Employing the language of standard literary criticism, this study treats two hundred years of distinctive writing connected to Louisiana in both French (nineteenth century chiefly) and English, from the early 1800's to the early 2000's, by Louisiana Creoles, their descendants, and sympathetic outsiders. The focus is on New Orleans and the surrounding area (Cajun folklore, entirely different, and recent Cajun texts are not considered). Directed at literary scholars, historians, and students, the book treats authors chronologically and sometimes by genre.