The Original Sin City
Before Las Vegas there was New Orleans
Dear Readers,
I hope you’ve recovered from the time change.
Here’s a useful factoid: The sleepiness we feel isn’t in our heads, though statistics show it’s worse in the spring when the clocks are turned ahead one hour. One study showed an increase in fatal car accidents of around 6 percent. Just a heads up for next spring when we’ll once again spring forward.
History and Fiction: Always on the lookout for an untold story, I learned about the “sin city” red light district in old New Orleans. Named for Sidney Story, a city alderman determined to confine the city’s unsavory activities to one area, Storyville flourished from 1897 to 1917 when the Navy shut it down. In between, it was a district filled with brothels in mansions, with inexpensive “cribs”, dancehalls and saloons pulsing with the ragtime music of Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong and others. I was especially drawn to the story of Lulu White, a glamorous woman who ran one of the most expensive operations out of her mansion called Mahogany Hill. So I went to New Orleans in search of her story.
I wanted to know how she came to own a four story mansion, and about her background. But all I found was a listing for her in one of the famous Blue Books, where she was described as a woman who had studied literature and music and could converse on many subjects. Mahogany Hall had 15 bedrooms and hosted the most affluent men in town. But I was just months too late to see the actual remains of Storyville. (wouldn’t that be a great title for a novel?) In 1940 most of the buildings were demolished to make way for a housing development and in 2013, just months before I got to town, that development was demolished to make way for yet another housing project. I’m told there are two or three buildings left but was unable to confirm that. Anyway, here’s one of the infamous Blue Books that were a kind of catalog for men looking for temporary companionship. Primarily sold for 25 cents on the corner of Basin and Canal Streets, they contained photos of the women along with ads for whiskey, cigars, and restaurants, a kind of guide to a 19th century “Sin City.” Photos: The Historic New Orleans Collection
The trip wasn’t wasted though. Two years ago when I began work on A SEASON IN SAIGON I needed a southern city with charm and a dark side as hometown for Nick Landry, one of the main characters in the story. I was able to use my photos of modern day New Orleans to help build Nick’s background. Here’s one of my favorites from that trip:
On My Nightstand: Before I found Kristina MCMorris’s latest, THE GIRLS OF GOOD FORTUNE, I was unaware of the Shanghai Tunnels in Portland, the tragedies of the girls caught up in them and the lack of accountability of those responsible. If you liked Kristina’s heart wrenching novel, SOLD ON A MONDAY I think you’ll like this new novel, too, despite its difficult subject matter. One of the reasons we read historical fiction is to uncover the good and the bad about the past. This novel will open a window on an era that not too many people know about.
An Art Dabble: I promised you a peek into the latest products from my tiny art studio here in the hill country. I’ve always loved art but I didn’t inherit much of my father’s prodigious talent. I love puttering around with my watercolors just as a way of relaxing after a long day of writing, or as a way to work out a thorny plot problem. Last week I watched a video about blurring the edges of reality to create an impressionistic painting of something familiar. I remembered the wisteria that grew beside my childhood home so I incorporated the colors of the blooms and the leaves, and blurred them for this representation of wisteria. Is it great art? Nope. Not even good art. But it was satisfying and the memories associated with it brought me a moment of peace and joy. And that is one of the highest values of art.
On the Wild Side: Nine years ago we moved from the burbs to a rural property in the hill country. Since then I’ve made friends (mostly—not the raccoons) with my wildlife neighbors. This is Foxy. She comes every year and takes a nap in the back yard just to get away from her pesky kids. When I took this picture, she was on the hunt for the blueberries I leave for her from time to time.
Finally, an easy recipe for this fall: Chocolate muffins: One box of chocolate cake mix, dump it in a bowl. Add nothing except one 15 ounce can of pumpkin ( not the pumpkin pie mix, just the plain pumpkin). Add a cup of chocolate chips. Stir it up. The batter will be thick. Scoop the batter into 12 muffin cups, bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. I make a batch and freeze them and we enjoy them with a cup of coffee on the back porch, watching for Foxy or somebody else to arrive.
Next issue of Inside Story: Thanksgiving is on the horizon and most of us will be busy with cooking and prepping and traveling ( or not) for the holiday. Who has time to read a newsletter? Ergo, the next issue will appear after Thanksgiving, on Sunday, November 30. So this is my opportunity to say how thankful I am for your presence here, how thankful I am that because of readers like you, I have had the honor and privilege of telling stories for more than three decades. And there are more stories to come. I hope you’ll watch for them in 2026.
From my little casita in the hill country to you, wherever you are, may you have the loveliest of holidays. And as always, feel free to leave a comment here. It’s always a pleasure to visit with you.
Dorothy