Savannah: BTB or ATB

Many citizens of Savannah define the timeline for the city as BTB or ATB – which means Before the Book or After the Book. The book is of course is Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berenet which was published in January 1994. Almost instantly the book became a world wide best seller that has had a tremendous impact on the city of Savannah. Some even say “the book has caused a full blown cultural phenomenon” in and on the city of Savannah. Since the publication of the book and the subsequent release of the movie, tourism has increased by 46% with an estimated $200 million tourist dollars having been spent in Savannah. While not overt or crass in any way, one can feel an odd civic pride that Savannah residents feel for Jim Williams, Joe Odem, Minerva and the Lady Chablis. It is almost like, they could not make up a story more fun or titillating than the true one that Berenet authored. In some ways it seems to capture the inner spirit and soul of a city that outwardly maintains such a conservative and solid façade.

If one wishes, tours are available of the Mercer-Williams house and grounds, the Bonaventure Cemetery, Clary's and even special “Midnight” ghost tours. Like many before us, we could not wait to see all there was to see of the Jim Williams story. I have read the book and seen the movie multiple times but did so again recently so that the story and locations would be fresh in my mind when we toured Savannah. I loved how much Kevin Spacey resembled Jim Williams in appearance and while many feel the movie did not do the book justice, I loved the movie just the same. I literally made Captain Mark walk from one end of the city to another so that we might see as many of the real life locations as I could find.










The only thing that disappointed me was that Lady Chablis was in Savannah and performing but I did not find out about her performance until after it was over. However, I have vowed that I will plan my next Savannah visit to coincide with her performance schedule. I think the most apt description of Lady Chablis was made by a Detroit newspaper columnist who said “She's remarkably sane for a white woman trapped in a black man's body.” I just can’t help but smile and giggle when I conjure up that image.


I have truly fallen in love with the city of Savannah. It is like no other city with its charm, beautiful homes and gardens and citizens who take great pride in their city’s history and cultural. I had heard that people born in Savannah never leave or if they do, they always return…I can certainly understand why!