Thursday, May 20, 2010

George Washington Cable

The GrandissimesGeorge  Washington Cable (1844-1925) is an author I discovered in college when required (Thank you, Dr. Mott) to read his novel The Grandissimes:  A Story of Creole Life. One of the prettiest lines that I have ever read, and my favorite line of all times, is from this novel:
For summer there, bear in mind, is a loitering gossip, that only begins to talk of leaving when September rises to go. 

Cable is referring to New Orleans but the same can be said for Charleston and Johns Island, SC. Perhaps that's why I like that sentence: it resonates in a deep part of me that was bred in coastal South Carolina and remains here.

Having fallen in love with Cable, I began to read all that I could find that he had written: Old Creole Days in 1879, the aforementioned The Grandissimes in 1880, Madame Delphine in 1881, Dr. Sevier in 1884, and John March, Southerner in 1894.



To my delight, the local library has a copy of his Strange True Stories of Louisiana, published in 1889. I just returned from the  library with treasured volume in hand. Cable's preface is 22 pages in length, but if the rest of the book is as interesting as those pages, this volume will be as entertaining as the others! My afternoon is going to be spent reading!

2 comments:

  1. I am going to have to check into this author--sounds interesting, and I too, love the one sentence you quoted..!

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  2. I'm glad to know it perked your interest. I really do love his work!

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