Voodoo Dreams: A Novel of Marie Laveau by Jewell Parker Rhodes (St. Martin’s Press, 1993)

Description

Jewell Parker Rhodes is a celebrated author, educator, and cultural voice whose fiction draws richly from African American history and spiritual traditions. With an award-winning career spanning adult novels, children’s literature, and academic writing, Rhodes has earned accolades for her evocative prose and powerful storytelling. Voodoo Dreams was her debut novel and launched a career committed to illuminating underrepresented stories with grace, depth, and authenticity.

Voodoo Dreams is a bold reimagining of the legendary 19th-century Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Marie Laveau. Blending historical fiction with lyrical mysticism, the novel weaves fact and folklore into a deeply immersive narrative of female power, resilience, and cultural identity. Rhodes paints a vivid portrait of a woman navigating faith, passion, and power in a divided society, creating a literary figure as unforgettable as her real-life inspiration. Whoopi Goldberg praised it simply: “I loved it.”