The Grandissimes

by George Washington Cable, Mint Editions (Contribution by)

Overview

A prosperous New Orleans family, led by Honoré Grandissime, is faced with a moral and financial dilemma that could threaten the livelihood of future generations. The old guard is confronted by new thinkers, opposing their way of life and actively seeking change.

Honoré Grandissime is the patriarch of a French Creole family consisting of a half-brother, who is mixed race, and an uncle who is white. When a young man named Joseph Frowenfeld visits the Grandissimes, his abolitionist views cause friction among the elders. The uncle sees slavery as a necessity that allows them to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. In the heightened political climate, this conflict forces personal relationships and alliances to come to ahead.

The Grandissimes: A Story of Creole Life gives an authentic look at the complex history of the American South. It highlights the insidiousness of the caste system and its impact on mixed-race families. The author details its destructive nature and lasting impact.

With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Grandissimes: A Story of Creole Life is both modern and readable.

Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781513207148
Publisher:	Mint Editions
Publication date:	07/27/2021
Series:	Mint Editions (Literary Fiction)
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.88(d)

About the Author

George Washington Cable (1844–1925) was an American writer born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Cable’s family was initially wealthy due to their position as slaveholders. Yet, after his father’s untimely death they lost most of their fortune. The young Cable enrolled in the military and fought as a Confederate soldier during the American Civil War. It proved to be a lifechanging experience that would influence his future endeavors. In 1870, he became a journalist and spent years honing his skills before publishing his first novel, The Grandissimes: A Story of Creole Life. Cable’s work is best known for its exploration of Southern politics, culture and race relations.

Table of Contents

I.	Masked Batteries	1
II.	The Fate of the Immigrant	11
III.	"And who is my Neighbor?"	20
IV.	Family Trees	23
V.	A Maiden who will not Marry	34
VI.	Lost Opportunities	41
VII.	Was it Honore Grandissime?	46
VIII.	Signed--Honore Grandissime	55
IX.	Illustrating the Tractive Power of Basil	58
X.	"Oo dad is, 'Sieur Frowenfel'?"	67
XI.	Sudden Flashes of Light	72
XII.	The Philosophe	76
XIII.	A Call from the Rent-Spectre	83
XIV.	Before Sunset	94
XV.	Rolled in the Dust	104
XVI.	Starlight in the rue Chartres	123
XVII.	That Night	128
XVIII.	New Light upon Dark Places	143
XIX.	Art and Commerce	156
XX.	A very Natural Mistake	166
XXI.	Doctor Keene Recovers his Bullet	177
XXII.	Wars within the Breast	181
XXIII.	Frowenfeld Keeps his Appointment	187
XXIV.	Frowenfeld Makes an Argument	192
XXV.	Aurora as a Historian	204
XXVI.	A Ride and a Rescue	208
XXVII.	The Fete de Grandpere	221
XXVIII.	The Story of Bras-Coupe	240
XXIX.	The Story of Bras-Coupe, Continued	262
XXX.	Paralysis	281
XXXI.	Another Wound in a New Place	288
XXXII.	Interrupted Preliminaries	293
XXXIII.	Unkindest Cut of All	296
XXXIV.	Clotilde as a Surgeon	299
XXXV.	"Fo' wad you Cryne?"	305
XXXVI.	Aurora's Last Picayune	310
XXXVII.	Honore Makes some Confessions	316
XXXVIII.	Tests of Friendship	325
XXXIX.	Louisiana States her Wants	337
XL.	Frowenfeld Finds Sylvestre	343
XLI.	To Come to the Point	352
XLII.	An Inheritance of Wrong	361
XLIII.	The Eagle Visits the Doves in their Nest	369
XLIV.	Bad for Charlie Keene	384
XLV.	More Reparation	386
XLVI.	The Pique-en-terre Loses One of her Crew	390
XLVII.	The News	401
XLVIII.	An Indignant Family and a Smashed Shop	403
XLIX.	Over the New Store	414
L.	A Proposal of Marriage	419
LI.	Business Changes	426
LII.	Love Lies-a-Bleeding	431
LIII.	Frowenfeld at the Grandissime Mansion	438
LIV.	"Cauldron Bubble"	446
LV.	Caught	449
LVI.	Blood for a Blow	457
LVII.	Voudou Cured	464
LVIII.	Dying Words	470
LIX.	Where some Creole Money Goes	477
LX.	"All Right"	481
LXI.	"No!"	486
	Photogravures
	"They paused a little within the obscurity of the corridor, and just to reassure themselves that everything was 'all right'"
	"She looked upon an unmasked, noble countenance, lifted her own mask a little, and then a little more; and then shut it quickly"	10
	"The daughter of the Natchez sitting in majesty, clothed in many-colored robes of shining feathers crossed and recrossed with girdles of serpent-skins and of wampum"	11
	"Aurora,--alas! alas!--went down upon her knees with her gaze fixed upon the candle's flame"	102
	"The young man with auburn curls rested the edge of his burden upon the counter, tore away its wrappings and disclosed a painting"	103