Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest <Embed>
Qty:1
  • List Price: $18.00
  • Save: $2.13 (12%)
FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books.
Only 9 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
The Grandissimes: A Story... has been added to your Cart
Want it Thursday, April 7? Order within and choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Ship to:
Select a shipping address:
To see addresses, please
or
Please enter a valid US zip code.
or
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.
Used: Acceptable | Details
Sold by La_Boheme
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Acceptable
Comment: Readable copy. All pages complete and readable but expect worn edges, covers, and creases. There is no Amazon condition below acceptable. Book has highlighted pages. Book has underlining on pages. Markings on spine/edges of book. small holepunch hole back cover

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and .

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you increase your sales. We invite you to learn more about Fulfillment by Amazon .

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See all 2 images

The Grandissimes: A Story of Creole Life (Penguin Classics) Paperback – December 1, 1988

by
George Washington Cable (Author)
› Visit Amazon's George Washington Cable Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
George Washington Cable (Author), Michael Kreyling (Introduction)
4 out of 5 stars 9 customer reviews
See all 15 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Kindle
"Please retry"
$13.29
— —
Hardcover
"Please retry"
$39.99
$32.05 $43.74
Paperback
"Please retry"
$15.87
$10.22 $0.36
Unknown Binding
"Please retry"
—
— $8.00
Best Books of the Month
See the Best Books of the Month
Want to know our Editors' picks for the best books of the month? Browse Best Books of the Month, featuring our favorite new books in more than a dozen categories.
$15.87 FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books. Only 9 left in stock (more on the way). Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Frequently Bought Together

  • The Grandissimes: A Story of Creole Life (Penguin Classics)
  • +
  • The Rise of Silas Lapham (Penguin Classics)
  • +
  • The Portrait of a Lady (Penguin Classics)
Total price: $38.99
Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Back
  1. American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings (Penguin Classics)
    Zitkala-Sa
    4.8 out of 5 stars 17
    Paperback
    $11.43 Prime
  2. Absalom, Absalom! The Corrected Text
    William Faulkner
    4.4 out of 5 stars 241
    Paperback
    $11.24 Prime
  3. The Rise of Silas Lapham (Penguin Classics)
    William Dean Howells
    4.0 out of 5 stars 42
    Paperback
    $12.22 Prime
  4. The Country of the Pointed Firs and The Dunnet Landing Tales
    Sarah Orne Jewett
    4.3 out of 5 stars 60
    Paperback
    $13.11 Prime
  5. William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!: A Casebook (Casebooks in Criticism)
    William Faulkner
    4.0 out of 5 stars 2
    Paperback
    $47.95 Prime
  6. The Rise of David Levinsky (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics)
    Abraham Cahan
    4.0 out of 5 stars 28
    Paperback
    $12.00 Prime
Next
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
Image
Looking for the Audiobook Edition?
Tell us that you'd like this title to be produced as an audiobook, and we'll alert our colleagues at Audible.com. If you are the author or rights holder, let Audible help you produce the audiobook: Learn more at ACX.com.

Product Details

  • Series: Penguin Classics
  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; Reprint edition (December 1, 1988)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0140433228
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140433227
  • Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.8 x 7.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #322,739 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsBest Novel of New Orleans Before JK Toole
By Amazon Customer on May 30, 2000
Format: Paperback
A native Louisianian, I didn't read this book for a long time, but was well rewarded when I finally got around to it. Cable caught a lot of hell for this book (along with OLD CREOLE DAYS) and it's easy to see why. Taking potshots at popular historical myths (and making arguments for racial equality) was never popular, especially in Louisiana right after Reconstruction when this book was written. While the writing and some of the melodrama are considerably dated (if exquisitely lush and beautiful), Cable makes excellent (if occasionally strident and jarring) points of his own while giving us a beautifully entertaining story of forbidden love and the clash of cultures, (themes more than resonant in Southern literature), and his characters, particularly the strong-willed Aurore, the family black sheep Honore de Grandissime, and the idealistic young Anglo (well, German, really) immigrant, Joseph Frowenfeld, stay in the soul's memory long after the book's finish. As an afterthought, the way Cable goes after Creole society has relevance today, as there is probably no other part of Louisiana history and culture as misunderstood and yet sentimentally applauded as its Cajun and Creole components. A great novel not only on its own terms, but also for the impact its had on perceptions of the South and especially Louisiana.
Comment 26 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsa little known masterpiece
By A Customer on January 26, 2000
Format: Paperback
Critic Rebecca West compared Cable to Balzac and the comparison is apt; this is possibly the closest an american novelist came to the french author. Set in exotic New Orleans during the time when Louisiana was being admitted to the Union, the novel is atmospheric and rich in description. The plot is complex but never enervating. The Grandissimes will be a real surprise to readers who have only read the society novels of Henry James and Edith Wharton.
Comment 13 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsFantastic depiction of Creole Life
By Jason Rosenbaum on April 21, 2003
Format: Paperback
Cable's epic masterpiece details the adventures of a young protagonist stranded in New Orleans after his family succumbs to yellow fever. Through an acquaintance with a well-connected Doctor, he is able to enter a society that few people get to experience -- upper class New Orleans.
Mark Twain said that if you read the Grandissimes, you wouldn't have to go to New Orleans, because by reading it, you have already visited. Cable, with extensive detail, humor and intricate commentary on the Old South, has written a novel that stands the test of time, even though some of the characters (Agricola Fullister) do not.
Although the book is at points tenuous, the characters are vibrant and interesting enough to keep the plot moving along.
Of course, the most controversial aspect of The Grandissimes is the ending, which many feel is a let down after pages and pages of emotional build-up. Without giving anything away, the finals pages are somewhat of a disappointment. But the ending in its entirety is a well done.
Overall, the Grandissimes is a fascinating look at class and culture of the Creoles. It is recommended to anybody who enjoys reading New Orleans literature or literature in general.
Comment 10 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsI had to read it & I ended up liking it !
By Lauren Krantz on May 9, 2003
Format: Paperback
To tell you the truth, I had to read this book for a class I took this year, which focused on literature from New Orleans. I don't mind reading books for classes; however, once I read the first couple of chapters of The Grandissimes, I thought that this would be one of those books that I would fall asleep reading. It seemed confusing and dealt with issues that did not really pertain to me, but I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting and complex the novel became.
Once the plot started to unfold, the novel grabbed my interest and I grew to respect and be amazed by it. I think that Cable did a great job tying major themes into this piece of literature, such as family pride, Creole lifestyle, Iron Virgins and Southern Belles, and the rigorous expectations of society. The Grandissimes takes place right after the Louisiana Purchase (1803), which allowed Cable to encompass ideas that many people are familiar with, such as a fear of change. The characters in the book where well developed and each seemed to carry their own message to the audience. For example, it is easy for everyone to relate to Joseph Frowenfeld, an American who finds himself wrapped up in the Creole society. This character was forced to be an outsider and the novel depicts how he dealt with the divisions of class and status.
The Grandissimes is titled after the Creole family from New Orleans who held most of the power and influence in society at the time. Throughout the book, the family must struggle through twists and turns of deceit and unexpected events, while still holding up their Old South charm. This book does a great job portraying how the family struggled to keep their position and power in society, in order to stay true to their roots.Read more ›
1 Comment 11 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsCreole life in New Orleans, c.1800
By Bomojaz on September 5, 2006
Format: Paperback
Subtitled "A Story of Creole Life" and set in New Orleans during the early 1800s, the main thread of this novel revolves around a family feud between the Grandissimes and De Grapions. Various members of each family love and hate members of the other, which is eventually worked out to the satisfaction of some (Honore and Aurora) and the disappointment (even death) of others (Agricola and Palmyre). Cable's goal was to portray as realistic a picture of New Orleans and Creole society at the time when the city was still mainly French and Spanish (proud old Agricola hates the newly arriving Americans) as he could, and in that he mainly succeeds (even with many of the romantic elements that creep into the story, such as the developing love interest between Joseph Frowenfeld and Clotilde Nancanou). Beyond the feud, though, Cable depicts a society drenched in violence and racial hatred, and this is about as realistic as it could get. In one scene a black woman is lynched, then cut down just before she suffocates and told to run for her life; when she does she's shot dead. Bras Coupe, a one-time African prince who is now a slave, is an imposing character and worthy of respect. The book has a great deal of Creole and French dialect throughout, which may be problematic for some. A product of the deep South, Cable writes with vitriol against the slave system and the cruelty of white masters, but also reveals sympathy for a dying culture in New Orleans. Probably Cable's best work.
Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

The Grandissimes: A Story of Creole Life (Penguin Classics)
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more
This item: The Grandissimes: A Story of Creole Life (Penguin Classics)
Set up a giveaway

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.



Pages with Related Products. See and discover other items: classic literature, classics literature