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About This Book
ISBN13: 9781400065301 
|
Powells.com Staff Pick
Take one bordello. Muddle it with a bit of turn-of-the-century Chicago. Add a few characters to the mix, including the Everleigh sisters, John Barrymore, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., William Howard Taft, and Al Capone, and you serve up quite a cocktail. This exhaustively researched and breezily styled book about sex, sin, and salvation is my pick for a rollicking good summer read.
Recommended by Chandler, Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
Not everyone appreciated the sisters' attempts to elevate the industry. Rival Levee madams hatched numerous schemes to ruin the Everleighs, including an attempt to frame them for the death of department store heir Marshall Field, Jr. But the sisters' most daunting foes were the Progressive Era reformers, who sent the entire country into a frenzy with lurid tales of white slavery — the allegedly rampant practice of kidnapping young girls and forcing them into brothels. This furor shaped America's sexual culture and had repercussions all the way to the White House, including the formation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
With a cast of characters that includes JackJohnson, John Barrymore, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., William Howard Taft, "Hinky Dink" Kenna, and Al Capone, Sin in the Second City is Karen Abbott's colorful, nuanced portrait of the iconic Everleigh sisters, their world-famous Club, and the perennial clash between our nation's hedonistic impulses and Puritanical roots. Culminating in a dramatic last stand between brothel keepers and crusading reformers, Sin in the Second City offers a vivid snapshot of America's journey from Victorian-era propriety to twentieth-century modernity.
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Synopsis:
Not everyone appreciated the sisters’ attempts to elevate the industry. Rival Levee madams hatched numerous schemes to ruin the Everleighs, including an attempt to frame them for the death of department store heir Marshall Field, Jr. But the sisters’ most daunting foes were the Progressive Era reformers, who sent the entire country into a frenzy with lurid tales of “white slavery”——the allegedly rampant practice of kidnapping young girls and forcing them into brothels. This furor shaped America’s sexual culture and had repercussions all the way to the White House, including the formation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
With a cast of characters that includes Jack Johnson, John Barrymore, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., William Howard Taft, “Hinky Dink” Kenna, and Al Capone, Sin in the Second City is Karen Abbott’s colorful, nuanced portrait of the iconic Everleigh sisters, their world-famous Club, and the perennial clash between our nation’s hedonistic impulses and Puritanical roots. Culminating in a dramatic last stand between brothel keepers and crusading reformers, Sin in the Second City offers a vivid snapshot of America’s journey from Victorian-era propriety to twentieth-century modernity.
Visit www.sininthesecondcity.com to learn more!
Praise for Sin in the Second City:
“Assiduously researched… [Sin in the Second City] describes a popular culture awash in wild tales of sexual abuse, crusading reformers claiming God on their side, and deep suspicion of the threat posed by “foreigners” to the nation’s Christian values.”
——Janet Maslin, The New York Times
“Lavish in her details, nicely detached in her point of view, [and with] scrupulous concern for historical accuracy, Ms. Abbott has written an immensely readable book. Sin in the Second City offers much in the way of reflection for those interested in the unending puzzle that goes by the name of human nature." — The Wall Street Journal
"Abbott's first book is meticulously researched and entertaining... a colorful history of old Chicago that reads like a novel."
——The Atlanta Journal Constitution
“With gleaming prose and authoritative knowledge Abbott elucidates one of the most colorful periods in American history, and the result reads like the very best fiction. Sex, opulence, murder — What's not to love?”
—— Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants
“A detailed and intimate portrait of the Ritz of brothels, the famed Everleigh Club of turn-of-the-century Chicago. Sisters Minna and Ada attracted the elites of the world to such glamorous chambers as the Room of 1,000 Mirrors, complete with a reflective floor. And isn’t Minna’s advice to her resident prostitutes worthy advice for us all: “Give, but give interestingly and with mystery.”’
—— Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City
“Karen Abbott has combined bodice-ripping salaciousness with top-notch scholarship to produce a work more vivid than a Hollywood movie.”
—— Melissa Fay Greene, author of There is No Me Without You
“Sin in the Second City is a masterful history lesson, a harrowing biography, and - best of all - a superfun read. The Everleigh story closely follows the turns of American history like a little sister. I can't recommend this book loudly enough.”
—— Darin Strauss, author of Chang and Eng
“This is a story of debauchery and corruption, but it is also a story of sisterhood, and unerring devotion. Meticulously researched, and beautifully crafted, Sin in the Second City is an utterly captivating piece of history.”
—— Julian Rubinstein, author of Ballad of the Whiskey Robber
About the Author
What Our Readers Are Saying
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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
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lupabitch, September 23, 2008 (view all comments by lupabitch)
No, this isn't a knock-off of "Sex in the City". Though "Sin in the Second City" deals with sex, women, beauty, and money for luxuries, the latter book is entirely true--based on the incomparable Everleigh Sisters, Minna and Ada.
At the turn of the century, the Levee District of Chicago was a hotbed of vice--prostitution, gambling, illicit substances of all sorts, and a high rate of violent crime. Into this morass of sin came the Everleigh Sisters. Toting their profits from successful prostitution in Omaha, and a pair of fake histories to throw off anyone attempting to trail their true origins, Minna and Ada set up shop at 2131-2133 Dearborn Street. Rather than following local trends and buying white slaves who would then be abused, denied health care despite their professions, and intimidated by a house whipper, The Everleigh Sisters set out to create a whorehouse that had a waiting list a mile long--for prostitutes who voluntarily wanted to work for them.
In the decade that followed, the Everleigh Club (as their fine house was known) became the center of a blazing hot debate over white slavery and the red light district. Politics reigned supreme, from rivalries between different houses, to civic power struggles and grafting. And, of course, the morality police came out in force, using the worst cases of white slavery (and even some trumped-up charges) to paint the entire Levee District--the Everleigh included--with the same tawdry brush.
Karen Abbott devotes much of the book to chronicling the adventures, misadventures, and tragedies that resulted. This is no dry tome listing historical factoids. Abbott brings the early 1900s vividly alive, with a talented eye towards description, and the ability to weave a story that would leave the Everleigh Sisters looking larger than life--if we didn't already know this was a work of nonfiction. Indeed, the author has done her homework, and I look forward to learning from more historical narratives from her.
Every person involved in the sex and the scandals is brought forward as a true human being, well-rounded with heart and soul. Abbott has the ability to make the reader sympathize with all of them, both the hookers and the preachers, whether we agree with them or not. Related issues at the time are discussed to give context, and the connections between the politics at the time--including on a federal level--and the eventual demise of the Everleigh Club are made quite clear.
In short, this is an incredibly fascinating read about such a seemingly insignificant, yet truly important, part of American history. Whether you cheer for the sexual prohibitionists who brought the Levee red light district to an end, or for the sisters who brought about the premiere whorehouse for both the "boys" and the "girls", you'll be sure to be engrossed in a true story that, for all its age, has only become more interesting with time.
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eliwes, June 4, 2008 (view all comments by eliwes)
I discovered a love of history later in my life. In high school, history was a dry, itchy, tedious waste of time that bored me to tears. An uninspired teacher, a mediocre textbook, and the cute guy who sat in front of me conspired to see me fail World History. I was more interested in the latest thriller from Christopher Pike and those hallowed halls of Sweet Valley High to see the merits of historical fiction, so history was a dead subject for me.
Then I went to college.
There I fell in love with this beautiful subject with all its passionate love stories, bloody wars, vicious scandals that would put some of today's stories to shame, and the serene peace that happens to rarely in the world's history. I even made it my minor. Now I was more interested in Antonia Fraser histories of famous monarchs, Margaret George’s novelizations of Henry VIII and Cleopatra, and even Diana Gabaldon's wild romps through Jacobean Scottish moors. And in the 7 years that have passed since I graduated this love of history has only grown.
So, when I saw a mention of Karen Abbott’s Sin in the Second City in a blog post I knew I had to get my hands on it. Along the way I interviewed the author and came away with a great appreciation of just what goes into such a well-researched and studious work as this.
Sin in the Second City is the story of the "Everleigh" sisters, Ada and Minna, who came to own the most scandalous brothel in early 1900s Chicago. They were business savvy ladies, taking the $35,000 they entered Chicago with and turned it into an empire. Their business model was simple; supply the elite of the world with exactly what they wanted. They provided string orchestras. Fine dining. Exotic and lavish décor. Their girls, or butterflies as they called them, were they best the city had to offer and were well provided for; gourmet meals, weekly check-ups with a real doctor, the finest clothes and even education. They were free to come and go as they pleased, which, in this time and especially place came to be very important. And they drew in some of the best; John Barrymore, Theodore Dreiser and even a Prussian prince were among visitors. No other madam in the district could claim such success. And it would eventually lead to their downfall.
For religious leaders the world over descended on Chicago, determined to clean out all the whores, gamblers, mobsters and sinners they could find. Using the voice of America to push them on, they headed to the streets to preach on the sin and cry out for the poor "white slaves" who were forced to work the streets.
In my opinion some of the best nonfiction books are the ones written about the people you never hear about in history class. Those long forgotten heroes, rapscallions, rogues, and pioneers whose stories are fascinating and exciting. Karen Abbott has taken the story of the Everleigh sisters and delivered the goods – here is a tale of sex, lies, murder, religion, politics, and more all wrapped up in a beautiful wrapper that just begs to be read.
View all 2 comments
Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9781400065301
- Subtitle:
- Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul
- Author:
- Publisher:
- Random House
- Subject:
- General
- Subject:
- Human Sexuality
- Subject:
- United States - 20th Century (1900-1945)
- Subject:
- United States - State & Local - Midwest
- Subject:
- Prostitution
- Subject:
- Illinois
- Publication Date:
- July 2007
- Binding:
- Hardcover
- Language:
- English
- Illustrations:
- Y
- Pages:
- 356
- Dimensions:
- 9.46x6.40x1.14 in. 1.47 lbs.
