The Ritz of the Bayou

In this “unjustly neglected” masterpiece, Nancy Lemann gives an atmospheric account of the New Orleans trial of the Governor of Louisiana for racketeering, fraud, and bribery. This 40th anniversary edition features a new introduction by critic James Wolcott and an afterword by the author.

New Orleans-born novelist Nancy Lemann returned to her hometown from Manhattan in 1985, tasked by renowned editor Tina Brown to cover Governor Edwin Edwards's two corruption trials for Vanity Fair. The work that emerged from this trip was less a straightforward account of the court proceedings and instead a masterful portrait of the politicians, their families, the lawyers, and the other reporters covering the trials, rendered in sparse, wry vignettes. Championed and edited by Gordon Lish, The Ritz of the Bayou is Lemann’s sole book of nonfiction and has attained lost classic status in the decades it has languished out of print. 

In hazy, atmospheric scenes of cigar smoke-laden bars, heaping plates of oysters, and unchecked eccentricity and chaos, Lemann observes both the proceedings and a glamorous Gulf Coast gone shabby from humidity and time. She captures New Orleans’s particular “tropic zone,” where “the two great enemies of Louisianians are boredom and lack of style,” and its citizens choose charismatic leaders over ethical ones, writing, “Politics is not the place to look for saints.” 

An account of government corruption and Southern character that transcends its moment, The Ritz of the Bayou is Lemann at the height of her powers. This edition reestablishes a classic of Southern literature, rewarding its longtime fans and introducing her talent to a new generation of readers.