The Deepest South of All

True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi

By: Richard Grant

Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies

Bestselling travel writer Richard Grant “sensitively probes the complex and troubled history of the oldest city on the Mississippi River through the eyes of a cast of eccentric and unexpected characters” (Newsweek).

Natchez, Mississippi, once had more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in America, and its wealth was built on slavery and cotton. Today it has the greatest concentration of antebellum mansions in the South, and a culture full of unexpected contradictions. Prominent white families dress up in hoopskirts and Confederate uniforms for ritual celebrations of the Old South, yet Natchez is also progressive enough to elect a gay black man for mayor with 91% of the vote.

Much as John Berendt did for Savannah in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and the hit podcast S-Town did for Woodstock, Alabama, so Richard Grant does for Natchez in The Deepest South of All. With humor and insight, he depicts a strange, eccentric town with an unforgettable cast of characters. There’s Buzz Harper, a six-food-five gay antique dealer famous for swanning around in a mink coat with a uniformed manservant and a very short German bodybuilder. There’s Ginger Hyland, “The Lioness,” who owns 500 antique eyewash cups and decorates 168 Christmas trees with her jewelry collection. And there’s Nellie Jackson, a Cadillac-driving brothel madam who became an FBI informant about the KKK before being burned alive by one of her customers. Interwoven through these stories is the more somber and largely forgotten account of Abd al Rahman Ibrahima, a West African prince who was enslaved in Natchez and became a cause célèbre in the 1820s, eventually gaining his freedom and returning to Africa.

With an “easygoing manner” (Geoff Dyer, National Book Critics Circle Award–winning author of Otherwise Known as the Human Condition), this book offers a gripping portrait of a complex American place, as it struggles to break free from the past and confront the legacy of slavery.

Critic reviews

"This audiobook tells two stories of Natchez, Mississippi. The first is about the contemporary town, largely seen through its white elites. The second is about Abdul Rahman Ibrahimi, an African prince who spent 40 years enslaved on the outskirts of town. Natchez is the home of the Pilgrimage, a tourism ritual that is a chronic source of tension between its Black and white residents. Author Richard Grant is British, so narrator Matthew Lloyd Davies's English accent is appropriate, and his command of various Southern accents is admirable."

A captivating story that every person should read

What an amazing book. Eye opening and historic. This is not only a great read, it is a part of history that is so important to the America culture. A highly suggested book to read.

Brilliantly captures the good the bad and the ugly of Natchez.

The story brilliantly captures the essence of Natchez, Mississippi, and the cast of characters that live there. The British narrator made humorous parts even funnier.

Mississippi native agrees

On point in content and context. This was an amazing book for people doubting racism and it's subtile presence.

Awesome book

Love all of this author’s work, great storytelling. Interesting characters, great locations. Looking forward to seeing his next book.

One of she strangest books I’ve read.

I have studied and read many books on or related to diversity, equity, inclusion, books on racism, bias, and race relations; this book comes at it from such a strange angle. While it reminds us of America’s racist past and the enslavement of people it also gives detailed stories of people line Prince. Most interesting is how the history still impacts contemporary Natchez and it’s inhabitants; how a town founded on slavery reconciles it’s history. The book reads like fiction with a cast of dramatic characters but they are all real as are their strange traditions rooted in our ugly past.