Spectacular Wickedness

Sex, Race, and Memory in Storyville, New Orleans

By: Emily Epstein Landau

Narrated by: Lee Ann Howlett

From 1897 to 1917 the red-light district of Storyville commercialized and even thrived on New Orleans' longstanding reputation for sin and sexual excess. This notorious neighborhood, located just outside of the French Quarter, hosted a diverse cast of characters who reflected the cultural milieu and complex social structure of turn-of-the-century New Orleans, a city infamous for both prostitution and interracial intimacy. In particular, Lulu White, a mixed-race prostitute and madam, created an image of herself and marketed it profitably to sell sex with light-skinned women to white men of means.

In Spectacular Wickedness, Emily Epstein Landau examines the social history of this famed district within the cultural context of developing racial, sexual, and gender ideologies and practices. In 1890, the Louisiana legislature passed the Separate Car Act, which, when challenged by New Orleans' Creoles of color, led to the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896, constitutionally sanctioning the enactment of separate but equal laws. Landau reveals how Storyville's salacious and eccentric subculture played a significant role in the way New Orleans constructed itself during the New South era.

©2013 Louisiana State University Press (P)2015 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Historians of race, gender, and sexuality will learn much from Landau's explanation of how vice precincts such as Storyville reinforced the patriarchal and racial logic of segregation, and challenged it in the most subversive (and intimate) of ways." ( Journal of American History)

"Well-researched and informative, Spectacular Wickedness is a welcome addition to the ever-growing canon of New Orleans cultural history books." ( New Orleans Advocate)

"Landau's scrupulously researched profile of Lulu White, in particular, is a model for historians interested in giving voice to women of color so often absent from the archival record." ( Journal of Southern Religion)

Spectacular Wickedness is fascinating

The only book I have ever encountered before about Storyville was The Girl From Storyville by Frank Yerby, published in 1972. As I listened to Spectacular Wickedness, I was struck by how accurate of a picture Yerby had portrayed in his novel. Emily Epstein Landau introduces us to the real Storyville.

New Orleans had a reputation for being a city of sin from it’s earliest days. Landau traces how this reputation was earned in each incarnation of the city. From the French, Creoles, and Americans, as New Orleans changed hands, it did not change its reputation. In 1897, the city passed a zoning code establishing a red light district in the hope of containing the vice to one area. The hope was if the vice was contained, visitors would see more of the honest hard working community and attract more business. This red light district became Storyville and for almost twenty years it was the wildest red light district in the country.

Landau explores the history of Storyville through primary source documentation from individuals from all points of the social and economic spectrum. The most important business in Storyville was sex. There were closet sized bordellos and very fancy upscale bordellos. The women who worked there were members of all races as were their customers. The major difference was while the sex workers may be of several different races within a bordello, the clientele would only be white or non-white. The rules concerning races were less stringent in Storyville then outside the red light district. That all changed with the advent of Jim Crow laws due to the Supreme Court ruling on Plessy vs. Ferguson which started in the New Orleans courts. Another area Landau explores is how Storyville was an incubator for Jazz. Many great jazz musicians began their careers playing at the bars, clubs or bordellos in Storyville. Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton are just two of these greats who worked there.

Lee Ann Howlett does a good job narrating Spectacular Wickedness. The subject matter is complex and dense at times. Her voice is pleasant and never goes to monotone. Her narration reminded me of a good college professor. It is similar to listening to a very good lecture.

Spectacular Wickedness is fascinating. Ms. Howlett does a fine job with it. The only reason I rated it as 4 stars for attention holding is because of the complexity of the information. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to look at a familiar topic through a new perspective.

Audiobook was provided for review the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Very good

I liked it. Told very well and shows both good and bad of the past

good book

"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com.”
i really enjoyed this book
very informative

The "wrong" side of town

This is a fascinating, extremely disturbing sociological study, which has been written for a nonacademic audience. As with most books from University Press, the presentation is excellent in all ways.

This book openly discusses sexual matters, although it is not in the least salacious. What disturbed me most, I think, was confronting directly, by reading about it, the history of post Civil War white supremacy. Again, the author takes an objective and no holds barred look at this phenomenon, and, perhaps, it is that very objectivity which unsettled me so much.

But this is also a wonderful story about a time, place, and a thorough guided tour of one of the most famous “red light” districts in the country, and much of it was delightfully colorful and completely intriguing. Of course, I’ve always known about such districts, and, being raised in Baltimore (which had its own famous one), I had always been a bit curious. This book more than satisfied that passing curiosity.

The writing is accessible, vivid and readable, and the narration was professional and adequate to the needs of the book.

I received this book in exchange for this unbiased review via the courtesy of AudioBookBlast dot com.

Interesting read-detailed history not overwhelming

Spectacular Wickedness challenges the history you believe you know of the founding of the jazz era in Storyville district of New Orleans. Landau outlines how the ideals of masculinity held during slavery carried over into the turn of the century contributing to the extraordinary culture New Orleans is known for. These ideals combined with separate but equal laws and city officials desire to attract people to the city created a unique culture in Storyville. Racism and sexism runs rampant. These same elements resulted in the decline of the very culture they created 20 years later.

Storyville was known for its sex trade – specifically its trade of light skinned black women to wealthy white men. Lulu White was a well know madam in the midst of it all. Lulu was able to take advantages of this culture to become a successful entrepreneur in a time where there was little opportunity for black women. Landau paints the portrait of an interesting woman misinterpreted (or forgotten) by history.

Very interesting read. Detailed history but not overwhelming. The audiobook narrator was a perfect fit for this book.

I received this book in exchange for this unbiased review via the courtesy of AudioBookBlast dot com.

Good history of New Orleans 1800-1920

I grew up on the Westbank and downloaded this hoping to find out a little more about the hometown.
Not only does the book cover Storyville, but it lays out much of the race relations and history of NOLA in the hundred years preceding it. Jazz is a side item in the book as it focuses more on prostitution and efforts to control it at the turn of the century.

Native New Orleanian

Would you consider the audio edition of Spectacular Wickedness to be better than the print version?

Since, I live in New Orleans, personally I feel reading it would be better. This is only because Lee Ann Howlett is not from here and does not know how to pronounce the street names. For me it was like nails on a chalkboard. For the person outside of New Orleans, you will never notice. Beware if you come visit and want to see some of these streets, you may be saying them wrong if you follow Lee Ann's pronunciation and will be corrected fast. Not in an mean way but in a city pride way. As the book explains, we were founded by the French, and we say things much differently.

Who was your favorite character and why?

New Orleans is always my favorite character in a historic book.

Did Lee Ann Howlett do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

For any historical book about New Orleans, It would be a great idea to hire someone to read the book from this area. The street names are mispronounced in most books about New Orleans. For example: Conti does not rhyme with tea and have the emphasis on CON. The way the say it here rhymes with tie and the emphasis is on the second syllable.

A classic!

Sometimes when you read books and history, they are rather dull. This book not only brought the his street but really brought the narrative too really have you empathize with the individuals involved in what was called the Storyville.

GREAT

If you can ignore the references to white privileged and opinion and stick to the history and facts -- great book. I don't feel the author has a personal history in New Orleans. But overall it's worth the listen.

SpecacularWickedness

This was a good read.Lee Ann Howlett narrates it nicely.This is the story of how Storyville came to be and how it was both legal and illegal.Its the story of racism in New Orleans and how it was normalized to suit the people who wanted to get around it.I was given this book free for an honest review.