Creole Son: A Novel of Degas in New Orleans

By Michael Llewellyn

In 1872, French painter Edgar Degas is disillusioned by a lackluster career and haunted by the Prussian siege of Paris and the bloodbath of the Commune. Seeking personal and professional rebirth, he journeys to New Orleans, birthplace of his Creole mother. He is horrified to learn he has exchanged one city in crisis for another--post-Civil War New Orleans is a corrupt town occupied by hostile Union troops and suffering under the heavy hand of Reconstruction. He is further shocked to find his family deeply involved in the violent struggle to reclaim political power at all costs. Despite the chaos swirling around him, Degas sketches and paints with fervor and manages to reinvent himself and transition his style from neoclassical into the emerging world of Impressionism. He ultimately became one of the masters of the new movement, but how did New Orleans empower Degas to fulfill this destiny? The answer may be found in the impeccably researched, richly imagined historical novel, Creole Son. REVIEWS "Michael Llewellyn paints vivid pictures with words of life in New Orleans in 1872, while chronicling the known details of artist Edgar Degas's sojourn in the city. The author's knowledge of both art history and technique is apparent, enabling the reader to share in the artist's process of creating his works. Llewellyn has clearly done his research and has a gift for dialogue. 'There's something very strange about this place, this wild mixture of land and water that warns and inspires with its very impermanence,' a fellow artist tells Degas as they watch the Mississippi River. The book's deft handling of historical detail entwined with an engrossing fictional narrative will appeal to lovers of history, lovers of art, and lovers of a good read. Creole Son engages, educates, and above all, it entertains." -Celeste Berteau, The Louisiana Advocate " I thoroughly enjoyed Creole Son, especially the sections in which Degas is sketching and painting. Llewellyn captures with compelling detail Degas's artistic excitement and inspiration. I also learned a lot about 19th century New Orleans politics from the impressive research, and admired the way Llewellyn met the challenge of writing a convincing novel set in the Francophone 19th century, no easy task. It's challenging to write in one language while reminding readers that the characters are speaking in another. I was not surprised to learn Llewellyn had been a painter. The frenzy of the inspired eye and hand coordination rang so true that it couldn't be invented." -James Nolan, author of Higher Ground "With skill and sensitivity, Llewellyn captures the interaction of art and violence, ugliness and beauty, the transition of an artist, a man and a world." - Barbara Hambly, author of A Free Man of Color "Llewellyn deftly imagines the beauty, peril, internecine struggles and seductiveness of late 19th century New Orleans as seen through the troubled artist's eye." - Ciji Ware, author of Landing By Midnight

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0D8PQBQNZ
• ISBN13: 9798328650380
• Release Date: April 2012
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 425 Pages
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.0" x 5.5"