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The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi

The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi

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  • Create Date：2021-09-02 10:19:00
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Richard Grant
  • ISBN：1501177842
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Summary

Bestselling travel writer Richard Grant “sensitively probes the complex and troubled history of the oldest city on the Mississippi River through the eyes of a cast of eccentric and unexpected characters” （Newsweek）。

Natchez， Mississippi， once had more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in America， and its wealth was built on slavery and cotton。 Today it has the greatest concentration of antebellum mansions in the South， and a culture full of unexpected contradictions。 Prominent white families dress up in hoopskirts and Confederate uniforms for ritual celebrations of the Old South， yet Natchez is also progressive enough to elect a gay black man for mayor with 91% of the vote。

Much as John Berendt did for Savannah in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and the hit podcast S-Town did for Woodstock， Alabama， so Richard Grant does for Natchez in The Deepest South of All。 With humor and insight， he depicts a strange， eccentric town with an unforgettable cast of characters。 There’s Buzz Harper， a six-food-five gay antique dealer famous for swanning around in a mink coat with a uniformed manservant and a very short German bodybuilder。 There’s Ginger Hyland， “The Lioness，” who owns 500 antique eyewash cups and decorates 168 Christmas trees with her jewelry collection。 And there’s Nellie Jackson， a Cadillac-driving brothel madam who became an FBI informant about the KKK before being burned alive by one of her customers。 Interwoven through these stories is the more somber and largely forgotten account of Abd al Rahman Ibrahima， a West African prince who was enslaved in Natchez and became a cause célèbre in the 1820s， eventually gaining his freedom and returning to Africa。

With an “easygoing manner” （Geoff Dyer， National Book Critics Circle Award–winning author of Otherwise Known as the Human Condition）， this book offers a gripping portrait of a complex American place， as it struggles to break free from the past and confront the legacy of slavery。

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Reviews

Grace W ，

3。5 Reads like an NPR podcast and I really can't decide what I'm meant to feel。 Gonna sit with it for awhile。 3。5 Reads like an NPR podcast and I really can't decide what I'm meant to feel。 Gonna sit with it for awhile。 。。。more

Emily ，

I like the contrast of the present with the chapters about Ibrahima。

Sue Ronnenkamp ，

This book caught my eye because one of my dearest friends had a link to Natchez。 Her mother was from there and since I’d heard so many stories about her mom， I wanted to learn more about this place and its history。 WHAT A STORY！ Truly felt like I was reading it for Elsie （she’s gone now too， just like her mother）。 Only wish she was still alive so we could talk about this book and all the amazing stories Richard Grant discovered。 Fun and extremely interesting read！

Tracy H ，

DNF @ pg 17

Paul Miller ，

This book grabbed my eye after a recent visit to Natchez。 A beautiful small city， diverse in every way imaginable - rich and poor， new and old， black and white; the city was pro-Union during the Civil War， btw。 The author is an English travel writer who immerses himself in the local culture。 Having just visited one of the historical homes， it was fascinating to read the backstory about the two dueling garden clubs and how their histories over the last century reflect the blending of contemporary This book grabbed my eye after a recent visit to Natchez。 A beautiful small city， diverse in every way imaginable - rich and poor， new and old， black and white; the city was pro-Union during the Civil War， btw。 The author is an English travel writer who immerses himself in the local culture。 Having just visited one of the historical homes， it was fascinating to read the backstory about the two dueling garden clubs and how their histories over the last century reflect the blending of contemporary and historical Natchez。 Highly recommended BEFORE you visit the town。 Will remind you of the line from Faulkner: the past is never dead - it’s not even past。 。。。more

Brian Niemiec ，

Seeing as I'm going on a cruise of the Mississippi and Natchez is one of the stops， I picked this book to learn a little more about it before I go。 Much like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil， these aren't so much real people as they are characters。 It is a contrast， literally， of Black and White。 Two different towns depending ding on the color of your skin and station in life。 Funny， sad and definitely weird。 To paraphrase one character， "In the South， we don't hide crazy。 We bring it to Seeing as I'm going on a cruise of the Mississippi and Natchez is one of the stops， I picked this book to learn a little more about it before I go。 Much like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil， these aren't so much real people as they are characters。 It is a contrast， literally， of Black and White。 Two different towns depending ding on the color of your skin and station in life。 Funny， sad and definitely weird。 To paraphrase one character， "In the South， we don't hide crazy。 We bring it to the party and give it a cocktail。" 。。。more

Evan O。 ，

I grew up visiting the South every summer and remember driving into Natchez several times。 This book was full of odd historical tidbits and made me yearn for sweet tea and catfish。

Debra Waites ，

Sad。 How can anyone be proud of America’s history？ This holds up a mirror to us and we need to acknowledge it。

Tonya ，

This wasn't one of my favorite books。 I had a hard time getting into it。 It kind of skipped around quite a bit。 This wasn't one of my favorite books。 I had a hard time getting into it。 It kind of skipped around quite a bit。 。。。more

Carolyn Deboer ，

REally pretty interesting re: race relations now and past in Natchez。 Enjoyed Dispatched from Pluto more。

Sherry Sidwell ，

Richard Grant is an obvious collector of stories。 In his previous Dispatches from Pluto， he tells his own story of being a longtime British travel writer who decided on a whim to abandon a decidedly urban life in New York City for an isolated rambling plantation house in Mississippi。 This follow up chronicles his fascination with Natchez， Mississippi， a relatively small town that is also deeply fascinated with itself and how "quirky" it believes itself to be while nearly drowning in pre Civil Wa Richard Grant is an obvious collector of stories。 In his previous Dispatches from Pluto， he tells his own story of being a longtime British travel writer who decided on a whim to abandon a decidedly urban life in New York City for an isolated rambling plantation house in Mississippi。 This follow up chronicles his fascination with Natchez， Mississippi， a relatively small town that is also deeply fascinated with itself and how "quirky" it believes itself to be while nearly drowning in pre Civil War nostalgia for sale。 Like its predecessor， this book is beautifully written。 Grant has a very engaging style of storytelling。 But also like its predecessor， it at times feels like two different books。 White Natchez， for all its eccentric pretensions， comes off as suffocating and quickly tedious with stories of endlessly dueling anachronistic garden clubs and heavily romanticized Lost Cause pageants。 The other half of the book follows the current trend of trying to more honestly re-examine history to include those left out of previous tellings up through the present day。 There's a pretty interesting story here about an African prince caught up in the maw of American slavery and how his lifetime fight to return home reached the highest levels of American government and became a presidential election issue， but it mostly lacks any sort of attribution and is broken up in installments throughout the book， forcing the reader to first sit through yet another chapter of old women in gardening clubs bickering about nonsense。 。。。more

Janilyn Kocher ，

Overall， this was a pretty good read。 Initially I had doubts about a British guy who admitted he didn't know what a hoopskirt was， writing about a southern town。 Natchez is a former husk of itself。 I found the history of the community the most interesting aspect of it。 I've toured many of the homes mentioned in the book。 I am also interested in all the family histories， black and white， which is often intermingled。 I learned about the Deacons of Defense whom I'd never heard about。 It's an educat Overall， this was a pretty good read。 Initially I had doubts about a British guy who admitted he didn't know what a hoopskirt was， writing about a southern town。 Natchez is a former husk of itself。 I found the history of the community the most interesting aspect of it。 I've toured many of the homes mentioned in the book。 I am also interested in all the family histories， black and white， which is often intermingled。 I learned about the Deacons of Defense whom I'd never heard about。 It's an educational read。 Thanks to Edelweiss and Simon Schuster for the advance read。 。。。more

Jill Lucas ，

Well， what a fascinating book！ I am absolutely going to Natchez， Mississippi at some point。 A worthwhile read given current events， the book is a great blend of super important history and present day。 I also have to say the author writes really well - I had to look up a lot of words， lol！

Zahara Schara ，

This was less linear that the dispatches from Pluto， so if you looking for a novel this might not be the go to book。 But if you are looking for a glimpses into a world that is often portrayed in black and white this is a good place to start。The stories are told both with unflinching honesty and empathy。 Not a travel how to but a peak at the soul as well as the demons of a place so steeped in history。 Over all I found it very enjoyable and a quick read。 As of yet I have not read anything by Richa This was less linear that the dispatches from Pluto， so if you looking for a novel this might not be the go to book。 But if you are looking for a glimpses into a world that is often portrayed in black and white this is a good place to start。The stories are told both with unflinching honesty and empathy。 Not a travel how to but a peak at the soul as well as the demons of a place so steeped in history。 Over all I found it very enjoyable and a quick read。 As of yet I have not read anything by Richard Grant that I disliked。 。。。more

Subir ，

A jarring review of the social mores in Natchez as it relates to the popularity of its antebellum history， devoid of its racial context， set in the 21st century。The author does a good job of weaving the historical record of the protagonist， The Prince， with how current residents resist recognizing the truth of how the institution of slavery as a source of free labor morphed into “wealth creation” by increasing the number of slaves you owned， even it meant forcing your female slaves to give birth A jarring review of the social mores in Natchez as it relates to the popularity of its antebellum history， devoid of its racial context， set in the 21st century。The author does a good job of weaving the historical record of the protagonist， The Prince， with how current residents resist recognizing the truth of how the institution of slavery as a source of free labor morphed into “wealth creation” by increasing the number of slaves you owned， even it meant forcing your female slaves to give birth， gave rise to the need for myth-making in the post-Reconstruction era。 。。。more

Devon Elcik ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book was selected as the June 2021 selection for a book club I am joining。 I should have read this book while I was still living in Mississippi so that I could have gone to Natchez and appreciated this interesting town！ On our way to/from New Orleans， we stopped and went to Longwood， but we did not even drive by the other great homes。 If I was still living in MS I would definitely make a trip for pilgrimage。

Glyn ，

I found this to be a breezy enough read - all centred on the idiosyncratic Mississippi town of Natchez， which has some elements of stereotypical Deep South life but also some that are decidedly atypical （for example it is a very gay-friendly town）。 It's a series of vignettes of contemporary Natchez life， interspersed with some historical context from the days of cotton slavery in the area。 Grant befriends a wide section of inhabitants and presents us with both the reality of their daily lives bu I found this to be a breezy enough read - all centred on the idiosyncratic Mississippi town of Natchez， which has some elements of stereotypical Deep South life but also some that are decidedly atypical （for example it is a very gay-friendly town）。 It's a series of vignettes of contemporary Natchez life， interspersed with some historical context from the days of cotton slavery in the area。 Grant befriends a wide section of inhabitants and presents us with both the reality of their daily lives but more interestingly with their characters， which tend to be towards the 'out there' end of the personality spectrum。 There's a lot of focus on the soft topics， especially historical pageantry， which tend to dominate the lives of the gentry of Natchez， even today but also some edgier content in relation to politics， economics and the unavoidable Southern topic of race。I enjoyed the book but it felt more like colourful reportage of a colourful place rather than something the author is truly invested in - unlike his other book about Mississippi， Dispatches from Pluto， in which he described his own move to the Delta region and his struggles to acclimatise there。 。。。more

Christina ，

Interesting to see how much a culture can clash and the way different communities， especially ones traditionally racist， are trying to handle acceptance while also admitting historical accuracy。 I wish they had not compared it to garden of good and evil。 It’s not really like that minus the description of many “characters” and the outlandish ness of them。

Cathy Rhodes ，

While the story of the prince slave was fascinating and the history of Natchez interesting， I did not think the book was well written。 And I felt that he was just forcing the “slaves built this” narrative through every conversation he weaved into the book。 I got bored。 I enjoyed Dispatches from Pluto but felt that this book did not live up to that one。

Joleen ，

I don’t remember who suggested I read this， but it was not my normal recommendation。。。at all！The only thing I knew about Natchez， Mississippi dealt with American Indians， not Civil War history， not what the town is like today。 What an eye opener to learn about pageants and Antebellum architecture and what each means to African Americans or the owners of these estates as well as descendants of slave owners。 The book would have been far more appealing to me if it weren’t for the language and adult I don’t remember who suggested I read this， but it was not my normal recommendation。。。at all！The only thing I knew about Natchez， Mississippi dealt with American Indians， not Civil War history， not what the town is like today。 What an eye opener to learn about pageants and Antebellum architecture and what each means to African Americans or the owners of these estates as well as descendants of slave owners。 The book would have been far more appealing to me if it weren’t for the language and adult dialogue。 But the story of a captured educated and royal African Muslim sold into slavery and life as a slave was fascinating。 He’s actually famous in Natchez。 That story made finishing this book worthwhile！ 。。。more

Hana Correa ，

I’m a fan of history of all flavors， and this book doesn’t disappoint。 Author Richard Grant blends together notable historical figures from the small Mississippi town of Natchez with current contemporary characters。 Natchez is of course part of the Deep South with a long history of racial animus that has roots in the slave trade that helped build the town。 These stories are largely unknown， but that doesn’t make them any less interesting or important。 Lots of interesting tidbits of information t I’m a fan of history of all flavors， and this book doesn’t disappoint。 Author Richard Grant blends together notable historical figures from the small Mississippi town of Natchez with current contemporary characters。 Natchez is of course part of the Deep South with a long history of racial animus that has roots in the slave trade that helped build the town。 These stories are largely unknown， but that doesn’t make them any less interesting or important。 Lots of interesting tidbits of information to be discovered。 The author also does a good job of trying to make the racial tensions that still exist in the south understandable。 The small town of Natchez is also a character of its own in this story with a unique personality and flavor。 A worthwhile trip into what makes the Deep South tick for those interested in the journey。 Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Bridgette ，

Read for research and wasn't disappointed。 The tone is conversational， and I love a microhistory/biography of place， which Natchez is the perfect place for。 The story of enslaved Ibrahima worked well with the current stories of Natchez。 Read for research and wasn't disappointed。 The tone is conversational， and I love a microhistory/biography of place， which Natchez is the perfect place for。 The story of enslaved Ibrahima worked well with the current stories of Natchez。 。。。more

Don ，

An Unbiased View of NatchezLike Dispatches from Pluto， I enjoyed a complete outsider’s viewpoint of Southern culture。 Grant has no axes to grind and does not prejudge。 He sees a unique culture with fresh and honest eyes， takes no sides， and is quick to point out the good and bad in every case。 There are no heroes—just fallible （but oh so intriguing and interesting） humans。 I think he was spot on in his descriptions and observations of an eccentric town full of eccentric people and customs。 Many An Unbiased View of NatchezLike Dispatches from Pluto， I enjoyed a complete outsider’s viewpoint of Southern culture。 Grant has no axes to grind and does not prejudge。 He sees a unique culture with fresh and honest eyes， takes no sides， and is quick to point out the good and bad in every case。 There are no heroes—just fallible （but oh so intriguing and interesting） humans。 I think he was spot on in his descriptions and observations of an eccentric town full of eccentric people and customs。 Many of the people here， and much of Natchez society in general， are full of bizarre contradictions and live too much in the past， but also live with with tremendous passion and an admirable zest for life。 This book has minimal plot， but is well-written and fast paced and full of outrageous and memorable characters in a place that has largely been able to insulate itself from the rest of the world—even the rest of Mississippi。 This is a read worth your time。 。。。more

Donna ，

Deepest South of All is like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil on steroids。

Judy G ，

This is a vital vivid book and he can write as he the author has just moved here to the Deep SOuth in Natchez Mississippi。 This ante bellum city dwells in its racism and white superiority。 This is a city frozen in time， the author who seems to b known for travel books hasstepped outside ofhis normal expression to tell us these tales。Judy g

barbo ，

Very eye-opening， thought provoking look at the deep south， particularly life in Natchez， MS。

Sara ，

This book is both charming and edifying。 Grant cleverly weaves a story into his description of Natchez life and culture so the reader is compelled to continue reading。 This book offered more than I initially thought it would and I would easily recommend it to just about anyone。

Melinda ，

Entertaining， interesting， and informative travel into contemporary Natchez entangled with its past and grasping at a more inclusive future。 Well-written and very descriptive。 I do think some of the garden club material was drawn out， but overall I enjoyed this story very much。 It's a bonus that Grant balances out his contemporary tales with the amazing story of a royal prince taken from Africa into slavery who is finally returned years later。 Entertaining， interesting， and informative travel into contemporary Natchez entangled with its past and grasping at a more inclusive future。 Well-written and very descriptive。 I do think some of the garden club material was drawn out， but overall I enjoyed this story very much。 It's a bonus that Grant balances out his contemporary tales with the amazing story of a royal prince taken from Africa into slavery who is finally returned years later。 。。。more

vi ，

Fantastic story that goes in depth of both sides of little town in the south。 Really well researched and makes you think。

LoneStarWords Deb Coco ，

It's just the south。 There's no point in trying to explain it。The Deepest South of AllRichard Grant•I don't remember where I stumbled upon this book but the minute I did I knew I had to read it immediately。 An expose of Natchez， Mississippi， I listened to this start to finish almost without stopping。•Natchez was one of the cities we visited after moving south and it is a walk through history as many of the town squares look much as they might have two hundred years ago; preservation is something It's just the south。 There's no point in trying to explain it。The Deepest South of AllRichard Grant•I don't remember where I stumbled upon this book but the minute I did I knew I had to read it immediately。 An expose of Natchez， Mississippi， I listened to this start to finish almost without stopping。•Natchez was one of the cities we visited after moving south and it is a walk through history as many of the town squares look much as they might have two hundred years ago; preservation is something Natchez has worked hard to achieve。 But Natchez has a complicated past and The Deepest South of All explores how a city with it's roots deeply seated in slavery moves towards a future that incorporates a dark history。•Natchez is an eclectic southern city full of bigger than life characters， Antebellum homes， and some very southern traditions。 It is full of contradictions， from long ingrained southern rituals involving hoop skirts and home tours yet Natchez also overwhelmingly elected a gay black mayor。 Grant spends a lot of time highlighting Greg Iles， author of The Natchez Trilogy （a series I loved） and how he has made peace with his home city-- I found this to be one of the most interesting parts of the book。•The narration was absolutely stellar; it felt both like a history lesson and a travel journal。 Natchez is full of both shame and hope and The Deepest South of All did a fantastic job exploring both。 William Faulkner’s quote “the past is never past dead” seems written with a city like Natchez in mind。 5 huge stars。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0