An advertizement for a brothel, from the original Blue Book, which was distributed throughout New Orleans in the Storyville days.
This tome, because it is a tome, is one of the most thorough exposés on the infamous French Quarter. Yes, it’s all here, the stories of Bienville’s founding of the troubled colony, the complaints back to the French monarch of the less than moral characters sent to populate and work the land, the Yellow Fever, race conflict, the pirates, and yes, the beloved prostitutes of Storyville.
The French Quarter: An Informal History of the New Orleans Underworld was published in 1936 and curiously ignores the intentional flooding of the poorer section of New Orleans in 1927 but includes stories about the American sector (just south of the French Quarter). It’s possible that this exclusion was due to the many years of research required to write the book, predating the flood. Asbury labored in the libraries, police stations, and even interviewed many of the participants of the View Carré’s inglorious past (I mean that as a compliment). Jazz is barely touched upon but it’s in the context of the 1930s so it’s forgivable.
What is most satisfying is learning the notoriety of the French Quarter is actually more brutal and tantalizing than anyone can imagine. Billed as the sequel to The Gangs of New York…, the author delves into minute details of the city. From specific names and addresses to the crimes committed and even illustrations from the Times Picayune (before photographs were included), the book is stunningly vivid and places the reader right in the thick of classic New Orleans activity. It not only teaches us about this great, wonderful, beautiful city but also lends the underworld history of America.
