Madam (41 page)

A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS

W
hile
Madam
is based on the true events of Storyville, which existed from 1898 to 1917, we did utilize dramatic license to fill in missing information, to provide detail and context, and to create a linear thread that we felt would best compel the story. All of the major characters are based on real people; although, we used composite characters in limited circumstances, such as: Mary Deubler had two brothers, Peter and Henry. We merged the two since we could find very little about Henry, although he was father to Anna; Peter Deubler was murdered by Philip Lobrano. Mayor Walter Chew Flower held one term during the period when Storyville was inaugurated; however, we merged his character with Mayor Martin Behrman, who was New Orleans’s longest-term mayor in history—from 1904 to 1920—and who spoke many of the lines of dialogue throughout the book that we attribute to Flower. Judge Beares was actually a senator who pre-dated Storyville, although he did meet his fate at the hands of New Orleans’s first high-class madam. While all other characters based on real people were documented to have been in Storyville, we utilized dramatic license to have them all appear during Storyville’s inaugural year; for example, Louis ArmAcknowledgments

T
hroughout our many years of research, we owe a debt of gratitude to scholars, art historians, and Storyville-philes who inspired and guided us along the way. One of our earliest and favorite sources was Al Rose’s
Storyville, New Orleans: Being an Authentic, Illustrated Account of the Notorious Red-Light District
. Rose’s book is an encyclopedic and photographic romp through the Storyville and jazz era, and much of his collection of photographs and archives can now be found at Tulane University. Al’s son, Rex Rose, inherited the torch and is one of the foremost experts on E. J. Bellocq. Rex has been extremely helpful in corresponding over the years, and we are grateful for his time and resources. We benefitted greatly from Alecia P. Long’s
The Great Southern Babylon: Sex, Race, and Respectability in New Orleans 1865–1920
. Ken Burns’s
JAZZ
PBS series provided some of the feel and context that informed this book, and Alan Lomax’s
Mister Jelly Roll
and
Jelly’s Blues
by Howard Reich and William Gaines allowed us to hear Jelly Roll Morton’s (aka Ferdinand LaMenthe’s) voice in our heads and to utilize some of his own words. Likewise, we gleaned details from Danny Barker’s
Buddy Bolden and the Last Days of Storyville
. New Orleans historian Katy Coyle graciously sat down with us and spoke of her years researching Josie Arlington and Storyville. Steven Maklansky, director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art, who previously curated at the Louisiana State Museum and New Orleans Museum of Art, could hardly contain his passion when he talked with us at length about the mysteries of E. J. Bellocq. For help with tracking down the photos used throughout the book, we thank
Mascot
maven Sally Asher, Florence Jumonville at the University of New Orleans, Sean Benjamin of the Louisiana Research Collection at Tulane University, Robert Ticknor at the Historic New Orleans Collection, Donna Ranieri from the Frank Driggs Collection, Irene Wainwright at the New Orleans Public Library, Vintage NOLA, Fred Wilbur, and Corey Jarrell.

But no amount of research and writing could have made this book happen without the support and encouragement of our super smart and delightful editor Julie Miesionczek. Not only did Julie offer invaluable guidance and insight, but she’d keep us chuckling with little notes on edited pages alluding to a lovably quirky side: “Forgive me for any little bite marks on the manuscript, I have a pet bird (a parrotlet) and he’s always trying to get involved in what I’m doing.” Of course, we would never have found Julie if not for the fantastic team at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. Jill Marr believed in this project from the get-go, and when she received the very first nervously e-mailed pages, she promptly read them, then e-mailed back, “Proceed with confidence.” Jill, the biggest of thank-yous, you are truly a writer’s dream! Andrea Cavallaro, you’re the ace every writer wants—thank you for your determination and for making the stuff of dreams happen. Also, our gratitude goes to the supportive staff of Plume, especially Phil Budnick, Kathryn Court, Liz Keenan, Jaya Miceli, Lavina Lee, and Eve Kirch.

We want to give a huge thank-you to all the friends and family who took time to read (and in many cases reread . . . and reread again) various drafts and then give us the real, honest truth (thus, the various drafts!). Also included here are those who offered encouragement and support along the way: Anita Ugent; Keith Christian; Deborah Martin; Kari Ugent; David J. Cohen; Christian A. Jordan; Willie Mercer; Diane Haithman; Jonathan Weinberg; Deborah Vankin; Elena DeCoste Grieco; Alyssa Rapp; Sheryl Kennedy Haydel; Shawn Barber; the Snotty Girls’ Book Club, including Lesley Chilcott, Shana Mabari, Heidi Adams, and Christina Ross; and Kathleen Dennehy, Brian Groh, and the Monday Night Writers Group.

I
MAGE
C
REDITS

Chapter 1: “Old Houses, Ursulines St.” 1880–1910, George Francis Mugnier. Courtesy of the New Orleans Public Library.

Chapter 2: “Josie, the Railroad Man.”
The Nursery: A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers
, vol. 16, 1874; p. 118.

Chapter 3: Tom Anderson’s Storyville, undated. Courtesy of the Frank Driggs Collection.

Chapter 4: “Brown Mixture.” Courtesy of Karen Harris Collection of Printed Ephemera, Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans.

Chapter 5: “Vieux Carre #134 Dauphine Street” 1912–15; Contact Print Collection. Courtesy of the New Orleans Public Library

Chapter 6: “Anderson’s Exterior,” c. 1909. Courtesy of Al Rose papers, Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University.

Chapter 7: Razzy Dazzy Spasm Band,
The Railroad Trainmen’s Journal
, vol. 16, no. 2, February, 1899, p. 497.

Chapter 8: “American Triumph. A. Marschall & Co. American extra dry champagne/National Bureau of Engraving, Philadelphia,” ca. 1880; Library of Congress.

Chapter 9: The Mascot cover, “Plague of Prostitutes,” June 11, 1832. Courtesy of the Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University, New Orleans, La.

Chapter 10:
Blue Book
, Mahogany Hall advertisement, c. 1893–1917.

Chapter 11: November 1913, Lewis Wickes Hine; Library of Congress.

Chapter 12: “City Hall, New Orleans,” 1880–1910, George Francois Mugnier. Courtesy of the New Orleans Public Library.

Chapter 13: “Pole Peddler” 1880–1910, George Francois Mugnier. Courtesy of the New Orleans Public Library.

Chapter 14: “Queen of the Wheel,” 1897, Rose Studio; Library of Congress.

Chapter 15: Buddy Bolden Band, undated. Courtesy of the Frank Driggs Collection.

Chapter 16: “Spanish House, 150 years old,” 1880–1910; George Francois Mugnier. Courtesy of the New Orleans Public Library.

Chapter 17: “Jackson Square, New Orleans, La.,” 1903, Detroit Publishing Company; Library of Congress.

Chapter 18: “African American children in St. Louis Cemetery #1, 1901,” Cornelius Durkee Collection. Courtesy of the New Orleans Public Library.

Chapter 19: “The Clay Monument [Canal Street], New Orleans,” William Henry Jackson, c. 1890, Detroit Publishing Company; Library of Congress.

Chapter 20: “Vieux Carre #151 Toulouse Street,” 1912–15. Contact Print Collection. Courtesy of the New Orleans Public Library.

Chapter 21: “Mahogany Hall Doorway.” Courtesy of Al Rose papers, Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University.

Chapter 22: “Old Houses, Ursulines Street,” 1880–1910, George Francis Mugnier. Courtesy of the New Orleans Public Library.

Chapter 23: “New Orleans Milk Cart, New Orleans, Louisiana,” Detroit Publishing Company, no. 033073, 1900–1910. Library of Congress, LC-D4-33073.

Chapter 24:
Blue Book
, interior; c. 1898–1917. Courtesy of the New Orleans Public Library.

Chapter 25: French Balls advertisement,
Blue Book
, 1905. Al Rose. Storyville, New Orleans, University of Alabama Press, 1974; p. 23.

Chapter 26: Corset advertisement,
The Cosmopolitan
, 1895.

Chapter 27: “Old Absinthe House, the bar, New Orleans, La.” 1900–06; Detroit Publishing Company, Library of Congress.

Chapter 28: Sarah Bernhardt, promotional postcard, W&D Downey Photographers, London, England, 1918. Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Cambridge, Ma.

Chapter 29: “Bayou Scene” 1880–1910, George Francois Mugnier. Courtesy of the New Orleans Public Library.

Chapter 30: “New Orleans, La., a corner of the French Market,” 1900–1910, Detroit Publishing Company. Library of Congress.

Chapter 31:
Blue Book
cover, undated. Courtesy of Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University, New Orleans, La.