George Washington Cable: 44 books

Set in New Orleans shortly after the Louisiana Purchase, The Grandissimes, published in 1880, focuses on the Grandissime family, a large and powerful New Orleans creole clan with a racially mixed heritage.  It is a searing indictment of racism and the class system of the Old South.

It was in the Théatre St. Philippe (they had laid a temporary floor over the parquette seats) in the city we now call New Orleans, in the month of September, and in the year 1803. Under the twinkle of numberless candles, and in a perfumed air thrilled with the wailing ecstasy of violins, the little...

A few steps from the St. Charles Hotel, in New Orleans, brings you to and across Canal street, the central avenue of the city, and to that corner where the flower-women sit at the inner and outer edges of the arcaded sidewalk, and make the air sweet with their fragrant merchandise. The crowd—and if...

This 1902 novel, set in a small New England town in the late nineteenth century, focuses on two families, the Byingtons and the Winslows. The families’ younger generations must face the challenges of a new century while navigating the currents of love and loss. 

Excerpt The business became unprofitable for a time until the enterprising Lafittes--thinkers--bethought them of a corrective--"privateering." Thereupon the United States Government set a price upon their heads. Later yet it became known that these outlawed pirates had been...

Geoffrey Chester is charmed by the beautiful woman—Aline Chapdelaines—he glimpses daily on his way to work. For Geoffrey, it’s love at first sight. But romance seems impossible because of the exclusive Creole society to which she belongs. The discovery of an old manuscript brings him closer to her in this delicate depiction of the old régime in New Orleans.

Chapters include: WAR DIARY OF A UNION WOMAN IN THE SOUTH; THE LOCOMOTIVE CHASE IN GEORGIA; A ROMANCE OF MORGAN'S ROUGH-RIDERS; COLONEL ROSE'S TUNNEL AT LIBBY PRISON; A HARD ROAD TO TRAVEL OUT OF DIXIE; and ESCAPE OF GENERAL BRECKINRIDGE.

Set in sultry New Orleans during the Civil War, Kincaid’s Battery tells the story of a Confederate army artillery unit, Hilary Kincaid’s Battery—or “the ladies’ men,” as they are more teasingly known. The men’s various romances with the women of the Big Easy, among other adventures, examine themes of hope, peace, and the nature of war.

“The Amateur Garden” is a classic guide to designing, maintaining, and even profiting from a beautiful garden. It looks in detail at the different plants and flowers that can be introduced, as well as such subjects as climate consideration, soil types, seasonal expectations, and much more. Highly...

Excerpt rs ago, and because of its unsafety is being taken down at the present writing.] This ravine, the middle one of the grove's three, is about a hundred feet wide. When I first began to venture the human touch in it, it afforded no open spot level enough to hold a camp-stool. From...

Excerpt him would have spent his first earnings, as other ambitious ones did, for a saddle; but 'Thanase Beausoleil had bought a fiddle. He had hardly got it before he knew how to play it. Yet, to the father's most welcome surprise, he remained just as bold a rider and as skilful a thrower...

The story is told in the most leisurely manner, and it certainly is not the author's fault if the reader is not intimately acquainted with the river and with almost the entire crew and passenger list of the Votaress before closing the book. The plot is complicated and there are some dramatic scenes,...

Excerpt he physician answered with better self-control. "What do you propose?" "I was going to propose--being a stranger to you, sir--to pay in advance." The announcement was made with a tremulous, but triumphant, hauteur, as though it must cover the physician...