Blog Tour: Idaho Madams

Today I'm partnering with WOW! Women on Writing to join the blog tour of Idaho Madams!  I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Idaho Madams

Milana Marsenich

Published March 3, 2023

Fur, silver, and gold first lured men to Idaho Territory. Women soon followed. And what women they were! Molly B'Damn, Peg Leg Annie, Spanish Belle, Lou Beevers, Diamond Tooth Lil—the names alone promised excitement and intrigue.

In fact, these madams led complex, turbulent lives. Meet Maggie Hall, a devout Catholic whose husband used her to pay off his gambling debts. Working as a prostitute, Maggie made her way west and, as Molly B'Damn, became the guardian angel of an Idaho mining camp. Or Annie McIntyre, a young girl among the prospectors and ne'er do wells of Rocky Bar who amassed a small fortune as the local madam only to lose it all—along with both her legs.

Idaho Madams uncovers the enigmatic and salacious lives of 30 women who ran brothels in the Gem State from the 1850s to the 1980s. Here are the hedonistic and sometimes heroic exploits of Effie Rogan, Jennie Girard, Nettie Bowen, Ginger Murphy, Dixie Colton, and Dot Allen, but also the unsung sagas of Carrie Young, Grace Freeman, Willow Herman, Hattie Carlton, and many more. As told by author Milana Marsenich, the stories of these women come alive with voluptuous detail, historical photographs, and the social context of the times. - from Amazon

In Idaho Madams, Milana Marsenich explores the lives of women who worked in and ran brothels in the state of Idaho from the mid-1800s until the 1980s (which I found so surprising!).  Previously a fiction writer, Marsenich wanted to try her hand at nonfiction, and her first offering, while short, is full of interesting facts about a little-known class of women.  Brothels and prostitution are by no means secret, but not much is known about the individual lives of women who partook in such a profession.  Marsenich has dug deep to give us a clearer picture of who some of these women were and the reasons why they opened their brothels - some were forced into prostitution and worked their way up, while for others it was a choice to help create a comfortable life for themselves and make money for their families, as well as earn a place in their community.  The individual stories are interesting, although some are very bare-bones.  Marsenich puts the women and their stories into a larger historical context, moving from town to town across Idaho and through the years as the region developed.  She explores how the women were able to run their businesses and the issues many faced, both legally and morally.  Overall, Marsenich has taken a rather taboo topic and given it a very human face, showing the complex lives these madams lived.  4 stars