"Gideon's Band: A Tale of the Mississippi" by George Washington Cable is an early 20th century novel that tells of the lives of people traveling the Mississippi River. The story centers on the steamboat "Votaress" and the lives it carries, most significantly that of Ramsey Hayle, a young woman experiencing a world rich in both human interaction and the rough truths of a society affected by trade and growing cultural diversity. The story begins depicting the busy scene of a steamboat dock in New Orleans. The "Votaress" is about to begin its trip upriver. There are many different passengers preparing to board. Ramsey Hayle observes everyone around her, excited for the journey ahead. The relationships between the characters, the Hayle twins, and the passengers from different backgrounds, give hints of the conflicts and ideas that will be revealed in the rest of the novel, as themes of belonging, social status, and the stresses of a changing South are uncovered.
Gideon's Band: A Tale of the Mississippi
By George Washington Cable
A young woman's riverboat journey through a changing South uncovers secrets, tensions, and unexpected connections among a diverse group of passengers.
Summary
About the AuthorGeorge Washington Cable was an American novelist notable for the realism of his portrayals of Creole life in his native New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been called "the most important southern artist working in the late 19th century", as well as "the first modern Southern writer." In his treatment of racism, mixed-race families and miscegenation, his fiction has been thought to anticipate that of William Faulkner.
George Washington Cable was an American novelist notable for the realism of his portrayals of Creole life in his native New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been called "the most important southern artist working in the late 19th century", as well as "the first modern Southern writer." In his treatment of racism, mixed-race families and miscegenation, his fiction has been thought to anticipate that of William Faulkner.
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