Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys and the Battle for America’s Soul by Karen Abbott

Random House, Inc.
ISBN: 9780812975994

9/10 Dropps

Impeccably researched and impressively re-imagined, this indulgent foray into turn-of-the-century Chicago reads as easily as a trashy paper romance novel, yet remains as factually informative as a history text book. All angles of sin and prostitution in pre-prohibition Chicago are covered—from pimps to corrupt politicians, harlots to holy men, and reformers to the great mistresses of the seedy underworld alike. The main focus of the book and the most interesting of all the characters included, however, are the most infamous and splendid of all the madams to ever grace the south side Levee (and quite possibly America as a whole): the scarlet sisters Everleigh.

Minna and Ada Everleigh moved to Chicago in the winter of 1899, set to turn their dream of
owning and managing America’s most high-brow, exclusive, and lavishly decked out brothel into a reality. Not tremendous fans of the un-fairer sex, they were fiercely loyal to each other first and to their “butterflies”—the lucky girls chosen to live and work within the confines of their club; their next loyalty fell with the aldermen and other politicians to whom they paid their graft fees in order to stay in business. The butterflies who lived and worked in their exclusive resort were given top-notch education and treatment; they were robed in only the most expensive and luxurious of outfits, fed only the most indulgent cuisine imaginable, and taught not to throw themselves and the male clients that came through the doors, but instead, to play coy—they were ladies after all. It was revolutionary, and ironically, because the Everleigh Club became the beacon of refinement and decadence for brothels across America, it (not its depraved counterparts lurking ominously right down the street) became the prime target for the zealous religious and political reformers set on ending segregation (the “vice
district,” made up of booze, bars, and prostitution was allowed to thrive only if it was kept in a separate section of the city from the gentlefolk) and putting an end to the flesh trade altogether.

In the end, they more or less succeeded in making the practice illegal – but not before the Everleigh sisters used their club to give Chicago, and the world, the time of their lives. From Prince Henry of Prussia drinking champagne out of a courtesan’s shoe, to playboy Marshall Fields Jr. being (allegedly) shot in the club, to same-sex attractions between harlots, and swinging sex parties lasting long into the morning light, the book could only have benefited from more indulgences into the club’s more sordid activities (since these are what the people really want to hear about, of course). However, Karen Abbott does a fantastic job balancing the sordid and the factual, and the outcome is a fact-heavy historical account that reads like a modern day fiction novel. It’s intriguing, interesting, and every reader is sure to come away from it wishing they’d been born in a different time.

In a related vein, if you happen to be planning any upcoming trips to Chicago, it might be fun to pay Naked Girls reading event—hosted by the esteemed Michelle L’amour (“the ass that goes POW”). All events are held at the freshly-dubbed “Everleigh Social Club,” a sweet nod to history of which the sisters themselves would surely approve. (See pictures from a past event here.)

-Nicole Marie Rea