Adélaïde et moi: La Nouvelle-Orléans 1850–2011, une fresque romancée par Daniel Dujardin-Sadowy

Abstract

Reviewed by: Adélaïde et moi: La Nouvelle-Orléans 1850–2011, une fresque romancée par Daniel Dujardin-Sadowy Sharon L. Fairchild Dujardin-Sadowy, Daniel. Adélaïde et moi: La Nouvelle-Orléans 1850–2011, une fresque romancée. L’Harmattan, 2021 ISBN 978-2-343-14495-5. Pp. 286. Recounting the life experience of a young French woman, Adélaïde Mallard, who emigrated to the United States in the mid-nineteenth century at the age of twenty-two, this work is the result of research done by her great great-granddaughter, Françoise D. The text is presented in the first-person voices of the two women in alternating chapters, with the larger part of the narrative expressing Adélaïde’s point of view. Based entirely on factual events and real individuals, the story is nevertheless fictionalized in its representation of certain activities as well as in the thoughts, opinions, and emotions of these individuals. This presents some confusion in categorizing and understanding the work. For example, some events that are presumed to have taken place are entirely invented, while others are confirmed to have occurred through journal entries, newspaper clippings, etc. Consequently, the reader cannot distinguish which aspects come from concrete sources and which are purely fictitious. The author acknowledges that the work is a “fresque romancée,” indicating his intentions. Despite these caveats, the text surges with life and drama revealing the realities of this tumultuous period in the history of the United States and New Orleans. As a major port and center of the cotton and sugar industries, New Orleans’s complex society consisted of wealthy plantation and slave owners, agents who imported and exported goods, and a mix of American and European settlers trying to improve their lives in the bustling city. Adélaïde was taken in by her uncle, Prudent Mallard, a prosperous furniture importer and cabinetmaker, whose elegant products furnished the most famous plantation mansions. During the first three years of her life there, Adélaïde enjoyed a whirlwind, carefree life, during which time she met her husband, Eugène Delaroche. Also a French immigrant, he had traveled to the United States to join the new settlement of Castroville, west of San Antonio, Texas. Adélaïde’s romantic dreams of living in the United States gradually disappeared as she suffered the harsh circumstances of life in New Orleans. The years following her marriage were marked by upheaval and tragedy as rampant yellow fever epidemics, fires, political turmoil, and the Civil War impacted her family. Since France had abolished slavery in 1848, French citizens were forbidden from participating in its trade and in the Civil War. French immigrants such as Adélaïde’s husband, who joined the Louisiana Militia and fought with the Confederate army, were forced to make difficult choices. The aftermath of the war led to a deteriorating situation that ultimately forced Adélaïde’s family to return to France in 1869. Representing the quest of Françoise D. to understand the lives and choices made by her ancestors, this book is of interest to others because of the intimate view it provides not only of this family but also of thousands of immigrants who settled in the United States during challenging times. [End Page 229] Sharon L. Fairchild Texas Christian University, emerita Copyright © 2022 American Association of Teachers of French