Dollbaby: A Novel
Laura L McNeal
In loving memory of Fannie and Louise,
the grandmothers who shaped my life
in more ways than they could ever have imagined
Acknowledgments
A special thanks to literary agents Marly Rusoff and Michael Radulescu for recognizing the potential in my writing, for taking me on, and for championing me along the way. For your continued support and dedication, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. To Clare Ferraro and Kathryn Court who have allowed me to become a member of the Viking/Penguin group, an honor I will always cherish. To my brilliant editor Pamela Dorman, whose insight and wisdom helped shape the novel, I am deeply grateful and thrilled to be published by Pamela Dorman Books. Thank you, Kiki Koroshetz, for your unwavering dedication to the project and for answering my every little question, and to Beena Kamlani, whose steadfast demeanor, lovely voice, and quiet perseverance helped polish and hone the final story. Thanks also to Carolyn Coleburn, Maureen Donnelly, Kristen Matzen, Patrick Nolan, and the dynamic Viking/Penguin marketing and sales force, including Nancy Sheppard, John Fagan, Dick Heffernan, and Norman Lidofsky for warmly embracing Dollbaby and me. To Roseanne Serra and Nancy Resnick for the beautiful cover and design of the book, and for all the wonderful people who took me under their wings at SIBA—Diana Van Vleck, Dave Kliegman, Kasey Pfaff, Mike McGroder, Diane Kierpa, and Michelle Malonzo.
I would also like to thank James Nolan and the members of his writing workshop who taught me not only the craft of fiction but how to laugh at myself, and in particular Aneela Shuja, whose friendship was key in helping me believe in myself. And to my family—Rob, Beattie, Will, Lou, Charlie, and Carol—who put up with me and supported me from the beginning, I love you all.
And to the people of New Orleans, without whom there never would have been a story.
Author’s Note
The sit-in at Woolworth’s on July 1, 1964, is fictitious, although several sit-ins had occurred at this location previously. The mood surrounding the impending passage of the Civil Rights Act was contentious, and while most of the civil-rights protests had taken the form of picketing businesses that wouldn’t comply with desegregation, a few days prior to July 1, a young black man was beaten up at the state capitol building in Baton Rouge for sitting at the cafeteria lunch counter. The black man was carted off to jail for his actions; the white perpetrators were never charged. Based on this scenario, I felt a final sit-in on Canal Street would have been feasible.
The band The Moody Blues was formed in 1964 but did not become popular in the United States until the following year.
New Orleans sits between two large bends in the Mississippi river that form a large U that virtually surrounds the city on three sides, which is the reason it’s often referred to as The Crescent City. The city conforms to these bends and curves, creating fan-shaped neighborhoods that often converge. Using compass points to indicate directions are confusing, so locals instead use the river as the main point of reference: Lakeside (away from the river toward Lake Pontchartrain to the north), Riverside (toward the river), Uptown (upriver from Downtown, even though it lies a bit south due to the bend in the river) and Downtown (meaning downriver).
Sadly, many of the neighborhood markets and pharmacies mentioned in the novel no longer exist, falling victim to a new concept called the supermarket. A few notable exceptions include Plum Street Snowballs, the Prytania Theatre, as well as the venerable Antoine’s Restaurant. The iconic Butterfly, which sat at the tip of Riverview Park overlooking the Mississippi, was hit by a barge one foggy morning in the 1980s and had to be bulldozed, although the park itself is still referred to as “The Fly” by the locals. Madame Doussan’s moved to Royal Street and is now called Bourbon French Parfums. Fannie’s house on Prytania is fictional, although you will find several examples of Queen Anne Victorians in the Uptown area. Likewise, Our Lady of the Celestial Realm Catholic School for Girls, the Starlight Jazz Club on Bourbon Street, the Ebony Lounge, and the True Love Baptist Church are fictional, although entities similar to the ones I describe in the novel exist throughout the city.
Part One
1964
Chapter One
There are times you wish you could change things, take things back, pretend they never existed. This was one of those times, Ibby Bell was thinking as she stared bug-eyed out the car window. Amid the double-galleried homes and brightly painted cottages on Prytania Street, there was one house that didn’t belong.