Queen of the Turtle Derby and Other Southern Phenomena: Includes New Essays Published for the First Time

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0812973615 ISBN 13: 9780812973617

Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2005

In classic Dixie storytelling fashion, with a rare blend of literary elegance and plainspoken humor, the inimitably charming, staunchly Southern Julia Reed wends her way below the Mason-Dixon line and observes many phenomena– from politics, religion, and women to weather, guns, and what she calls “drinking and other Southern pursuits.” To hear Reed tell it, the South is another country. She builds an entertaining and persuasive case, using as examples everything from its unfathomable codes of conduct to its disciplined fashion sense. And then there is Southern food, which is an entire world apart: Gumbo, grits, greens, and, of course, fried chicken make memorable appearances in Reed’s essays, which will amuse, delight, and even explain a thing or two to baffled Yankees everywhere.

From the Back Cover:

“Not since Eudora Welty has anybody captured in such sophisticated, often mordant prose the brave, gracious, perverse, reckless, God-fearing Southern soul like Julia reed. Whether she’s holding forth on fried chicken and catfish, guns, booze, cockfights, pestilence, or Southern womanhood, Reed loads both barrels and never misses the target. As a Carolina Tarheel, I rejoiced, cringed, marveled, and laughed myself sick at Reed’s outrageous tales and savvy insights, and I defy anybody–Southerner and Yankee alike–to come up for are after reading the first chapter.” –James Villas, author of Between Bites and My Mother's Southern Kitchen

"This is a wise and tender book. Julia Reed is a loving defender of the South. Long may she live and write. She understands the deep seriousness that underlies our Scotch-Irish, English, and African roots." -Ellen Gilchrist, author of I, Rhoda Manning, Go Hunting With My Daddy: And Other Stories

About the Author:

JULIA REED grew up in Greenville, Mississippi. She is a contributing editor and writer at The Wall Street Journal and Elle Décor Magazine. She has also written for The New York Times Magazine, among other publications. Reed divides her time between New Orleans and New York City.