Big Easy Does It: 10 Historical Novels set in New Orleans

It’s 1900, and things are changing for women. This year, in fact, marks the debut of an all-female krewe, Les Mysterieuses, for Mardi Gras. Les Mysterieuses are throwing a ball, and that’s how Alice and Constance meet. Alice’s husband disappeared, and she’s starting over as a seamstress in New Orleans. Constance, a young widow, needs a gown for the ball. This historical mystery follows the two women as they unravel the mysteries behind their husbands against this festive backdrop.

This novel chronicles the life of Ady, a young woman enslaved in New Orleans. When she gets separated from her mother, Ady meets a free Black woman who introduces her to the Daughters, a network of spies working against the Confederacy. If you relish the story of a spirited woman finding her place in life, you’ll enjoy this gripping tale.

Isabel Allende is undoubtedly one of our greatest authors, so you simply must read her book with a New Orleans setting! Allende’s trademark magical realism is on display in this saga that spans four decades and takes readers from 18th-century Haiti to early 19th-century New Orleans. The story traces the interwoven lives of Tété, an enslaved woman and voodoo practitioner, and Toulouse Valmorain, the young man tasked with running his father’s plantation.

Here’s a wonderful dose of historical Southern Gothic horror. In 1962, Jemma, who can see spirits, leaves Chicago for a chance to work for a mysterious and eccentric family in New Orleans. The family believes they are under a curse and that Jemma can break it. And Jemma has to learn all the family’s deep, dark secrets before she can figure out what to do.

Benito Juarez served as president of Mexico from 1858 to 1872 as the country’s first Indigenous president. This novel imagines his life before his presidency when he spent 18 months living in New Orleans. The actual historical record contains little information about this chapter of Juarez’s life, so Herrera fills in the gaps with imagination. The story is alive with all sorts of characters trying to make their way—enslaved people, sex workers, pirates, and fellow migrants like Juarez. It’s a short novel with big impact.

In the 1720s, the French were colonizing what became Louisiana, and the government wanted to grow the population. So, they sent women from an asylum in France to marry the colonists. This is all true! This novel, however, imagines the lives of these women who had previously been hospitalized or imprisoned. Now making their way in a swampy place with unfamiliar men, these women’s lives and relationships are both heartbreaking and richly compelling.

Wouldn’t be a list of books set in New Orleans without something in the death industry, right? The book stars Effie, a formerly enslaved woman who escaped to the North as a child. As an adult, she returns to New Orleans during the Reconstruction Era to become an embalmer. In New Orleans, Effie could live a quiet life surrounded by death. Instead, she meets new people who open so many doors to her, and she can find out who she truly is.

This novel follows the intersection of two brave women’s lives. Stella lives in New Orleans, embroidering secret maps that help enslaved people get to freedom. Meanwhile, Lily, a Jewish woman, contributes to the war effort from her home in New York City. She decides to embark on a perilous journey to Louisiana in search of her husband, a missing soldier. This story of two women joined by their love of textile crafts is loosely inspired by the authors’ own family histories.

I’m never not shouting about Beverly Jenkins. This book kicks off the author’s LeVeq series, so this one recommendation comes with many companions. You don’t necessarily have to read them in order, but this one is set in New Orleans. Sable is an enslaved woman, on the run from the man who forced her to betray Raimond LeVeq, her true love. Of course, because this is a romance, she encounters LeVeq again and they end up in an ARRANGED MARRIAGE. I love romance so much.

The World War II historical fiction shelf is a very big one indeed, but this book brings something new to bear with its New Orleans setting. Justine is a Rosie-the-Riveter-style welder in a factory, but she suspects something strange is going on. Namely, that German spies are sabotaging the operation. She doesn’t know who she can trust, so she has to dig deep and rely on her knowledge and instincts in order to protect herself and her country.