This started out REALLY well, but then kind of fizzled towards the end. It was a very interesting glimpse into the history of Chicago's seedier side... ( )

Starts out promising, and quite interesting... but ends up too long, full of too many details, and a tad too boring. ( )

The first 3rd of this book was something I could not put down with the entertaining, yet historically factual, story of the Everleigh sisters. The second 3rd of this book started to slow down almost to a point of 'alright already- I get it this is more than just a story it's really important to the history of Chicago, the white-slave trade, the purity movement, and the corruption of their police and gov't. systems". Okay, it wasn't that bad, but I really missed the story of the sisters. The last 3rd of story started to pick back up as we saw what this meant to all involved. ( )

This should have been a great book, what with the whores, sex, money, and prostitution....right?! I was hoping for a similar read to Devil in the White City, but this book read like a pure textbook. It was dry, dull, and boring for the most part. A bit of a disappointment. ( )

Minna and Ada Everleigh operated one of the most successful and well known brothels in Chicago from 1900-1911. Their success stemmed from their insistence on treating the women who worked for them as ladies complete with couture gowns, large salaries, sumptuous meals and an exclusive clientele. In order to be an Everleigh butterfly as they were nicknamed, you had to be extensively interviewed and provide proof that you were of the age of consent. If you passed the rigorous screening process, you were then schooled on the art of being a lady, proper etiquette and on the ways to please a man . The Everleigh club would play host to many famous dignitaries including John Barrymore, Jack Johnson, Theodore Dreiser, Marshall Field Jr. and Prince Heinrich of Prussia. What was it about this brothel that made it stand above all the others in the district?

According to the author, the vice district of Chicago's south side was prior to the sisters arrival a place that offered little dignity for the women who exchanged their wares for monetary compensation. Most of the houses of ill repute treated the women who worked within with little regard and did not screen their clients, letting anyone who could pay gain entrance. The women were subjected to whippings for any perceived bad behavior and many a customer lost their belongings after they had been drugged by a woman who was supposed to be entertaining them. It was a lawless atmosphere rife with enormous danger.

Into this chaos stepped the Everleigh sisters who sought to reform vice and make it more respectable. The sisters acquired a property from its former madam, dismissed all the women currently working there and began to change the face of prostitution in Chicago. They made it clear from the start that theirs would not be a club into which any drunk sailor would stumble and be entertained. The Everleigh Club they insisted would be one that required an introduction by influential and well trusted friends in order to gain admittance. They applied the well oiled economic principle that by making something exclusive, you attract more business because everyone wants to see what the fuss is all about. Apparently, to have made it into the Everleigh club left you with a sense that you were special. The sisters spared no expense in building their dream brothel, from the beautiful women to the grand piano to the dinner hall that flowed with mounds of food, mirrored ceilings, thirty expensively furnished boudoirs, etc, etc, etc. Indeed, the sisters changed the face of the flesh trade.

As expected the sisters made some enemies of the old madams who had ruled the vice district before their arrival. Notable amongst their enemies was Vic Shaw who had an iron grip before their arrival. She was incensed at these upstarts who muscled in on her territory and she never ceased planning ways to bring about their downfall. But the Everleigh sisters enemies were not limited to the other madams. They also had to contend with the religious reformers who sought to close down all the brothels for what they saw as their role in the spread of sin. Prominent amongst the reformers was Rev. Ernest Bell who maintained a nightly vigil outside the Everleigh club calling on all who could hear to repent of the sins of the flesh.

The sisters thrived for eleven very prosperous years but would eventually fall victim to the wind of change that would sweep the city. The reformers and dedicated law men would eventually pressure the mayor to institute a crack down on the vice district. The sisters would not escape this time as they had done on previous occasions. This time they were forced to close down and begin their lives no longer as madams but as private citizens far from the trade that had made them famous.

I listened to this as an audiobook and I personally found it to be extremely entertaining. The characters were explored in depth and you couldn't wait to see what was coming next. With a cast that included characters with names like "Hinky Dink" Kenna, "Bathhouse" John and cursory mentions of the young gangster Al Capone, I knew I was in for an interesting ride. The narrator Joyce Bean is a good and engaging reader who draws one into the story quite easily. But as enjoyable as one may find the book, one must somewhat doubt the accuracy of the tale. On many occasions the author makes assertions to or alludes to conversations that unless she was standing right there when they happened it would have been impossible for her to have known that one of the speakers furrowed their brow, or pursed her lips or wondered about so and so. The author did this frequently enough for one to doubt or discount some of the things she claimed occurred. If one is writing non fiction then the matter should be treated as such and flowering the prose with one's imagination should be avoided. Unless the author is able to provide factual proof for many of these assertions, one is left to conclude that she took certain aspects of the characters' lives and dramatized and directed it to suit her story. This is too bad as the story of vice in Chicago in the 1900s and beyond was interesting enough without any need for flights of fancy. But all in all, it was a most entertaining read. ( )