Frances Parkinson Keyes (1885-1970) was a prolific journalist, editor, memoirist, and biographer, but was most well known as the best selling woman author in the 1940-1950's (surpassing both Edna Ferber and Taylor Caldwell). Her books have sold in excess of 20,000,000 copies and still sell well in the out of print, used market. She lived and worked most of the time at the Beauregard-Keyes House in the French Quarter in New Orleans.
ISBNs and titles of author's previous books: Crescent Carnival; The River Road; Steamboat Gothic; Blue Camellia.

Orson Foxworth celebrates his return to New Orleans by giving a dinner in the 1840 room at Antoines restaurant, ostensibly planned to present his niece for the Carnival festivities and to renew his romance with Amelie Lalande. Laland's daughter Odile, accidently spills a red wine down her white dress, a seemingly light incident. However, it is recalled thirty hours later when she is found dead with a strange pistol and an ambiguous note on the floor beside her. Though looking like suicide the plot revolves out of proving otherwise. Infused with much history, customs, and mores of New Orleans of the 1940's. With a new introduction by Patricia Brady setting the history, context of the novel, and with biographical notes on Keyes.