Beyond the revelry of Mardi Gras and the debauchery of Bourbon Street is a city brimming with literary history. From William Faulkner to John Grisham, New Orleans is home to writers, readers, and fictional characters that span genres and generations.
New Orleans Literary Locations
Much of New Orleans’ rich history—including architecture, restaurants, and customs—involves literature and writers, both fictional and real. However, many of the literary locations in New Orleans are associated with white writers, a stark contrast to the racial demographic of the city and the long-lasting influence of Black poets, writers, artists, and musicians on the city.
The Pontchartrain Hotel
Along oak-lined St. Charles Ave. is the Pontchartrain Hotel, a historic establishment in the Garden District. The open-air rooftop bar of the hotel is called Hot Tin, named after Tennessee Williams’s three-act play Cat on A Hot Tin Roof. The outdoor area has panoramic views of downtown New Orleans and St. Charles Avenue and bookish cocktails such as the gin-based This Side of Paradise and The Jack Rose, a popular drink in the 1920s and 1930s that appeared in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises.
The Ignatius J. Reilly Statue
Ignatius J. Reilly, the protagonist of John Kennedy Toole’s novel A Confederacy of Dunces, stands in all his disheveled glory on Canal Street in New Orleans. Toole’s book was published 11 years after his suicide after his mother pushed for its release; Toole was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1981. The Confederacy of Dunces is often regarded as having one of the best depictions of New Orleans, including local dialects, in modern literature. A post shared by The Pontchartrain Hotel (@thepontchartrain) on Jun 24, 2020 at 7:03am PDT
Hotel Monteleone
Since 1886, Hotel Monteleone has stood at 214 Royal Street, home to the famous revolving Carousel Bar and Lounge. In the hotel’s 134 year lifespan, literary icons such as Ernest Hemingway, Sherwood Anderson, William Faulkner, and Truman Capote, who often told the press he was born inside the Hotel Monteleone, made the hotel their home when staying in New Orleans. The hotel is featured in Eudora Welty’s short story The Purple Hat, and Tennessee Williams’s play The Rose Tattoo. Contemporary writers such as Anne Rice, John Grisham, and Stephen Ambrose have all frequented the hotel. (In fact, 214 Royal Street was the address of the main character in the first of Anne Rice’s Gothic fantasy trilogy, The Witching Hour.) Hotel Monteleone was designated as an official literary landmark by Friends of the Library Association in 1999 and today, guests can choose to stay in “Literary Suites” named after famous former guests.
Gallier House
Let this autumn season be the time to read Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire (then watch the movie version starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt). The 19th century Gallier House at 1132 Royal Street supposedly served as the model for the home of vampires Lestat and Louis in Interview With The Vampire. Today, the house is a museum dedicated to the famous New Orleans architect James Gallier Jr. Fans of Anne Rice can also view her former Garden District home at 3711 St. Charles Ave. A post shared by Hotel Monteleone (@hotelmonteleone) on Feb 24, 2020 at 8:43am PST
The Many Homes of Tennessee Williams
The famed American playwright Tennessee Williams originally moved to New Orleans to write under a stipend from the Works Progress Administration. In the years that followed, Williams would move often in the French Quarter and neighboring areas. One of his early homes at 722 Toulouse Street was the setting for his 1977 play Vieux Carré. Williams lived at 632 1/2 St. Peter Street when he wrote the first half of A Streetcar Named Desire, which is set in New Orleans. (You can still ride on the streetcars in New Orleans, though the namesake Desire line is no longer operational.) Most of Williams’s writing was done at 727 Toulouse Street in a patio room, and over the years he stayed in several New Orleans hotels including The Pontchartrain Hotel, Hotel Monteleone, and the Royal Orleans Hotel.
New Orleans in Literature
Streetcars, cafes, haunted hotels, and Southern food: few places provide such a colorful background for novels as New Orleans.
New Orleans Bookstores
A stop over to these classic New Orleans bookstores means visitors will never be without a book in hand.
Faulkner House Books
In 1925, William Faulkner lived in the very building that is today’s Faulkner House Books, a bookstore dedicated to new and used books and rare editions including those of Faulkner himself with a focus on Southern literature. The bookstore is located in an alley behind Jackson Square in the French Quarter, a stone’s throw from Cafe Du Monde and the supposedly haunted St. Louis Cathedral.
Tubby & Coo’s Mid-City Bookshop
Tubby and Coo’s, the self-proclaimed “nerd mecca” of New Orleans, is an LGBTQ-owned store specializing in science fiction, fantasy, queer literature, graphic novels, children’s books, and board games. A huge plus: they have anti-racist action plan and participate in partnerships with local schools to coordinate author visits. A post shared by Faulkner House Books (@faulknerhousebooks) on Feb 20, 2020 at 8:24am PST
Community Book Center
Located in the Seventh Ward, Community Book Center is a bookstore stocked with primarily African-inspired literature, gifts, clothes, and art. The space more than a bookstore—it’s also used for performances, community gatherings, and book signings.
Beckham’s Bookshop
The owners of Beckham’s Bookshop have operated this bookstore in the French Quarter since 1967. The bookstore’s floor-to-ceiling shelves stock thousands of second-hand books with a focus on New Orleans and Louisiana history. They also allow dogs and beer inside—nothing better than drunk book shopping with a Good Boy in tow. A post shared by New Orleans Mural Guide ⚜️ (@nolamurals) on Oct 10, 2020 at 10:20am PDT For more literary landmarks in New Orleans, check out A Booklover’s Guide to New Orleans by Susan Larson. Read more on Book Riot: My Literary Mardi Gras: The Stories New Orleans Inspired Me to Read 3 Great YA Books Set in New Orleans
