Storyville [Unknown Binding]

Lois Battle (Author)

Product Details

• Unknown Binding
• Publisher: Viking; Book Club (BCE/BOMC) edition (1993)
• ASIN: B002JXJI7W
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,259,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put it down, October 2, 2001

By 

Kathy (New Berlin, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Storyville (Paperback)

This is a beautifully told, extremely well-written story that brought old New Orleans to life with such clarity, it was as though I were walking down Bourbon Street every time I opened the book. I do agree the ending was a bit rushed but only because I didn't want the book to end. Kate and Julia, Mollie Q, Billy Shakespeare and all the characters were well-defined and believable. I have read Ms Battle before and will continue to read everything she writes. (And I don't understand the "bodice-ripper" review, either)!!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Could have been much better..., June 30, 2004

By 

Cynthia K. Robertson (beverly, new jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Storyville (Paperback)

I picked up Lois Battle's Storyville because of my love of New Orleans and my fascination with its history. Unfortunately, this book did not live up to expectations.

Storyville was the Red Light District in New Orleans-legal from 1898 until 1917. This story bounces between the lives of the denizens of The District, and those of an upper-crust family, the Ransome's. Their lives intersect when the Ransome's son falls in love with a prostitute, which causes a "downward spiral of events" that will change all their lives forever.

Storyville starts off with great promise, and Battle makes a good effort to develop her characters. But halfway through, the characters seem to get bogged down in the plot, and the ending is especially weak and unbelievable. Also, many of the characters are unlikable from the beginning, but even those that I originally liked became loathsome by the end.

This book does offer a few redeeming tidbits. The characters who work in Storyville are quite colorful, and the description of a meeting of the madams of The District (including one drag queen) is quite entertaining. The book touches on such topics (however lightly) as the suffrage movement, the Spanish American War, the building of the Panama Canal and even some background on the Civil War. There are a few morsels of history about New Orleans and The District that are interesting and informative, but there aren't enough of them.

So, if you're really interested in reading about Storyville, there are much better books to be had.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another great novel by Lois Battle!, June 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Storyville (Paperback)

Lois Battle writes strong, solid fiction about strong (usually Southern) women. Her novels are realistic and yet entertaining. "Storyville" was excellent and I could barely put it down. "Bed and breakfast" and "The past is another country" , also by Battle, are equally well written. I usually read only British authors, but I make an exception in Lois Battle's case.