Booked Up in Savannah

SAVANNAH, Ga. —  Already a tourist destination for more than 4 million people a year, Savannah is being blitzed by media attention and besieged by even more tourists, after publication of the nonfiction cult classic “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”

“Midnight” has spent 43 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list--it was No. 12 last week--and has sold more than 400,000 copies.

“So many people I’ve talked to say they finished the book and wanted to jump on a plane and get to Savannah to see the place,” said “Midnight” author John Berendt, whose true account of the murder of a young hustler is as much a travelogue of Savannah as it is a tale of intrigue.

The numbers prove Berendt’s point. The Georgia Department of Trade and Tourism reports that the state visitors’ center near Savannah received 2,808,963 tourists through July of this year--up 46% over 1993. But can these increases be tied directly to “the book,” as it is known simply in Savannah? Absolutely, say tour operators, innkeepers, restaurateurs and shop-owners.

“We’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of tourists who are here just because of the book,” said Jan Wilson, manager of Clary’s Cafe, a historic district restaurant that was featured prominently in “Midnight.” “They’ve come from as far away as Ireland, California, Iowa, you name it. They say they’ve read the book and wanted to see this place, so they planned their vacation around Savannah.”

At least one guide gives a tour tailored specifically to the book. Tours by B.J.’s “Midnight” tour not only visits Monterey Square, the setting for the murder at the center of “Midnight” (pictured right), but points out such obscure sites as the house where character Serena Dawes reclined for a brief spell, and each successive apartment or townhouse where lawyer Joe Odom squatted without paying rent.

The fuss isn’t likely to die down soon. While the book goes into its 33rd printing, Berendt has entered into negotiations for what’s bound to be known as “the movie.”