Research Catalog

Midnight in the garden of good and evil : a Savannah story

Title

Midnight in the garden of good and evil : a Savannah story / John Berendt.

Author

Berendt, John, 1939-

Publication

New York : Random House, [1994]
©1994

Supplementary Content

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3 Items

Item details
Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person.	Text	Use in library	ITK (Savannah) 94-6375	Schwarzman Building - Milstein Division Room 121
Request for On-site Use Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person.	Text	Request in advance	JFE 12-5222	Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315
Request for On-site Use Request Scan Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	Text	Use in library	Sc E 98-19	Schomburg Center - Research & Reference

Details

Description

388 pages; 25 cm

Summary

"Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case." "It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman's Card Club; the turbulent young redneck gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the "soul of pampered self-absorption"; the uproariously funny black drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young blacks dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else." "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story is a sublime and seductive reading experience. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, this enormously engaging portrait of a most beguiling southern city is certain to become a modern classic."--Jacket.

Subjects

Genre/Form

Case studies.
History.

Awards (note)

Lambda Literary Award, 1994

Contents

Part one. An evening in Mercer House; Destination unknown; The Sentimental gentleman; Settling in; The inventor; The lady of six thousand songs; The Grand Empress of Savannah; Sweet Georgia Brown's; A walking streak of sex; It ain't braggin' if y'really done it; News flash -- Part two. Gunplay; Checks and balances; The party of the year; Civic duty; Trial; A hole in the floor; Midnight in the Garden of good and evil; Lafayette Square, we are here; Sonny; Notes on a rerun; The pod; Lunch; Black minuet; Talk of the town; Another story; Lucky number; Glory; And the angels sing; Afterward.

Call Number