Customer Reviews

Storyville

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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)!!

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.

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.

I'm not much for bodice-rippers, but an interest in jazz history and the photography of E.J. Bellocq lead me to pick this one up. The writing is decent enough, but the main problem here is the plot. In short, it's a disaster. As a previous reviewer said, the thing seems to rush to its ending -- almost as if the author wanted to get it over and be done with it. My main reason for writing this review is to direct readers to Al Rose' wonderful non-fiction work of the same title. Having read that book first, it was obvious that Ms. Battle had gotten much of her material from that work (incidentally, the movie 'Babyface,' which was Brook Shield's film debut, was also derived from from a true life story in that book). I was glad to discover that the late Al Rose' Storyville is now back in print. It contains a lot of first-person interviews from prostitutes, pimps and johns who frequented Storyville in its hey day, and I couldn't put it down. So skip the bodice-ripper and read the true story of Storyville. You won't be disappointed. Also, if anyone reading this hasn't seen E.J. Bellocq's haunting photographs of Storyville prostitutes, they're an absolute 'must see.'

Well developed characters in an intersting situation. This is an adult's book and is not only factual but an entertaining read. Lois Battle did a magnificent job detailing life for an abandoned girl who climbs above her predicament. Battle touches on the beginnings of the suffragette movement which leads to a surpizing conclusion. I've recommeded Storyville to several friends.

Ron

I see that most people here didn't much care for this book. I really enjoyed it. It took me almost a week to get through it, but I looked forward to each chance I got to read it. I (unlike some other people here apparently) read the flap and knew going into it that this book was mostly about the legalized prostitution in New Orleans from 1898-1917.

It's the story of two very different women and lifestyles. Kate, a young girl who was seduced and brought to NOLA by a sleazy traveling salesman, and then abandoned in a hotel room, finds that her only chance at making any real money to make a better life for herself is to work for Molly Q., a well known madam in 'The District' who is all to happy to have Kate join her house of women.

Then there's Julia. Married to Charles Randsome, and very wealthy, Julia is a Yankee who was forced to move to NOLA from Boston 20 years earlier because it's where Charles is from, and where his business is. Julia's days consist of going to dinner parties, hosting dinner parties, and trying to teach the shallow, uppity society women in town about women's rights, why they should be allowed to vote, and shutting down 'The District' to keep 'women of ill repute' out of their city, and away from their husbands.

Though Kate and Julia are from two completely different worlds, they will come together in a most unexpected way...and while one will greatly disappoint the other, she will have given her a gift that changes her life forever. I had a really tough time putting this book down, and my only critique (and the reason for 4 stars) was the ending. Not the ending itself, but just how rushed it felt. 40 years flew by in a matter of 5-6 pages. Aside from this, I loved it. I absolutely recommend it...but you should know that there's a lot about prostitution in it (some people here just seemed surprise...read the cover!).

Storyville was recommended to me by several friends in my book club. I enjoyed the book very much.

The book focuses on two main characters: a forwarded thinking society matron (Julia) and a beautiful girl (Kate) who, through a sad series of circumstances, winds up in a New Orleans brothel. Though their worlds are quite different, the two women's paths cross.

The characters are well developed and believable. I do agree with the other reviewers, and feel the ending while good, was a bit rushed.

This is a really captivating story (fiction) that takes place during the time when prostitution was legal in a neighborhood known as "Storyville" in New Orleans. The characters are interesting and colorful, the writing is wonderful.

I have only visited New Orleans once in my life, but the author's descriptions of the streets and shops and homes took me right back there.

I highy recommend this for a really enjoyable reading experience

I was reading along happily, wondering if a lot of the sex scenes were gratuitous but otherwise without complaint; then, three quarters of the way through the book, Julia gets into her Baker Electric, dons goggles,

grabs the wheel, then can't hear the conversation over the roar of the engine.

No "roar" in an electric car, no goggles required, no steering wheel (a tiller, instead.) Well, that was it for verisimilitude for me. I had already questioned a couple of things the author wrote about the Panama Canal, but this clinched it. The era was insufficiently researched. Like the author, I just rushed through the next 40 years, disappointed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book though I do agree with the reviewer who said the author rushed through 40 yrs in 50-60 pages. The final chapter was exceptional, very moving and right. Battle creates believable multi-faceted characters. I look forward to reading more of this author. I am puzzled by a recent reviewer who called this book "a boddice-ripper." Storyville is not a bodice ripper at all. Does this reviewer even know what a bodice ripper is?