On April 10, 1834 Firefighters smashed through a padlocked attic door in the burning home of Creole society couple Delphine and Louis Lalaurie. The horrible discovery of chained and mutilated slaves spawned a legend that has endured for over 150 years. But what really happened in the Lalaurie home? Who was "Mad Madame Lalaurie," and what motivated her to commit such ghastly atrocities, if in fact she really did?
This history is fascinating. Why has no one written the history of this woman? The primary materials are all there. Her family is a prominent part of New Orleans' history and that was before Delphine was exposed for the torture in her house. And did she do it? Did she torture and mutilate her slaves or was she railroaded in press and history? We think we know. We hope you will read it and let us know what you think.
About the Author
Victoria Cosner Love has spent the better part of thirty years poking around graveyards and digging for lost pieces of history. She is especially fond of delving into missing pieces of
women's history. She coauthored a book, Women Under the Third Reich (Greenwood Publishing), and now has turned her attention to the infamous Madame Lalaurie and her incredible family. She has worked in public history facilities for more than twenty years and has her master's degree in American studies, specializing in cultural landscapes of garden cemeteries.
Lorelei Shannon has spent the better part of thirty years following Victoria Cosner Love around graveyards for her own inscrutable purposes. Lorelei and Victoria met at the tender age of fourteen. From the very start they shared a love of history--particularly the obscure and unusual variety. While Victoria went on to become a respected historian, Lorelei became a novelist. She never lost her love of history, and she frequently incorporates historical elements in her southern gothic fiction. This is her first book-length work of nonfiction and her first collaboration with Victoria.
