
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I did read Cane River, but I'll try Always and Forever.
News, views, and reviews on books and graphic novels for young adult.
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Posted by Margaret
Sara Donati's "Queen of Swords" features Pensacola and New Orleans around 1814, but it is part of the "Wlderness" series, and not a one-off.
Agree on both "Smouldering Fires" and "Mistletoe and the Sword", which was a very slight story- I almost wondered if it had been produced for the YA market.
Divia- have you read Anne Rice's novel "Feast of All Saints"? It's set in pre Civil War New Orleans, and is about the lives of "free people of colour". Barbara Hambly's "Benjamin January" series might also appeal, though they are historical mysteries.
I noticed that 2 of the 5 star reviews were by the same person- friend,realtive or neighbour?The Passions of Princes appears to be self-published, though it has a better cover design than the usual self-published novel. Hard to keep up with the floods of self-published historicals!
Sara Donati's "Queen of Swords" features Pensacola and New Orleans around 1814, but it is part of the "Wlderness" series, and not a one-off.
Agree on both "Smouldering Fires" and "Mistletoe and the Sword", which was a very slight story- I almost wondered if it had been produced for the YA market.
Divia- have you read Anne Rice's novel "Feast of All Saints"? It's set in pre Civil War New Orleans, and is about the lives of "free people of colour". Barbara Hambly's "Benjamin January" series might also appeal, though they are historical mysteries.
Last edited by annis on Wed February 17th, 2010, 4:17 am, edited 2 times in total.