Nearly a century before Mr. Skin lit up the Midwest, Chicago was home to a world-class emporium of wanton women, visited by gentlemen from around the world for a feethe Everleigh Club. Sexy first-time author Karen Abbott brings the luxurious turn-of-the-century brothel and its founding sisters, Ada and Minna Everleigh (the source of the term "get laid") to life in her bestseller Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul.

The New York Times Book Review describes Abbott's nonfiction account of the best little whorehouse in American history as a "lush love letter to the underworld." USA Today says, "Change the hemlines, add 100 years, and the book could be filed under current affairs."

Abbott recently sat down with Mr. Skin to talk about Sin, her favorite sexy actresses and movies, and how she ended up between Lindsay Lohan (Picture: 1) and Madonna (Picture: 1).



How did youa girl from Philly who lives in Atlantadecide to write a book about Chicago's infamous Everleigh Club? What is your Chicago connection?

I was always intrigued by a bit of family lore that I'd heard about over the years. My great-grandmother immigrated to the United States from Slovenia in 1905. One of her siblings, who had accompanied her on the trip from Europe, went to Chicago and was never heard from again.

So that was my starting point, although I never really focused on finding out what happened to my missing relative; I was more interested in the circumstances that could have led to her disappearance. Chicago at the turn of the last century was this vibrant, bustling city, but it was also very dangerous.

There were entire guidebooks warning people about which streets and establishments to avoid, with these lurid titles, like, "CHICAGO AND ITS CESSPOOLS OF INFAMY!" It was easy, especially during my research trips to the city, to imagine that my relative had fallen victim to some nefarious force. Of course, once I happened upon the Everleigh sisters, I forgot all about that long-lost ancestor!

What led to your interest in "sporting" women, and why are you drawn to this particular subject matter? Has this been a life-long fascination or a recently acquired interest?

I'm not really interested in "sporting" women, per se, but I am interested in womenparticularly those who had to work to create a life for themselves, who weren't privileged enough to have their lives handed to them. I'm also interested in women who defy convention and who create opportunities for themselves in unexpected ways.

By the time they retired, the Everleigh sisters had $1 million in cashthat's about $20 million today. They were ingenious businesswomen and two of our earliest female entrepreneurs. I couldn't believe no one had written about them before.

What made the Everleigh Club so special in comparison to other similar operations of its day? I understand that, for starters, it was much classier and luxurious than others in the Levee district. Were there other comparable establishments in other parts of the country, such as New Orleans?

The sisters wanted the Everleigh Club to be a capital-E "Experience," where sex was almost beside the point.

Some of their signature features were a $15,000 gold piano, $650 gold spittoons, string orchestras, a dining room designed to look like a Pullman Palace Car, a "Chinese" room where men could shoot firecrackers into barrels, and fountains that shot jets of perfume into the air. It was the height of opulence and set a standard for decadence run amok.

The sisters spent $18,000 per year on renovations alone. There were lavish bordellos in other parts of the country, including LuLu White's place in New Orleans, but none compared to the Everleigh Club.

The Everleigh sisters toured every major bordello in the country before setting up shop and knew exactly what their competitors had to offer.

Have you visited the Everleigh house yourself? What is the building used for now?

During my last research trip to Chicago, I spent about an hour walking around the area that, one hundred years ago, was known throughout the world as the Levee district. Unfortunately there isn't any vestige of that gaudy era left.

The site of the Everleigh Club is now occupied by the Hilliard Homes, a housing project. The Homes are two imposing towers, standing side by side, which in some weird way evoke the Everleigh sisters. They were designed by a renowned Chicago architect and are on the National Register of Historic Places.

What standards did the Everleigh sisters set for the girls who worked in their club? Did the club play a role in the notorious "white slave" trade?

A potential "butterfly" had to have a beautiful face and figure and look stunning in an evening gown. She couldn't use drugs or drink to excess, and the sisters preferred girls who had a bit of experience in another high-class house, since novices were more likely to run off and get married right away.

An Everleigh girl also had to undergo thorough tutoring, learning about the politics of the day and memorizing the literature of Balzac and the poetry of Longfellow. Minna insisted upon these lectures, although one of her frequent clients liked to kid her that she was "educating the wrong end of a whore."

The sisters abhorred white slavers and in fact invited the reformers to visit the Club and interview the girls about working there. They even challenged the reformers to persuade the prostitutes to leaveof course, such attempts were unsuccessful.

What standards did the sisters set for their clientele? What kind of men did they routinely "service"? Did Chicago's famous gangstersor any other famous peoplefrequent the club?

Some of their more famous clients included [novelist] Theodore Dreiser, the boxer Jack Johnson, the poet Edgar Lee Masters, the actor John Barrymore, and Prince Henry of Prussia. Some clients didn't have a famous name but became known for their bizarre requests. Uncle Ned, a client who visited once a year during the holidays, didn't want to eat at the Pullman Buffet or drink any champagne or go upstairs with any of the girls. He just wanted to stick his bare feet into ice buckets while the girls circled around him singing "Jingle Bells." An out-of-town visitor had to have a letter of referral before being allowed into the Club. The sisters had their own set of rules: no pimps, panders, white slavers. No one could sell or do drugs on their premises. A certain class of criminal was permitted entry so long as he respected the girls and the Club.

I understand this is your first book. Did you have any idea that it would hit The New York Times best seller list? Is this a surreal experience for you? Did you have any idea the book would be so successful?

I really didn't. Sin was a very modest, quiet acquisition for Random House. No one had any big expectations for it. I'm just really happy that people are responding to the Everleigh sisters' story. They were so much fun to research and write about.

Why do you think the book has become so popular? What chord does it strike with people today?

I think the Everleigh sisters are endlessly fascinating, but I also think the themes of the book resonate today. We're still debating immigration, the role of religion in government, the idea of legislating morality, the cyclical nature of religious fundamentalism.

How do the Everleigh sisters compare with the notorious madams of our day, such as the D.C. Madam, Sidney Biddle Barrows, or Heidi Fleiss?

I think the Everleigh sisters were much more discreetthey never would have leaked names of clients to the press. Discussing a client's business was absolutely verboten. They even allowed themselves to be suspects in the Marshall Field shooting because they refused to say whether or not he had patronized the Club.

We love the hot pictures of your "Randy House" book party on Gawker. I've read that your own sexy appearance was a major plus in the marketing of your book. Have you gained a reputation as a sex symbol in your own right?

Not that I know of! I'm really a jockI like to wear ratty jeans and a baseball hat and drink beer. During events like that book launch party, I feel like I'm playing dress-up. That party was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so I just wanted to go all out and have as much fun as possible. The next day my editor called me up and said, "Well, Page Six didn't tell it like it really happened, but look at it this way: We're in between Lindsay Lohan (Picture: 1) and Madonna (Picture: 1)."

What is the first movie nude scene you remember seeing? Is there a funny story attached to it?

I don't remember the first nude scene, but I do remember finding my father's Playboys when I was a kid. My grandmother bought him a subscription every Christmas, along with a Pepperidge Farm beef log. Can you think of a better way to make your son-in-law feel inadequate?

What is your favorite sexy movie of all time?

The Seven Year ItchI'm a huge Marilyn Monroe fan. My room was a shrine to her when I was a teenager.

Who are your picks for the three sexiest movie actresses of all time?

Aside from Marilyn, Ava Gardner, Marlene Dietrich, and Pam Grier (Picture: 1).

What are your favorite movies involving prostitutes? Which ones do you think are realistic or not?

I love Taxi Driverit's one of my all-time favorite movies. Brilliant in every way. Pretty Woman (Picture: 1), not so much.

You were working on a different book before this one, about Rex Feral, the female author of the infamous assassin how-to book Hit Man. Whatever became of that project? Any plans for publication now that you're a bestselling author?

I think Rex Feral is a great story, but for now the book is staying in a drawer where it belongs! It wasn't ready for general consumption back then, and it's still not now. Maybe I'll revisit it at some point. Rex Feral herself is still a good friend of mine.

I understand that you are currently working on a biography of the famous burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee. Any juicy tidbits you've learned so far?

I came across a mention of her when I was researching the Everleigh sisters' retirement years. I loved that these three women were in New York City at the same time, two of them trying to hide from their infamous reputations and one striving to achieve her own.

Like the Everleighs, Gypsy Rose Lee was wholly a self-made woman. She was at once heartbreakingly vulnerable and an absolute shark. I was surprised no one had written an objective biography of her before, especially against the backdrop of the dramatic changes New York City was experiencing during the time. Tammany Hall was about to fall, FDR was preparing to run for president, the literary scene was flourishing, the Prohibition-era gangsters were doing their thing.

I'd like to save the juicy Gypsy tidbits for the book, and I'm just hoping I'll do her legacy justice.

images courtesy of SinInTheSecondCity.com


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