Sin in the second city: Madams, ministers, playboys, and the battle for america's soul
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Description
Step into the perfumed parlors of the Everleigh Club, the most famous brothel in American history–and the catalyst for a culture war that rocked the nation. Operating in Chicago’s notorious Levee district at the dawn of the last century, the Club’s proprietors, two aristocratic sisters named Minna and Ada Everleigh, welcomed moguls and actors, senators and athletes, foreign dignitaries and literary icons, into their stately double mansion, where thirty stunning Everleigh “butterflies” awaited their arrival. Courtesans named Doll, Suzy Poon Tang, and Brick Top devoured raw meat to the delight of Prince Henry of Prussia and recited poetry for Theodore Dreiser. Whereas lesser madams pocketed most of a harlot’s earnings and kept a “whipper” on staff to mete out discipline, the Everleighs made sure their girls dined on gourmet food, were examined by an honest physician, and even tutored in the literature of Balzac. 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.
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Contributors:
ISBN:
9781400124664
9781588366436
9781588366436
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | be46846d-4e43-e9d0-d2fe-42a6b8106349 |
---|---|
Grouping Title | sin in the second city |
Grouping Author | karen abbott |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-01-10 10:39:01AM |
Last Indexed | 2024-04-19 23:17:21PM |
Solr Fields
accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
auth_author2
Bean, Joyce
author
Abbott, Karen
author2-role
Bean, Joyce,reader
hoopla digital
hoopla digital
author_display
Abbott, Karen
display_description
Step into the perfumed parlors of the Everleigh Club, the most famous brothel in American history–and the catalyst for a culture war that rocked the nation. Operating in Chicago’s notorious Levee district at the dawn of the last century, the Club’s proprietors, two aristocratic sisters named Minna and Ada Everleigh, welcomed moguls and actors, senators and athletes, foreign dignitaries and literary icons, into their stately double mansion, where thirty stunning Everleigh “butterflies” awaited their arrival. Courtesans named Doll, Suzy Poon Tang, and Brick Top devoured raw meat to the delight of Prince Henry of Prussia and recited poetry for Theodore Dreiser. Whereas lesser madams pocketed most of a harlot’s earnings and kept a “whipper” on staff to mete out discipline, the Everleighs made sure their girls dined on gourmet food, were examined by an honest physician, and even tutored in the literature of Balzac. 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.
id
be46846d-4e43-e9d0-d2fe-42a6b8106349
isbn
9781400124664
9781588366436
9781588366436
last_indexed
2024-04-20T05:17:21.860Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
primary_isbn
9781400124664
publishDate
2007
publisher
Tantor Media, Inc
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Biography & Autobiography
Business
Electronic books
History
Nonfiction
United States
Business
Electronic books
History
Nonfiction
United States
title_display
Sin in the second city : Madams, ministers, playboys, and the battle for america's soul
title_full
Sin in the Second City : madams, ministers, playboys, and the battle for America's soul [electronic resource] / Karen Abbott
Sin in the second city [electronic resource] : Madams, ministers, playboys, and the battle for america's soul. Karen Abbott
Sin in the second city [electronic resource] : Madams, ministers, playboys, and the battle for america's soul. Karen Abbott
title_short
Sin in the second city
title_sub
Madams, ministers, playboys, and the battle for america's soul
topic_facet
Biography & Autobiography
Business
History
Nonfiction
United States
Business
History
Nonfiction
United States
Solr Details Tables
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overdrivecmc:ODN0000118300 | ODN0000118300 | Overdrive (CMC) | Online Overdrive (CMC) | eBook | eBook | 1 | false | true | Overdrive (CMC) | http://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=162&titleID=118300 | Available Online | Overdrive (CMC) | |
hoopla:MWT10755841 | Online Hoopla Collection | Online Hoopla | eAudiobook | Audio Books | 1 | false | true | Hoopla | https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/10755841?utm_source=MARC&Lid=hh4435 | Available Online |
record_details
Bib Id | Format | Format Category | Edition | Language | Publisher | Publication Date | Physical Description | Abridged |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
overdrivecmc:ODN0000118300 | eBook | eBook | English | 2007 | 1 online resource | |||
hoopla:MWT10755841 | eAudiobook | Audio Books | Unabridged | English | Tantor Media, Inc | 2007 | 1 online resource (1 audio file (11hr., 30 min.)) : digital. |