I got back last week from a trip to the grimoires conference that also took me through Austin and New Orleans.  At the latter, I picked up a copy of Carolyn Long’s biography A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau.  That reminded me that I hadn’t finished reading The Spellbook of Marie Laveau: The Petit Albert recently released by Hadean Press, so I finished up both.

When the Spellbook was announced, I was skeptical of the claims that this book had any real ties to Marie Laveau.  Having read it now, I can say that was completely justified.  It is true that the Petit Albert has turned up in discussions of the New Orleans occult scene, but the book provides little proof of any connection to Marie Laveau or New Orleans Voudou.  (If it’s any indication of the attitude in the Crescent City itself…