The Dew Drop Inn

A jazz club in the French Quarter named The Dew Drop Inn provides the setting in which Augusta meets her mentor Bela Nova, which changes her life. Brown describes the club as having "hard bop" that fills the ears and jazz that twists itself in "a swanky new way" (39). Although Augusta's mother had wanted her to become a homemaker, Augusta rebels by going to the jazz club, a place that represents freedom and passion for her. In her memories, she often returns to the sounds and feelings of hanging out in the club. When the Montrose women return to New Orleans in the novel, they find the Dew Drop Inn has become a pizza joint.

New Orleans

Although the Montrose family has relocated to California, Black Candle Women is heavily influenced by experiences from the past in New Orleans. Augusta, the matriarch of the family...