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The Deepest South of All
The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi | Richard Grant
8 posts | 7 read | 13 to read
Bestselling travel writer Richard Grant offers an entertaining and profound look at a city like no other. 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. Theres Buzz Harper, a six-foot-five gay antique dealer famous for swanning around in a mink coat with a uniformed manservant and a very short German bodybuilder. Theres Ginger Hyland, The Lioness, who owns 500 antique eyewash cups and decorates 168 Christmas trees with her jewelry collection. And theres 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 clbre in the 1820s, eventually gaining his freedom and returning to Africa. Part history and part travelogue, The Deepest South of All 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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Ericalambbrown
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Pickpick

I thought this book was excellent! It juxtaposes stories of current Natchez, MS with the story of Prince Abdul-Rahman ibn Ibrahima Sori, an enslaved African prince from Timbo, Guinea who was captured and sold to a Natchez planter in 1788. Some of the modern stories of local eccentrics are bonkers. It took me forever to get through because I kept stopping to look up additional details. Entertaining but also very thought provoking.

GinaKButler Have you read Dispatches From Pluto by this author? I loved it! 2y
Ericalambbrown @GinaKButler I have not - But I will now! Thank you for that recommendation. I didn‘t know about this one! 2y
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Ericalambbrown
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This may be the oddest sentence yet in a book full of incredibly odd stories.

Ncostell I had to read that sentence a few times to let it all sink in! 2y
Ericalambbrown @Ncostell Same! I was like, wait . . . What?!?! 2y
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Ericalambbrown
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This book was recommended to me by a dear friend who did her doctorate work in Mississippi. She said it was fascinating and infuriating and generally bonkers. I‘m a quarter of the way through and she‘s not wrong. So far it is so good. Even with a wee bulldog snoozing on me who thinks he‘s freezing because he had to take bath because he got muddy in the yard during poop time,

Tamra I really enjoyed it! 2y
Ericalambbrown @Tamra I have really liked it so far. Places are tough to read but it‘s been really well written. (edited) 2y
Tamra @Ericalambbrown yes, there are some cringy bits. 2y
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Tamra
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Pickpick

This is a frank and fascinating look at Natchez, MS as a microcosm of the south with all of its contradictions, colorful characters, story telling, and ever present history. Grant is British, so he has a unique vantage point as an outsider 2x removed.

I had no idea about garden clubs! They are more akin to jealously guarded fiefdoms with all of the politics and intrigues of the real thing. 😳

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Hana321
Pickpick

This is a very interesting book that covers the small Mississippi town of Natchez. A once booming town that owed a lot of its success to slavery. With the freeing of slaves, Natchez continues to shrink as it tries to find an identity. Author Richard Grant looks at notable figures in the towns past as well as people involved in carrying its legacy now. A relevant, and intriguing read.

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Jnnlb
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Must read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Reecaspieces
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Review is up on my blog. Check it out. Extremely interesting. https://reecaspieces.com/2020/09/01/the-deepest-south-of-all-by-richard-grant-si...

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Monica5
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Pretty interesting book. Looks at the past as well as present Natchez, Mississippi. I thought it was well researched.