Reviews
Description
New Orleans is practically synonymous with Mardi Gras. Both
evoke the parades, the beads, the costumes, the food—the pomp and circumstance.
The carnival krewes are the backbone of this Big Easy tradition. Every year,
different krewes put on extravagant parties and celebrations to commemorate the
beginning of the Lenten season. Historic krewes like Comus, Rex and Zulu that
date back generations are intertwined with the greater history of New Orleans
itself. Today, new krewes are inaugurated and widen a once exclusive part of
New Orleans society. Through careful and
detailed research of over three hundred sources, including fifty interviews
with members of these organizations, author and New Orleans native Rosary
O’Neill explores this storied institution, its antebellum roots and its effects
in the twenty-first century.
New Orleans is practically synonymous with Mardi Gras. Both
evoke the parades, the beads, the costumes, the food—the pomp and circumstance.
The carnival krewes are the backbone of this Big Easy tradition. Every year,
different krewes put on extravagant parties and celebrations to commemorate the
beginning of the Lenten season. Historic krewes like Comus, Rex and Zulu that
date back generations are intertwined with the greater history of New Orleans
itself. Today, new krewes are inaugurated and widen a once exclusive part of
New Orleans society. Through careful and
detailed research of over three hundred sources, including fifty interviews
with members of these organizations, author and New Orleans native Rosary
O’Neill explores this storied institution, its antebellum roots and its effects
in the twenty-first century.
Reviews