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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.74097731109041
EAN num: 9780812975994
ISBN number: 0812975995
Label: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 400
Printing Date: June 10, 2008
Publishing house: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Release Date: June 10, 2008
Sale Popularity Level: 6171
Studio: Random House Trade Paperbacks
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Product 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 endeavor 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!
“Delicious… Abbott describes the Levee’s characters in such detail that it’s easy to mistake this meticulously researched history for literary fiction.” —— New York Times Book Review
“ Described with scrupulous concern for historical accuracy…an immensely readable book.”
—— Joseph Epstein, The Wall Street Journal
“Assiduously researched… even this book’s minutiae makes for good storytelling.”
—— Janet Maslin, The New York Times
“Karen Abbott has pioneered sizzle history in this satisfyingly lurid tale. Change the hemlines, add 100 years, and the book could be filed under current affairs.” —— USA Today
“A rousingly racy yarn.” –Chicago Tribune
“A colorful history of old Chicago that reads like a novel… a compelling and eloquent story.” —— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Gorgeously detailed” —— New York Daily News
“At last, a history book you can bring to the beach.” —— The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Once upon a time, Chicago had a world class bordello called The Everleigh Club. Author Karen Abbott brings the opulent place and its raunchy era alive in a book that just might become this years “The Devil In the White City.” —— Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine (cover story)
“As Abbott’s delicious and exhaustively researched book makes vividly clear, the Everleigh Club was the Taj Mahal of bordellos.” —— Chicago Sun Times
“The book is rich with details about a fast-and-loose Chicago of the early 20th century… Sin explores this world with gusto, throwing light on a booming city and exposing its shadows.”
—— Time Out Chicago
“[Abbott’s] research enables the kind of vivid description à la fellow journalist Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City that make what could be a dry historic account an intriguing read.'
– Seattle Times
“Abbott tells her story with just the right mix of relish and restraint, providing a piquant guide to a world of sexuality” —— The Atlantic
“A rollicking tale from a more vibrant time: history to a ragtime beat.”
– Kirkus Reviews
“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
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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A fine story telling in the context of a well-crafted historical novel. The small and difficult to read font is the only reason why I cannot make Sin in the Second city a 5-star read.
Rated by buyers 
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Really great book about turn of the century Chicago right after the World's Fair. There is no doubt that sin and crime were just as evident in the world 100 years ago as they are today. The Everleigh sisters did an amazing job of running a "decent" brothel and staying a step of two ahead of their competitors. I wish there had been more history on them from before they came to Chicago, I was surprised to find they grew up near the area I live in. The history of the religious movement to tame Chicago's Levee district was also very interesting. The only drawback is the book didn't flow quite as smoothly as a pure novel, but it is one of the most interesting non-fiction books I have ever read. If only my high school history books had been this good!
Rated by buyers 
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I seem to be swimming against the tide of opinion on this book. Plainly and simply speaking, I didn't think it was all that great. The subject matter was interesting, and it's fun to be a voyeur sometimes, looking into people's shady lives, but I just didn't think it was that well written -- kind of dry in the execution. I love history (it was my undergrad, grad and postgrad field) and I love history when it's written so that the general reader can read, relate to and understand it, but for some reason, her writing style just left me flat. Also -- my bone of contention is that she didn't have credible sources for the real story of Everleigh sisters, but went on to tell the tale anyway. Granted, she warns her reader of this fact, but still.
Long and short of it -- I liked the subject matter, though it could have been fleshed out quite a bit more. The writing (imho) was just flat. I've seen comparisons by readers of this author to the work of Erik Larson and (again imho) it doesn't begin to come close. I had to make myself finish this book and that's never good.
Rated by buyers -
I love to read non-fiction historical books. Often, however, I find they can be bias or dull. "Sin in the Second City" was neither. Karen Abbott offers a broad and informative look into the under-belly of Chicago at the beginning of the 20th century. She paints an exciting picture of the Everleigh sisters, their "club," opposition and other interesting characters.
While I don't want to give anything about the book away I will say that it was a great book and one that I would highly recommend. The descriptions and characters make you feel like you are there. Several times I found myself laughing and at others picking my jaw off the floor. I am sure that you won't regret reading it. I haven't!!!!
Rated by buyers -
This is a brilliant book- I am a "period piece" aficianado, and this is the best period piece type book I have ever read, for my money on a par with Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle." -Karen is the rare author willing to take a huge risk in tackling a project that involves a long ago period, with a dearth of available source data, and she knocked the ball out of the park. Being a Chicagoan and generally familiar with the Everleigh sisters ( check out the Chicago Chop House Restaurant for pictures of them on the walls!), I had yearned for a book on them but just assumed it would never ever happen- Her level of research is huge and shows itself throughout the book- That she could bring to such vivid life such a long ago time and place is a very major accomplishment. I have read over 5000+ books, this is one of the best 5 of those I have ever read. Clearly Karen has already established herself as a "name author"; I for one can't wait for her subsequent book. Whatever that may be, hopefully it will be soon.
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