Brave Mardi Gras by W. Adolphus Roberts
Brave Mardi Gras A New Orleans Novel of the ’60s by W. Adolphus Roberts
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The title of the book is Brave Mardi Gras; the typo above is unfortunate. Roberts was a prolific author in the 30s and 40s and wrote a good deal about the Caribbean; this book is one of three that he wrote about New Orleans. What makes Brave Mardi Gras distinct is its concern with people of color in New Orleans during the civil war; people of color had a distinct meaning in the city at that time and should not be confused with the use of the term today. These were free blacks and folks of mixed race in the city who had formed a separate class from people who were enslaved and from American whites, and they supported the war with ardor. The book tells the story of a group of friends who were members of a Mardi Gras krewe – Mardi Gras being relatively new at the time – and their use of the krewe to hide their efforts to support the war. The book has a great number of fascinations, including the author’s obvious knowledge of the time in which the book is set, and his depictions of the fiery, honor-driven, headstrong people – dashing swordsmen, duelists, men of society and property who guarded their pride against all comers. The main story involves the love of Blaise for Lyn, a beautiful heiress who takes a turn as a spy for the south; they are separated during the war by the efforts of one of Lyn’s relatives who becomes a union supporter. The book is well written and easy to read. The treatment of Lyn is worshipful, and at least she is given a role in the war effort, rather than simply sitting at home waiting for the men to finish the work. The book deals frankly with the war itself; nearly everybody in these pages sees that the war will end badly for the south but they go on with the fight. After the war Blaise resurrects his plantation from bad management and unionism to become a benevolent patron of the people whom he once held as chattel. It is hard to read this sympathetic treatment of the plantation system, but Roberts writes with conviction of his own point of view. The book depicts the passion of New Orleans southerners for their right to what they considered a way of life; the ardor of this surprised me, largely because of the writing, which was convincing. Nevertheless the book feels minor and wrongheaded. As is usual with most civil war novels, the issue of slavery is peripheral to the story, without examination.