From wistful Charlie the Mole, a gnome-like vagabond who established a thriving hobo hotel beneath the criminal courts building, to hapless Enrique Alferez, whose attempts to induce a chimpanzee to commit suicide unexpectedly boomeranged, a bizarre cast of authentic New Orleans characters is presented in this fascinating collection of Runyonesque profiles.
Their names are often as colorful as their antics: Broadway Jonny the Fox Cox, Lou the Pitch, Suicide Simon, Roger-the-Lodger, Leapin’ Lou Messina, the Chaplain of Bourbon Street, and a score of others, including a bevy of aptly named ecdysiasts who ply their trade in the establishments along unregenerate Bourbon Street. These denizens of the misty underworld embellish the charm that will always characterize romantic New Orleans.
About the Author
Howard Jacobs was one of America’s most widely read—and quoted—newspaper columnists. A native Louisianian, Jacobs wrote for the New Orleans Times-Picayune for more than twenty-five years. His column “Rémoulade” (a Creole sauce) featured anecdotes, humor, and malapropisms.
About the Illustrator
The late Ray Erwin, longtime columnist for Editor and Publisher, acclaimed Jacobs’ writings as “a peppery, zestful, spicy, piquant, appetizing concoction confected by a master columninst-chef.” Jacobs’ work has appeared in virtually every major newspaper in the nation, as well as in numerous magazines, including Reader’s Digest, Newsweek, V.I.P., and the Saturday Evening Post.
CHARLIE THE MOLE AND OTHER DROLL SOULS
By Howard Jacobs
Illustrated by Eldon Pletcher
HUMOR / Anecdotes
152 pp. 5 x 8
7 b/w illus.
ISBN: 9780882890012