Raymond J. Martinez’ book on legends, lore, and unvarnished truths surrounding New Orleans’ most famous Voodoo mistress also features other tales from surrounding parishes of days long gone by, an illustrated guide to palm-reading, humorous asides, and over 30 fascinating drawings and images. In addition to facts and folklore about Laveau, including revealing research into some debunked myths and unanswered questions, the book offers entertaining stories of her life and the people around the New Orleans area.

Gift local 09-30-2002 $5.95.

The classic book on legends, lore, and unvarnished truths surrounding New Orleans' most famous Voodoo mistress-now in a modern, legible format. It also features other tales from surrounding parishes of days long gone by, an illustrated guide to palm-reading, humorous asides, and over 30 fascinating drawings and images. In addition to facts and folklore about Laveau-including revealing research into some debunked myths and unanswered questions-the book offers entertaining stories of her life and the people around the New Orleans area, such as: * Lafayette's visit to New Orleans . . . and to Marie Laveau herself? * How Marie Laveau turned hate into love for some wishful suitors * How she earned her free house on St. Ann Street, and how her death made city newspapers go wild * The man with two wives-in two languages-and therefore a roosterhead in his coatpocket * Why New Orleans doorsteps are so clean * How an utter idiot won the election for mayor of Burley Landing * The proper use of gris gris, and the meaning of palm mountains and lines * How an honest thief fooled an unsuspecting Yankee * Why zombies are created to be used as farmhands This book is presented in a quality new edition with all the illustrations from the original properly presented, as well as additional images found only in the Quaint Press edition of this well-known look into the folklore of old New Orleans.

This study investigates the emergence of powerful female leadership in New Orleans' Voodoo tradition. It provides a careful examination of the cultural, historical, economic, demographic and socio-political factors that contributed both to the feminization of this religious culture and its strong female leaders.

Against the backdrop of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century New Orleans, A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau disentangles the complex threads of the legend surrounding the famous Voudou priestess. According to mysterious, oft-told tales, Laveau was an extraordinary celebrity whose sorcery-fueled influence extended widely from slaves to upper-class whites. Some accounts claim that she led the "orgiastic" Voudou dances in Congo Square and on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, kept a gigantic snake named Zombi, and was the proprietress of an infamous house of assignation. Though legendary for an unusual combination of spiritual power, beauty, charisma, showmanship, intimidation, and shrewd business sense, she 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. The true story of Marie Laveau, though considerably less flamboyant than the legend, is equally compelling. In separating verifiable fact from semi-truths and complete fabrication, Long explores the unique social, political, and legal setting in which the lives of Marie Laveau's African and European ancestors became intertwined. Changes in New Orleans engendered by French and Spanish rule, the Louisiana Purchase, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow segregation affected seven generations of Laveau's family, from enslaved great-grandparents of pure African blood to great-grandchildren who were legally classified as white. Simultaneously, Long examines the evolution of New Orleans Voudou, which until recently has been ignored by scholars.

The story of Marie Laveau, a legendary nineteenth-century New Orleans voodoo queen.

Jewell Parker Rhodes, who has earned legions of fans with her masterful fiction, launched her career as an award-winning novelist with Voodoo Dreams, based on the legend of New Orleans's most famous voodoo priestess, Marie Laveau. Voodoo Season, Rhodes's fourth novel, revisits the mystical landscape of Louisiana, but now, for the first time, the celebrated author of historical fiction presents a mystery set in the here and now. This is the story of Marie Levant, a great-great granddaughter of Marie Laveau and a medical doctor compelled by unseen forces to relocate from Chicago to her family's native home. This is New Orleans, where the slave-holding past merges with the twenty-first century, a place where women of color are still being abused, raped, and -- even more horrifying -- rendered "un-dead," zombie-like Sleeping Beauties. The Quadroon Balls of yesterday are a present reality and only Marie Levant can untangle the medical mystery. A smart modern-day heroine, unafraid of her sexuality, Marie Levant extends the Laveau legacy of spiritual empowerment, prophetic vision, and voodoo possession. Voodoo Season is a fresh and original work of fiction that is a magical womanist tale of mystery and power.