A Lyle Saxon Reader: Lost Stories of the French Quarter and Buried Treasure

by Lyle Saxon, James Michael Warner (Editor)

Overview

Second-place winner of the 2019 IndieReader Discovery Award for Fiction! First published 1919-1923 in the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper, the thirty-nine tales that comprise this volume include short stories, preservationist essays and character sketches of the author's beloved city. Most of the works in this book have been out of print since they were originally published. In this rediscovered collection of Lyle Saxon’s early short stories and character sketches, readers will take great pleasure in seeing in print for the first time in nearly a century some of the author’s early classics such as The Last Reunion and Who Would Hunt for Spanish Doubloons and Pieces of Eight? Also among the stories in this volume are metaphorical visions of Saxon’s childhood, when Saxon was abandoned by his father and raised by his mother and grandparents. He draws other stories from contemporary headlines or images of antebellum gentility. In each, Saxon pays special attention to the odd quirks expressed by that most-honored of New Orleans species, the French Quarter character.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780692141526
Publisher:	Cultured Oak Press
Publication date:	09/28/2018
Pages:	242
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

Table of Contents

1 Who Would Hunt for Spanish Doubloons and Pieces of Eight?

2 An Interlude

3 The Forgotten Cigarette

4 Reprieved

5 Fingers in the Dark

6 Well! He’s Married Now

7 The Last Reunion

8 The One Thing

9 French Opera House to Rise Again from Ruins

10 History of the Ursulines

11 French Town Changes with Coming of Auto

12 Glories of the Past Recalled by Passing of Pontalba Building

13 Charm of the Old French Quarter Quickly Settles Upon its Visitors

14 Pottery Specimens Intrigue Admirers of the Ceramic Art at Biloxi

15 Hates Life of Actress16 Finds Happiness in Shop

17 His Work Demands Brains

18 Find Joy in Beautiful

19 The Keeper of Light

20 The Lady Locksmith

21 The Cobbler-Painter.

22 The Balloon Man.

23 The Maker of Statues.

24 The Legless Newsboy.

25 The Park Photographer.

26 The Street Singer.

27 The Man With the Parakeets.

28 Shorthand at 73.

29 The China Mender.

30 The Hot Tamale Man.

31 The Chewing Gum Man.

32 The Knife Grinder.

33 The Crochet Teacher.

34 The Girl Sign Painter.

35 The Cowboy.

36 Renting a Hurdy-Gurdy.

37 The Woman Boat Captain.

38 The Tattooist.

40 Woman Cow-Catcher Clears $15 During First Day of Appointment

Editorial Reviews

If anything, these stories capture New Orleans' cultural, social, and historical evolution in a manner no outsider could have achieved. Anyone with an interest in the city's early history or the literary prowess of Lyle Saxon in particular will find these compelling, offbeat, and powerful works which, when presented together under one cover, create a solid work of literary and historical achievement. The collection should be considered an essential acquisition for any library holding purporting to be authoritative on the subject of New Orleans.

--Diane Donovan at the Midwest Book Review

★★★★★ Five Stars! In A LYLE SAXON READER: Lost Stories of the French Quarter and Buried Treasure, editor James Michael Warner wonderfully preserves Lyle Saxon’s slices-of-life from New Orleans’ Times-Picayune, out of print since original publication in 1919-1923. Saxon’s unsparing, yet humane exploration—and celebration—of New Orleans and surrounding regions evokes the city’s swirl of poverty, essential strength, and ecstatic hedonism. Above all, Warner’s curation and obvious tough love of America’s genuine heart gives readers a glimpse into a place churning with mystery, melancholy and magic—a literary voodoo.

--IndieReader

From the Publisher