I thought I might feel shy reading a book about brothels in public. Sin in the Second City is about the notorious Everleigh madams – and the Levee District in which they operated – in early 20th century Chicago. But instead of feeling shy, I found myself eager to share this fascinating book with everyone around me.

I wanted to tell everyone how Minna and Ada Everleigh ran the Everleigh Club, the most upscale, prestigious brothel in Chicago’s Red Light district, and how their business savvy granted them access and influence with politicians and ministers alike. While all other brothels in Chicago were clamoring for more girls to work – and some even participating in a “white slave” trade for girls, the Everleigh sisters had a long waiting list of girls desperate to work for their club.

Most of all, I wanted to tell of Karen Abbott’s riveting prose. She vividly portrays Minna and Ada as remarkably unique, almost opposite personalities. Together they were an unstoppable force in Chicago’s vibrant Levee District, the section of the city containing the countless brothels, dance halls, and other places of “vice.”
Abbott weaves many parallel tales into a fascinating story: she writes of reformers trying to shut down Chicago’s vice district; millionaire playboys and politicians, pandering to the reformers during the day while sneaking in the back door of the Everleigh Club that same night; and of less prestigious madams, scheming to ruin the Everleigh sisters dominance by framing the sisters for murder.

Abbott’s expertly researched book gives riveting detail about the inner workings of the Everleigh Club – from their $15,000 solid gold piano, to the menu at their lavishly expensive restaurant. She includes photos of the Club, at the start of each chapter from the notorious “brochure” the sisters sent out to clients and prospective clients across the country (a very bold move that got them into some hot water). Additionally, she elucidates the complex legal battles over the “white slave” trade in girls, and the many reformers with unique personalities and diverse motives.
At it’s core, Sin in the Second City makes what was Chicago’s Red Light district come alive again on each page, and with a journalist’s unbiased eye, Abbot passes no judgment on the flawed characters she describes. In the end, though, I came out rooting for the spunky Everleigh sisters, who broke all the rules, but did so with admirable elegance and unapologetic deliberateness. I think Abbott favored them, too, over the often-curmudgeonly reformers who fought – and eventually succeeded – in shutting the sisters down.