On May 21, 1870, Gerome Charles Durand staged a wedding that is still talked about more than a century after it occurred. Although Durand was one of the wealthiest men in St. Martinville, Louisiana, the fame of his
grosse affaire (extravagant event) lies in its originality.
As legend has it, the gentleman was tasked with throwing a double wedding for two of his daughters in Louisiana’s Petit Paris. He brought in one million spiders to create webs in the trees along his three-mile-long drive. Then he dusted them with gold and silver to create a shimmering canopy. A tale that gets richer and more embellished with each telling, Durand’s extravagant wedding party is based on a true story that has been passed down in Acadiana ever since.
About the Author
An author and award-winning storyteller, Rose Anne St. Romain toured with Jimmy Buffett after he saw her tell stories at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. She is the recipient of the Louisiana Pioneer Storytelling Award and a Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media Award. St. Romain lives in Mansura, Louisiana.
About the Illustrator
Joan C. Waites is a freelance illustrator who received a prestigious Benjamin Franklin Award and the Educational Press Award from Hopscotch magazine. She has been featured in the Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market Place, published by Writer’s Digest Books. Moon’s Cloud Blanket, another Pelican book written by St. Romain and illustrated by Waites, was selected for an IRA/CBC Children’s Choices Program Selection. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.
MONSIEUR DURAND’S GROSSE AFFAIRE
By Rose Anne St. Romain
Illustrated by Joan C. Waites
JUVENILE NONFICTION / History / United States / 19th Century
JUVENILE NONFICTION / History / United States / State & Local
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Animals / Insects, Spiders, etc.
32 pp. 8 1/2 x 11
31 illus.
ISBN: 9781589808089