Storyville, New Orleans: Being an Authentic, Illustrated Account of the Notorious Red Light District [Paperback]

Al Rose (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: University of Alabama Press (April 30, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0817344039
• ISBN-13: 978-0817344030
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars American History That's Not Taught in Schools, December 10, 2002

By 

Rebecca E. Schmitz (Missoula, MT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Storyville, New Orleans: Being an Authentic, Illustrated Account of the Notorious Red Light District (Paperback)

Al Rose's history of America's only (until recent decades in parts of Nevada) legalized red light district is an entertaining read if you have an interest in American history, Victorian and Progressive Era culture, historic preservation, jazz or prostitution. Featuring Ernest Bellocq's bittersweet photographs of Storyville's denziens and reproductions of 19th century New Orleans newspapers and gossip sheets this book has a moral for all of us: namely, that the legalization of prostitution can put an end to disease, abuse, and harrassment by johns and the authorities and become a viable part of the economy.

"Storyville, New Orleans" starts out with a brief history of prostitution in the Crescent City and takes the reader on a street-by-street tour of the district created by city aldermen in 1897. Photographs of the girls and their houses are on just about every page and really shows the day-to-day operation of Storyville. In addition, scattered throughout Rose's work are the surviving calling cards and advertisements for each prostitute and her place of business. This includes the "Blue Book", a sort of Yellow Pages for the lecherous. There is also an extensive chapter on the jazz musicians--professors--who played in the various brothels and bars. Storyville was closed by order of the US Navy in 1917 and Rose shows us what happened to some of the women and many of the buildings.

My only problem with this book is that many of the newspaper reproductions--especially that of the full-length Mascot in the back--are hard to read. I first found "Storyville" in my university library years ago when I was a student researching a paper. It was an original hardback copy and the pictures and reproductions were of a much higher quality. This paperback edition is not as good. I hope future editions will correct this when it comes time to print. Other than that, I recommend this "Authentic, Illustrated Account" to anyone who likes their history a little on the raw side.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Al Rose's Storyville is a thorough and insightful account., August 9, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (United States of America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Storyville, New Orleans: Being an Authentic, Illustrated Account of the Notorious Red Light District (Paperback)

In my research for a recent paper on the lives of prostitutes, I found this book indispensible, not only for its inclusion of interviews with actual Storyville prostitutes, or its thorough examination of the history and availiable statistics on the district, but also for the strange and beautiful photographs that are abundant in its pages. The expressions, attitudes, and settings the women and photographer chose say volumes about life in Storyville, as does Al Rose's wonderful book!

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well done!, April 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Storyville, New Orleans: Being an Authentic, Illustrated Account of the Notorious Red Light District (Paperback)

I came across this book while on vacation in New Orleans. The book is extremely well put together and the historical photos interesting. The testimonies by the women involved in the life make the book hard to put down and make for more factual and better reading than any scholarly reasearch book on the topic. This is a must have for anyone interested in the topic or as a coffee table book.