Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau

by Martha Ward

Overview

The lives and times of the two most powerful spiritual women in Creole New Orleans

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781604734812
Publisher:	University Press of Mississippi
Publication date:	09/28/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	246
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Martha Ward is the author of Nest in the Wind, A World Full of Women, and A Sounding of Women: Autobiographies from Unexpected Places, among other books. She is University Research Professor of Anthropology, Urban Studies, and Women's Studies at the University of New Orleans.

Table of Contents

	Introduction: At the Beginning	ix
Chapter 1.	Who in Heaven or Hell, Africa or France, Was Marie Laveau?	3
Chapter 2.	Catholic in the Morning, Voodoo by Night	21
Chapter 3.	Working Wife, Widow, Mistress, and Voodoo Divorcee	34
Chapter 4.	Marie Laveau Brings the New Orleans Saints to Town	49
Chapter 5.	Color Schemes and Protection Policies on St. Ann Street	65
Chapter 6.	Freedom a la Mode, a la Marie	78
Chapter 7.	Life in the Cities of the Dead	93
Chapter 8.	At the Altar of Love and Luck	108
Chapter 9.	Madame Laveau's Prayers, Poisons, and Political Pull	123
Chapter 10.	How John, the Devil, and Mam'zelle Marie Hoodooed the Media	140
Chapter 11.	A Tale of Two Sisters	154
Chapter 12.	The Last Queen of the Voodoos Returns from the Dead	171
	Postscript: Events in the Lives of the Marie Laveaus	191
	Notes	196
	Sources	226
	At the End: In Recognition and Respect	238
	Index	241

Editorial Reviews

Spell books, guidebooks, fictional works, music, and even a dance choreographed by Alvin Ailey have all paid tribute to the mysterious New Orleans mother and daughter both named Marie Laveau. Ward (anthropology, women's studies, & urban studies, Univ. of New Orleans; A World Full of Women) here provides eyeopening details of these two women's lives and the spiritual, magical, and sexual powers they wielded in 19th-century New Orleans. Marie Laveau the elder was the founder and priestess of American Voodoo; a free black woman, she also sought to relieve the suffering brought by racial and other injustices. Marie Laveau the younger worked on social issues concerning family and domestic violence and reluctantly became the bridge between her mother's French Creole brand of Voodoo and the Hoodoo that Southern blacks brought to New Orleans. Ward gathered information from the Louisiana Historical Collection, from libraries, and from wandering through historic New Orleans. Though many web sites are dedicated to these women and pilgrimages are still made to their gravesite, this appears to be the only full-length biography available. This engrossing book provides the feel of historic New Orleans during the Civil War and will hold the interest of most readers. Recommended for popular collections.-L. Kriz, West Des Moines P.L., IA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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