Shirley Ann Grau

Entrenched on the same land since the early 1800s, the Howlands have, for seven generations, been pillars of their southern community. Extraordinary family lore has been passed down to Abigail Howland, but not all of it. When shocking facts come to light about her late grandfather William's relationship with Margaret Carmichael, a black housekeeper, the community is outraged, and quickly gathers to vent its fury on Abigail. Alone in the house the...

Grau's provocative 1961 novel of a New Orleans woman's heartbreaking decision, hailed as "a sad, wistful, young, timeless story, graced by this writer's finely drawn perceptions" Joan Mitchell has two suitors, and can't decide whom to marry. With her mother Aurelie's example in mind, she'd like to skip marriage altogether. Joan and Aurelie live together in a beautiful French Quarter home on Coliseum Street in New Orleans, along with Joan's many half-sisters...

Grau's riveting story of one man's rise to power in New Orleans-and the mystery, joy, sorrow, love, and death that shape his extraordinary life   Like many people in turn-of-the-twentieth-century New Orleans, Thomas Henry Oliver came to the city to escape a dull life-in his case, a childhood in the backwoods of the Midwest. But few New Orleans immigrants find as much prosperity as Oliver does amongst the city's lively streets. By the time he's ninety-five,...

A collection of nine stories.