Enormous gratitude to my New Orleans family and friends, who have welcomed me into their unique versions of the city: Dale Davis, Jennie and Brian Allee-Walsh, Jennette Ginsburg, Pat Galloway and Peter Webb, Beth Davis Poirrier, Noah Tobin, Pableaux Johnson, Everett Bexley, and Jessica Allee-Walsh. Thanks especially to my parents, Betsy and Guss Ginsburg, who raised me on, if not in, New Orleans.
Thank you to Nick Burrell for answering all my questions about mural painting, to Paul Broussard for general expertise and a lovely rainy afternoon at Cane and Table, to Ann Koerner and Dean Coe for advising me about antiques, and to the excellent tour guides at Save Our Cemeteries. Thanks to Becky Homminga for sharing her medical knowledge and for being my second mom.
Thank you to the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Mississippi for funding my research, and to my colleagues in Mississippi’s English department for their support and friendship.
To my agent, Duvall Osteen, and my editor, Zack Wagman. Y’all made this book better than I could have on my own. I’m lucky to work with you.
Thank you to the writers and friends who were kind enough to read and critique early drafts: Kate Lechler, Ivo Kamps, Mary Miller, Ari Friedlander, and especially Chris Offutt, brilliant editor and partner in all things.