Mardi Gras is right around the corner. This event is truly a cultural experience to be had in the South and not one to miss. From the Zulu Ball to the Parades and great food, there is so much culture and history to experience. Can’t make it to Mardi Gras this year? Why not experience another part of New Orleans and Mardi Gras culture through books. Today we have curated books about the legend Marie Laveau: Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. Explore this part of New Orleans culture and add these books to your coffee table or library collection.
Marie Laveau: Voodoo Queen of New Orleans – Books to Add To Your Collection
Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau
Each year, thousands of pilgrims visit the celebrated New Orleans tomb where Marie Laveau is said to lie. They seek her favors or fear her lingering influence. Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau is the first study of the Laveaus, mother and daughter of the same name. Both were legendary leaders of religious and spiritual traditions many still label as evil.
The Laveaus were free women of color and prominent French-speaking Catholic Creoles. From the 1820s until the 1880s when one died and the other disappeared, gossip, fear, and fierce affection swirled about them. From the heart of the French Quarter, in dance, drumming, song, and spirit possession, they ruled the imagination of New Orleans.
Link to Purchase: https://amzn.to/2NI9DmK
The Magic of Marie Laveau: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans
Marie Laveau may be the most influential American practitioner of the magical arts; certainly, she is among the most famous. She is the subject of songs, films, and legends and the star of New Orleans ghost tours. Her grave in New Orleans ranks among the most popular spiritual pilgrimages in the US. Devotees venerate votive images of Laveau, who proclaimed herself the “Pope of Voodoo.” She is the subject of respected historical biographies and the inspiration for novels by Francine Prose and Jewell Parker Rhodes. She even appears in Marvel Comics and on the television show American Horror Story: Coven, where she was portrayed by Angela Bassett.
Author Denise Alvarado explores Marie Laveau’s life and work―the fascinating history and mystery. This book gives an overview of New Orleans Voodoo, its origins, history, and practices. It contains spells, prayers, rituals, recipes, and instructions for constructing New Orleans voodoo-style altars and crafting a voodoo amulet known as a gris-gris.
Link to Purchase: https://amzn.to/3aA948q
A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau
Legendary for an unusual combination of spiritual power, beauty, charisma, showmanship, intimidation, and shrewd business sense, Marie Leveau also was known for her kindness and charity, nursing yellow fever victims and ministering to condemned prisoners, and her devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. In separating verifiable fact from semi-truths and complete fabrication, Carolyn Morrow Long explores the unique social, political, and legal setting in which the lives of Laveau’s African and European ancestors became intertwined in nineteenth-century New Orleans.
Link to Purchase: https://amzn.to/367StFA
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Michiel is a Black Southern Belle living a lowcountry life. I love all things fashion, home decor and southern! When I am not running around doing fun stuff for Black Southern Belle, I live in antique stores and have a minor obsession with historic homes :)
