Frances Parkinson Keyes - Louisiana and Mississippi Valley Novels

Louisiana and Mississippi Valley Novels

The first of Keyes' novels set in Louisiana was Crescent Carnival, which tells the story of three generations of two intertwined families. The Breckenridges are protestants, while the Fontaines are Catholic Louisiana Creoles, and the plot hinges on the way that pride and misfortune conspire with cultural and political differences to keep prospective lovers from marrying. The cycle of failure only ends with two people have the courage to defy the odds and accept their love for each other. Carnival celebrations -- mostly Carnival balls, but also including Mardi Gras parades -- form the backdrop of many scenes. An incident involving two Mardi Gras parades facing off when they nearly collide is based on a true story, as recorded by Robert Tallent in his book, Mardi Gras.

The River Road is set against the backdrop of an old family sugar plantation, and the d'Alvery family that struggles to keep it viable between the two world wars. The River Road is notable among Keyes' books for the tragic endings of two out of the three marriages chronicled in the novel. Most characters do not experience a 'happy ending'. In the UK, The River Road was published as two volumes, The River Road (Parts I-VI of the U.S. publication) and Vail d'Alvery (Parts VII-XI of the U.S. publication).

Steamboat Gothic is a true gothic novel set on Louisiana's famed River Road. The plantation home that inspired this novel is still in existence and open for daily tours. The plantation is called "San Francisco" and its mid-Victorian architecture is reminiscent of a steamboat. Set between 1865 and the Depression, Steamboat Gothic discusses the change in transportation methods from steamboat to railroad and the effect the change had upon the plantations along the River Road. In the UK, Steamboat Gothic was published as two volumes, Steamboat Gothic in 1952, and Larry Vincent in 1953. The first book covers a period from 1869 to 1895, and the second a period from 1897 to 1930. Eyre and Spottiswoode published both titles in the UK.

Mrs. Keyes also lived for a time in one of the plantations along the River Road. "The Cottage" was located north of the area known as Duncan's Point and was the setting for her novel, The River Road. "The Cottage" burned to the ground in the 1960s. However, the ruins of the place still remain.

Blue Camellia is set in the prairie country of South Louisiana and takes place on a rice farm. The protagonist and his wife are transplanted Midwesterners who arrive in Cajun country and see the Cajun culture through the eyes of outsiders.

The murder mystery Dinner at Antoine's, set in the immediate aftermath of World War II, became Keyes' biggest seller (and was also her only mystery, apart from the England-set The Royal Box, which has a few of the same characters). The plot is an interesting twist on the "Least Likely Person" concept of the murder mystery and is notable for "playing fair" with the reader: all the clues you need to solve the mystery are embedded in the novel. A subplot involving diplomatic and political manipulation made use of Keyes' experiences in Washington DC as a Senator's wife.

Madame Castel's Lodger is a fictionalized biography of General P. G. T. Beauregard. Keyes' other Civil War novel is The Chess Players a highly fictionalized biography of Paul Morphy, the world chess champion who was born in New Orleans.

Keyes' Louisiana novels are loosely tied together by bits of common background that pop up in various books. Antoine's Restaurant appears at least briefly in all but Blue Camellia. General Beauregard also appears in each of the books set before 1900, and is mentioned in some way in all but one of the others (again, the exception is Blue Camellia). Paul Morphy is the lead character in The Chess Players and is discussed in several other books. A slightly ribald anecdote about a panicked Creole bride on her wedding night is told in The River Road and is mentioned in Once on Esplanade, Madame Castel's Lodger, The Chess Players and others. The Villere family are at center stage in Once on Esplanade and reappear (especially Madame Villere, Keyes' friend) in most of the other Louisiana books. The reader has the sense of a single, unified narrative world underlying the entire Louisiana set of novels.

Her Louisiana novels contained lengthy forwards or postscripts detailing her background research (including bibliographies) and listing the many people who provided her with information and/or inspiration.

Her home in New Orleans, the Beauregard-Keyes House in the Vieux Carré, is now a museum. It is located at 1113 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA 70116, USA. Telephone: (504)523-7257. Formerly lived in, but not owned by, Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard, Keyes restored the mansion to its Victorian glory, and her studio remains on display, complete with manuscripts. Now known as the Beauregard-Keyes House and Garden, the museum contains extensive Keyes correspondences, as well as her collections of dolls and rare porcelain veilleuses, a kind of teapot in which the contents--anything from tea to milk--are kept warm by a small votive light. The veilleuse has the added bonus of serving as a nightlight and it was most commonly utilized at bedtime. Mrs. Keyes' mentioned the use of a veilleuse in several of her novels. Her veilleuse collection was and is one of the most extensive in the world, second only to one in Trenton, Tennessee. A well-researched, professionally produced biographical film on Mrs. Keyes was created by Laurie W. McGill, a member of the United Federation of Doll Clubs, Inc. (www.ufdc.org). A DVD of the film may be purchased from http://www.ufdc.org/realservice.htm. The film, "The Dixie Doll", concentrates on Mrs. Keyes' doll collection - the importance of her own childhood dolls - Carol and Violet, as well as the dolls she collected as an adult and how she used them in her creative writing process. The story is told through the eyes of The Dixie Doll - a doll from a short story penned by Mrs. Keyes for Home Companion magazine.

The Beauregard-Keyes house appears none the worse for wear after Hurricane Katrina but the structure suffered roof damage. It has re-opened to the public.