More than a century after its publication, New Orleans As It Was still sizzles with all the salient episodes that constitute the charm of this unique metropolis of the South.

Author Henry C. Castellanos notes that some of the incidents described in this classic volume are so startling, romantic and improbable that, "were they not authenticated by undeniable proof, they might be taken as the vaporings of an exuberant imagination."

First published in 1895, New Orleans As It Was vividly records episodes of antebellum Louisiana life.

Castellanos believed he was living in a time of important transition—that he was a connecting link between generations. His book—written during a period of convalescence—offers accounts of events that he witnessed, as well those unwritten tales he remembered hearing in his boyhood days from his mother and grandmother. Thus, facts, events, and personalities of Castellanos' tales were drawn not only from old records and archives, but from oral recitals and traditions.

New Orleans As It Was includes such diverse elements of the Crescent City's heritage as the dramatic and often tragic reminiscences of the Old Parish Prison and successful transition into a new era by Mayor Louis Phillippe Roffignac. This volume is a delightful tribute to the New Orleans history not found in textbooks.

Henry C. Castellanos was one of New Orleans' most prominent citizens. He was a lawyer, teacher, and journalist, serving for several years on the editorial staff of the Louisiana Courier. At the time of his death in 1896, Castellanos was planning on writing a series of books on the unwritten history of Louisiana. Because of ill health, however, he was only able to complete New Orleans As It Was, which endures today as a testament to his genius.

NEW ORLEANS AS IT WAS
By Henry C. Castellanos
350 pp. 5½ x 8¼
First Pelican pb ed.
9 B/W photos-Index
ISBN: 0-88289-787-X
EAN: 978-0-88289-787-5 pb