Lyle Saxon (1891–1946)

Gumbo Ya-Ya: A Collection of Louisiana Folk Tales by Lyle Saxon, Robert Tallant (1945), 1st edition, hardcover (no jacket), 581 pages.

I was able to find this rare first edition (1945) for my Louisiana book collection for $50 on eBay from the Catholic Charities of NE Kansas in Overland, KS. All proceeds went to charity.

A very unique read! The extended title is a little deceiving. This was mostly centered around Creole folklore and many religious superstitions in, specifically, New Orleans in early 1940’s. But, there were many odd stories presented by way of real life interviews with a few elders of the city of New Orleans describing their memories of certain events that actually took place and some photos included to go along with the stories. Not all of the stories in this book are folklore; some are actually true. You can also Google some of the other people he writes about and actually find old photos of them online. These stories you may never hear or read about anywhere else. It seems they were gathered just in time, as some of the interviewees were in their 80’s and 90’s in the early 1940’s when these interviews were taking place. They would have been born between about 1850 and 1860 and would have seen a lot of changes over their lifetime. If you are Creole, or have Creole blood, you will find this book extremely interesting. Who knows, you might even find your ancestor’s name mentioned. I looked forward to each chapter because it was a completely different story on something that happened in New Orleans. Some stories were very intriguing, while others, I yawned my way through.… (mehr)

Early and more than once in "Lafitte The Pirate" (first published in 1930), author Lyle Saxon concedes that distilling truth from legend in researching Jean Lafitte's life is a difficult task. When Saxon wrote this book about a century after the notorious pirate's (noble privateer's? esteemed war hero's?) death, he could uncover no authoritative records conclusively stating even such mundane information as when or where Lafitte was born or died. Accordingly, it's unsurprising that Saxon's chronicle of Lafitte's life between those estimated dates is tinged with at least as much myth as fact. The book's consequent and considerable flaws as an accurate historical treatise on Lafitte also render "Lafitte the Pirate" a grand and very entertaining story. While toiling as best he can within the limitations of available sources of varying reliability in detailing Lafitte's life, Saxon strives mightily and successfully to compensate for those limitations by conveying with admirable aptitude the fascinating social, cultural and political atmosphere of New Orleans and Louisiana during Lafitte's lifetime. After all, the back stories to Lafitte's adventures include the Louisiana Purchase, the War of 1812, and the Mexican War of Independence, in each of which "Captain" Lafitte participated for nobility or profit (mostly profit) to one degree or another. The book's large cast of supporting characters, ranging from shady New Orleans ruffians, lawyers and politicians to famous (and often shady) American judges, generals and presidents, makes this entertaining work well worth reading by anyone interested not only in Lafitte himself, but in the man's time and place during a seminal period in American history.… (mehr)