Balcony Stories

By Grace Elizabeth King

Book Overview

Balcony Stories is a collection of short stories written by Grace E. King. The book is set in New Orleans, Louisiana and explores the lives of the city's inhabitants during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The stories are told from the perspective of a variety of characters, including wealthy plantation owners, working-class immigrants, and African Americans struggling to make a living in a society that is deeply divided by race and class. The book is known for its vivid descriptions of the city's unique architecture, food, and culture, as well as its frank portrayal of the social and economic challenges faced by its residents. Through the stories, King paints a complex and nuanced portrait of New Orleans, offering a glimpse into the lives of those who call the city home.She said she had, and in truth she had, no other name than ""little Mammy""; and that was the name of her nature. Pure African, but bronze rather than pure black, and full-sized only in width, her growth having been hampered as to height by an injury to her hip, which had lamed her, pulling her figure awry, and burdening her with a protuberance of the joint. Her mother caused it by dropping her when a baby, and concealing it, for fear of punishment, until the dislocation became irremediable. All the animosity of which little Mammy was capable centered upon this unknown but never-to-be-forgotten mother of hers; out of this hatred had grown her love--that is, her destiny, a woman's love being her destiny. Little Mammy's love was for children.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 141910876X
• ISBN13: 9781419108761
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing
• Length: 92 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 7.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Stories of Louisiana women of the late 19th century

I first read about Grace King and her "Balcony Stories" in Christopher Benfey's "Degas in New Orleans." Benfey quotes King as writing about New Orleans balconies' secret life: "There is much of life passed on the balcony in a country where the summer unrolls in six moon-lengths, and where the nights have to come with a double endowment of vastness and splendor to compensate for the tedious, sun-parched days." This quote caught my attention, as did Benfey's brief description of the stories -- all about women: Cajuns, Creoles, free women of color. And I had to read the stories for myself. I'm glad I did -- the stories are a window into a very specific time and place in an area of the South that seems a world of its own. -- Phyllis Zimbler Miller