The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia, Mary Helen Stefaniak
The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia, Mary Helen Stefaniak
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The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia

Author: Mary Helen Stefaniak

Narrator: Robynn Rodriguez

Unabridged: 14 hr 39 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/01/2010

Synopsis

Narrator Gladys Cailiff is eleven years old in 1938 when a new schoolteacher turns Threestep, Georgia, upside down. Miss Grace Spivey is a welltraveled young woman who believes in field trips, Arabian costumes, and reading aloud from her tenvolume set of The Thousand Nights and a Night. The real trouble begins when she decides to revive the annual town festival as an exotic Baghdad bazaar. Miss Spivey and her project transform the lives of everyone around her: Gladys older brother Force (with his moviestar looks), their pregnant sister May (a gifted storyteller herself), and especially the Cailiffs African American neighbor, young Theo Boykin, whose creative genius becomes the key to a colorful, hidden history of the South. Populated by unforgettable charactersincluding three impressive camelsThe Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia rides a magic carpet from a segregated schoolroom in Georgia to the banks of the Tigrisand back againin an entrancing feat of storytelling.

About Mary Helen Stefaniak

Mary Helen Stefaniak is the prizewinning author of The Turk and My Mother and Self Storage and Other Stories. She lives in Omaha and Iowa City.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Will on March 19, 2025

Wait, wait. Don’t go. Let me tell you a story. I assure you it will be worth your while. Come, sit, sit. May I offer you some tea, some dates perhaps? No? Very well. A very engaging writer named Mary Helen Stefaniak has written a wonderful story. Her tale begins back in 1938, a very grim time in most......more

Goodreads review by Jane on February 14, 2012

I really enjoyed the first half of The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia. Gladys, the eleven-year-old narrator, has an authentic voice. The town of Threestep, Georgia in 1938 feels very real. The author does a great job of capturing the times and the location. Despite the large number of characters, they......more

Goodreads review by Tara on August 19, 2010

This was a decent read, but I don't see myself reading it again or recommending it to my friends. It's told from the viewpoint of an eleven year girl and I found her narrative and thoughts rather charming. Gladys (cause her mother was so happy to see her when she was born!) is growing up in a very s......more

Goodreads review by Jan on October 09, 2021

I am glad to have finished the book. No regrets. Maybe 3.5 stars? Five for some parts, a grudging two stars for others. Loved the beginning which is sweet. And the middle. And then . . . —almost-spoiler because I do not reveal plot, only opinion. I struggled to finish. Some people loved this book all......more

Goodreads review by Renee on November 12, 2013

This book was really stop-and-go for me. The highlights were some really beautiful writing, a richly imagined small-town world, and some creative story structuring ideas. Unfortunately, all these positives couldn't make up for what ultimately ended up being sort of a plodding story, especially when......more

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