I read this book when it first came out when I was 16 & loved it. I've re-read it periodically & still love it (I think this makes my fourth read). The good thing about re-reading books is all the different perspectives you bring & the new things you notice because you've grown & changed.

When I was 16 I was taken with the romanticism of the book - the free people of color, the world of Antebellum New Orleans, the various love stories - what teenager wouldn't swoon? At this point I still enjoy the romanticism, but the history means even more &, most of all, I love the search for identity & the love of books & learning that is evident throughout this story.

This is not Anne Rice writing poorly (or otherwise) about paranormal things. This is Anne Rice writing well about history. I've always thought she wrote 4 really good books: this one, plus Interview With the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, & Cry to Heaven. At some point she just started turning out page after page of garbage & I gave up on her. I return to this book often, though. Its characters & its sense of place & time draw me into its world & make me reluctant to leave. This is a good book. ( )

One of Rice's best works. ( )

I couldn't get through this - and that rarely happens. I guess I expected something akin to her vampire series. The story of the "Free People of Color" was interesting in itself, but her pages number too many for the content conveyed. Ultimately, at p. 296 of 640, I realized this was either third-rate historical fiction or a second-rate romance novel. For me, it was the end. ( )

Engaging story of free people of color in New Orleans before the Civil War. ( )

Her best book. ( )