But here there is little recorded history, though tales
of 'The Swamp' and 'Smoky Row', both notorious communities where
about 100 black prostitutes from pre-puberty
to their seventies would line the banquette to hustle, come down to us in fragments. Here the famous
whore Bricktop Jackson carried a 15 inch knife and her lover John Miller had no
left arm and wore a chain with an iron ball
on the end to replace it - killed by Bricktop herself on December 7, 1861,
because of his 'bestial habits and ferocious manners'. And here 'One-legged Duffy'
(born Mary Rich) was stabbed by her boyfriend and had her head beaten in with
her own wooden leg. 'And gamblers carrying cocaine to a game.'
I think this was Ondaatje's first novel ... looking forward to it. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYeah,from 1976...I'm not an expert on such matters but from around the internet it seems that a lot of the historical "facts" he uses have been since de-bunked ...but then Jelly Roll Morton or Pops Fosters Autobios are not exactly "true" either
DeleteOnce again, yr turning me on to a writer and a topic I know basically nothing about....but can't wait to dive into....thanks for keeping me off the Netflixxx!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, glad you enjoy it...I don't know any of Ondaatje's other work myself, but check posts tagged 'New Orleans' for more on the roots of Jazz, Storyville etc
ReplyDelete