The Grandissimes

At the centre of this novel is a story of two lovers from feuding Creole families in early 19th century New Orleans. The romance of "the grandissimes" the masked ball at the beginning of the story, the conversations in patois, the scenes between reluctant but eventually blessed lovers, the colours of the Creole spring and the French quarter helped make George Washington Cable famous in America during the 1880s. But in contrast to the idealized romance is Cable's accurate, unflattering portrait of Creole gentility and his arguments for racial equality.