Reizenstein, Ludwig von
Entry updated 2 June 2026. Tagged: Author.
(1826-1885) German lepidopterist, surveyor and author, in US from 1848, settling in the turbulent milieu of antebellum New Orleans, which is the venue for his first novel, Die Geheimnisse von New-Orleans (1854-1855 Louisiana Staats-Zeitung; slightly rev 1854-1855; trans Steven Rowan as The Mysteries of New Orleans 2002). The novel creates a model for the hauntedness of Louisiana as born deep in the abysmal past of the region, in this case the emergence in contemporary New Orleans of a crypto-Superman from a much earlier century who intends to punish this world for its retention of Slavery. The tale moves murkily into the Near Future, when retribution – signalled by the union of a prostitute and an exiled German aristocrat – is visited upon the land. Although cartoonishly executed, this vision of the doomed nature of the South seems to haunt the work of various authors, perhaps most fruitfully James Lee Burke.
Reizenstein's third novel, "Wie der Teufel in New Orleans ist" ["How the Devil Is in New Orleans"] (1861 Tägliche Deutsche Zeitung), which was left incomplete, is based on such earlier texts as The Devil on Two Sticks (1707) by Alain-René Lesage (1668-1747); in this tale, Reizenstein himself, who has liberated the Devil [for Satan see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below], is allowed to accompany him on his devastating sojourn in New Orleans. [JC]
Baron Ludwig von Reizenstein
born Marktsteft am Main, Bavaria, Germany: 14 July 1826
died New Orleans, Louisiana: 19 August 1885
works (selected)
- Die Geheimnisse von New-Orleans (New Orleans: G Lugenbuhl and E H Bolitz, 1854-1855) [first appeared 1853-1855 Louisiana Staats-Zeitung: book version withdrawn: binding unknown]
- The Mysteries of New Orleans (Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002) [trans by Steven Rowan of the above: in the publisher's Longfellow Series of American Languages and Literatures: pb/]
- "Wie der Teufel in New Orleans ist" ["How the Devil Is in New Orleans"] (1861 Tägliche Deutsche Zeitung) [text incomplete: mag/]
links
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