A fictional census taker in 1890 has not finished his assignment along a road in the Louisiana countryside. At one stop, the gentleman becomes intrigued with an elderly lady and her family stories, along with the pitcher of tea she offers freely on a hot day. Miss Marie Claire explains about being creole because she had at least one relative who was a colonist. She then explains the difference between relatives classified as “colored” and a free man or free woman of color. She also notes the differences between her relatives who are part African. Namely, they are mulatto, quadroon, or octoroon. Her original white family members had arrived from France, and their descendants once lived on plantations as the rich owners of slaves. Intermarriage between peers was a way to increase their wealth. Skin color didn’t matter. However, once Louisiana became a U.S. state, the roles were reversed, and her relatives were classified as black.

Hebert, who has loved history since a child, has chosen a method of ancestry delivery that is both evocative and provocative. This small book of family tales, by its nature, captivates as truly as any TV soap opera. Her star characters are based on much research. She effectively shows how they loved and dared to live in their adoptive backdrop before and after the Civil War. Readers will be entranced with this overview of southerners from the land of the Mardi Gras. They may also discover that not all African Americans were slaves, as Hebert herself learned after researching her first husband’s family. The author also helpfully lists the many family surnames she researched for this book.

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