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Original poster

Place-based books, Deep South

54 replies

Wazzzzzuuuuuuup · 18/03/2024 21:31

I love to travel and love to make my travels really immersive with very personal planning (often over complicated itineraries!), making Playlists relevant to the countries/cities I'm visiting etc. I also like to read books written by authors from/about the places I'm visiting.

I'm taking a road trip in the USA with my husband. We're going from New Orleans through west Mississippi to Memphis, TN, then to Birmingham Alabama, then Nashville, TN. We then head out to Savannah GA for a few days and back to NOLA through the Florida panhandle.

Can anyone recommend any books by Southern authors or incorporating any of these cities?

OP posts:
Windthebloodybobbinup · 19/03/2024 14:52

Richard grant writes amazing travel stories as a Brit in the US

2mummies1baby · 19/03/2024 13:54

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe

The Little Friend

The Secret Life of Bees

To Kill a Mockingbird

mimbleandlittlemy · 19/03/2024 12:59

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan - not cheerful but a great read. Set in post WW2 Mississippi.

ChessieFL · 19/03/2024 12:46

Michael Farris Smith has written some thrillers set in Mississippi.

LadySybilRamekin · 19/03/2024 12:33

The Sookie Stackhouse series has vampires, too - less posh than the Anne Rice ones, but the novels have a real Southern feel

Mumsnut · 19/03/2024 12:29

If you like Crime/Mystery, Nevada Barr has some novels set in the Deep South. I think one i actually called Deep South.

Dustyblue · 19/03/2024 12:18

'The Hampton Heritage' and better, 'The Hampton Women' by Julie Ellis.

The Hampton Women starts in 1913 in Atlanta. The heroine (Caroline) takes over the family's cotton mill. It's a delicious saga with so much detail of the place, at the time.

Julie Ellis was a brilliant historical author. She wrote many novels without the benefit of the internet for research- just libraries. She's long dead but I leap on her books in op-shops!

TressiliansStone · 19/03/2024 10:03

JM Redmann's "Micky Knight" private investigator series is set in New Orleans. Gritty female protagonist.

I haven't read them yet, but a friend keeps recommending them.

stepfordwifey · 19/03/2024 09:55

Wazzzzzuuuuuuup · 19/03/2024 09:23

Thanks for all the recommendations, and I'm glad nobody pointed out that I'm a weirdo reading nerd 😁

I've read Gone with the Wind previously (what a slog!) and am planning a visit to some of the Plantation houses on the Louisiana side. They are apparently more perfect examples as they were left relatively untouched by the Yankees, unlike the big houses in other states which were burnt out. There's one that has a lens on the history of enslaved people so looking forward to seeing that.

I've been reading some of Anne Rice's novels for a New Orleans flavour. I was obsessed by the vampire chronicles as a teen which is provably what's leading me to this trip.

I'll do a library trip this week and see what they've got. I've got some Tennessee Williams on my TBR pile so will start that next. I hope I can find Fried Green Tomatoes (could always get on Kindle) as I loved this when I read it years ago.

Historical or contemporary is fine for me, I've rarely met a book I didn't like!

Houmas house was lovely. Great tour and then you can watch the James Martin episode of him cooking under the big tree when you get back!

LipstickLil · 19/03/2024 09:48

Deep South by Paul Theroux
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Alilacat · 19/03/2024 09:47

Love books set in the Deep South, shall order some of the others on this list!

Alilacat · 19/03/2024 09:46

Flannery O'Connor novels

Alilacat · 19/03/2024 09:45

And a weird mixture of recipes and guide to being a southern belle: GRITS Guide to life

Alilacat · 19/03/2024 09:43

Confessions of a failed southern lady

Alilacat · 19/03/2024 09:42

Gods in Alabama - joshilyn Jackson

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 19/03/2024 09:29

This book is one of the best books I’ve read.

Before We Were Yours. It’s a massive bestseller

Before We Were Yours https://amzn.eu/d/hyBIVCl

Original poster
Wazzzzzuuuuuuup · 19/03/2024 09:23

Thanks for all the recommendations, and I'm glad nobody pointed out that I'm a weirdo reading nerd 😁

I've read Gone with the Wind previously (what a slog!) and am planning a visit to some of the Plantation houses on the Louisiana side. They are apparently more perfect examples as they were left relatively untouched by the Yankees, unlike the big houses in other states which were burnt out. There's one that has a lens on the history of enslaved people so looking forward to seeing that.

I've been reading some of Anne Rice's novels for a New Orleans flavour. I was obsessed by the vampire chronicles as a teen which is provably what's leading me to this trip.

I'll do a library trip this week and see what they've got. I've got some Tennessee Williams on my TBR pile so will start that next. I hope I can find Fried Green Tomatoes (could always get on Kindle) as I loved this when I read it years ago.

Historical or contemporary is fine for me, I've rarely met a book I didn't like!

OP posts:
NealBrose · 19/03/2024 07:35

Divine secrets of the ya-ya sisterhood

MrsHamlet · 19/03/2024 07:28

Fried Green Tomatoes in the Whistlestop Cafe

ArtG · 19/03/2024 07:25

William Faulkner, Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winner, considered by many as the greatest southern writer. Lots to choose from but Intruder In The Dust is very accessible and covers similar themes as To Kill A Mockingbird.

Nothingbuttheglory · 19/03/2024 07:24

Eudora Welty. She's amazing.

"Eudora Alice Welty (April 13, 1909 – July 23, 2001) was an American short story writer, novelist and photographer who wrote about the American South. Her novel The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of the South. She was the first living author to have her works published by the Library of America. Her house in Jackson, Mississippi has been designated as a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as a house museum."

Dustyblue · 19/03/2024 07:22

MrsHamlet · 19/03/2024 06:49

Midnight in the garden of good and evil

Ooh I forgot about that, it's a cracking read!

CornishLizard · 19/03/2024 07:12

I’m currently enjoying Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay if you’re open to historical rather than contemporary setting. Or An American Marriage or The Vanishing Half.

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 19/03/2024 06:56

A Streetcar Named Desire is set in New Orleans.

Interesting recommendations for books set in New Orleans here but I haven’t read any of them.

The Greg Iles series really capture a sense of place - they’re set in Mississippi.

Books about New Orleans: readers' picks | New Orleans holidays | The Guardian

A city of books as much as a capital of music and culture, our round-up of the best literature about the Big Easy has been filled out with readers’ recommendations. Here are some of the best

https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/02/books-about-new-orleans-readers-picks

MrsHamlet · 19/03/2024 06:49

Midnight in the garden of good and evil

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