The New Orleans of George Washington Cable

The writings of George Washington Cable (18441925) included the short-story collection OLD CREOLE DAYS and his most famous novel, THE GRANDISSIMES, which received widespread critical acclaim and was serialized in the country's best highbrow magazines. In 1880, he was commissioned to write a "historical sketch" of preCivil War New Orleans for a special section of the Tenth U. S. Census titled Report on the Social Statistics of Cities. Instead of the "sketch," Cable turned in 313 pages of meticulously documented history on everything from the origins of the city and its role in the Indian wars to the effect of West Indian immigration, the War of 1812, and commercial expansion through the mid-nineteenth century. Although subsequently revised and published as Creoles of Louisiana, Cable's original piece never appeared in print again except as a facsimile reprint. THE NEW ORLEANS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON CABLE presents this rare text in its entirety for the first time.