~Sagebook Whisperer Book Review~

I've been called Tutti,PW,Pammy P,Doddley,Sweetlee,Hubba Bubba,"Hyacinth BUCKET" as in..

one of my favorite British Comedies_"Keeping Up Appearances"...um,I need to add that to my list of reading..."Keeping Up Appearances:Book of Etiquette for the Socially Less Fortunate" by Roy Clarke...But back to the name calling.I just consider myself a "Voracious Reader",indeed! So,I've decided to share book reviews as I complete my readings on the Summer/Fall Reading List 2012_(list near bottom of page).

I finished  "The Creoles of Louisiana"by George W.Cable_which was published in 1884 as a historical look at the unique culture of the white descendants of the early French and Spanish immigrants born in the New World_America. As opposed to the "Gens De Couleur" of French & Spanish & African descend. I wrote several Blogs on "The Third Race" in February 2012.....
http://sagebookwhisperer.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html.

The fact that the state was considered a European destination_right here in America was a different perspective that never occurred to me.The difficult thing was learning how the mindset of the "Creoles" (stubborn & proud & in denial) caused many of the problems that arose_and still exist today.We all remember Hurricane Katrina! The book was centered on New Orleans.The flooding issue because of the geographical makeup of NO being built on a thin crust of mud,the raw sewage problems,no desire to educate the young,the year's of Yellow Fever,Asiatic Cholera & the annual digging out/cleaning of the canals which lead to more Epidemics that continued from 1776 to 1853.In 1853 on one day August 11_203 people died,by August 20th the weeks mortality was 1,534 dead_and over a 24 hour period  August 22_ 283 deaths_every five minutes a person would die.Now,I know why the graves are above ground in NO because it's built on a thin crust of mud.!

Yet,the newspaper and The City Father's refused to print any information or Quarantine the city.They did NOT want to alarm the citizens.I think if that many people are dying per day,per minute...a normal person might say..wait a minute,something is wrong! The fact that early "Creoles" did not take to & ignored the Northern states development/investments in manufacturing,expansion of the railroads,building larger ships to handle commerce,education,etc.hurt the progress of the city immensely. Rather the powerful "Planters/Plantation Owners" of the time,favorite investment was land & the cruel labor of slaves.Creoles became known as the "do-nothing people"..just wait it out..we'll see what happens!

In conjunction with reading the above book_I read "The Feast of All Saints"by Anne Rice.I saw the movie in Feb.2012 while researching information on the "Gens de Couleur" the Free People of Color. It was a great movie_but I knew the book had more.It did not disappoint. Before the Civil War,a unique people descended from African slaves,& the French  and Spanish settlers. Anne Rice writes a dazzling account of  several families intertwined with privilege,pain,passion,love,oppression and all kinds of issues.She walks one through this amazing time period....it's as if you're apart of the written words.

The symbiotic relationship between these two books was amazing!Each enlightened and created a   mutually beneficial effect.

So,I'll continue on this reading journey_I've made Annual List for some 10 years now! And,I'll share with you the journey by blogging a "Book Review" from time to time.Next up is an interesting double read_"The Scarlett Contessa:A Novel of the Italian Renaissance"by Jeanne Kalogridis + "Scandalous Women,The Lives & Loves of History's Most Notorious Women"by E.Mahon.

Guess I need to get busy....but as a final thought on name calling...I'm setting the record straight.I've got a name..I like_

~Soooooooo,get Your Sexy On,READ!~
                                     ~The Sagebook Whisperer~

"The Pleasure of your company is requested..

..at The Octoroon/Quadroon Ball_(aka Bal de Cordon Bleu)"! These were Balls sponsored by the Mother/Aunt or women relatives.These Balls enabled the White Gentry to be surrounded with "the most beautiful women in the world" to make arrangements that would further their "Placage"relationships.

Placage was the social practice of unofficial,heterosexual,interracial unions in New Orleans and other French and Spanish colonies in the Caribbean.It lasted from late 17th century through the 19th century.Under this system,white men and women of color set up common-law households to get around their inability to legally marry.Sometimes Placage was mistaken for Prostitution,but in fact these unions were long term consensual relationships benefiting both parties. The women got economic security for herself and children_which meant manumission during colonial and slavery periods.There was also the legal transfer of wealth from the father to her children via Wills and other testaments. These legal instruments were crucial since the law did not allow children born outside marriage to inherit more than 10 percent of the father's property unless arrangements were made in advance.

                                      The Octoroon Girl (1925) Archibald J Motley Jr.(Artist)

So,who are the women called Octoroons,Quadroons,etc.Believe me there is a long list of names for free people of color during that time.It seems an "Octoroon" is a the child of a white parent and a quadroon_1/8th Negro +7/8th white_a "Quadroon" is a child of one white parent and a mulatto_1/4th Negro + 3/4th white. For more information on the various terms used to call people of color...carefully(some offensive) link to this site:
http://www.frenchcreoles.com/CreoleCulture/quadroons/quadroons3.html

I guess I'm perplexed about these 1/4,3/4,etc..because I want to know what type of blood test did they use to determine the amount of blood was this or that. It is very complicated, this color business. . . supposedly,the French colonial government at the end of the 18th century had registered some sixty combinations of white with Negro blood and gave each a name...who knew!

The other query is most research alludes to a young white creole man taking on a free woman of color as his mistress.Seems there's white Creoles and black Creoles...confusing!And,daughters were raised to become the next generation of mistress to the white Creole_yet the sons were sent to Paris to be educated.Now,it wasn't that the gentlemen were so extraordinarily virile to maintain a white family and a placage arrangement at the same time.Some say,their virility had to do with being everlasting romantics.

Supposedly their virility was sustained by the dozens of raw oysters, which were considered (and still are considered in New Orleans) a great aphrodisiac.They also took a stimulant made from Spanish flies, dried and powdered and made into a potion...could this be today's Viagra!! They drank a great deal of champagne and much absinthe. Oysters were their mainstay;scientist agree it's an aphrodisiac!

                                          Self-Portrait of Archibald J.Motley Jr(c.1920)

I traveled to Atlanta,Ga. where a classmate met me for "The Black Expo" in 1990's.Motleys' work was one of the main reason I wanted to attend the Expo! He is a Louisiana Creole painter,who unlike most Harlem Renaissance Artist,never lived in Harlem_was born in New Orleans and lived in Chicago.I have several of his paintings depicting NO Life.He painted the "Octoroon Girl" above.For more of his Art work check out:

http://www.frenchcreoles.com/CreoleCulture/famouscreoles/johnaudubon/archibald%20motley%202010.html

There are several movies that depict the lifestyle of the Placage. These two are great_"The Courage to Love" and "The Feast of All Saints". Love this scene from Feast of All Saints_

Here's hoping you  have been enlightened at today's Quadroon/Octoroon Ball.....please join me again on this Creole Education journey! Laissez les bons temps rouler.......