William Faulkner's inspiration for his second novel, Mosquitoes (1927), was his involvement in the 1920s New Orleans creative community. Mosquitoes explores the themes of sexuality and the societal role of the artist as it follows a bohemian cast of characters on a four-day cruise aboard the yacht Nausikaa, which is owned by a wealthy patron of the arts. The excursion on Lake Pontchartrain offers an intriguing glimpse into the youth of one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century.