Review: Madam: A Novel of New Orleans

Madam: A Novel of New Orleans by Cari Lynn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Before New Orleans's infamous Storyville red light district, there was Venus Alley. And before Josie Arlington, whose Chateau Lobrano d'Arlington was one of the crown jewels of Basin Street in Storyville, there was little Mary Deubler, one of Venus Alley's anonymous crib girls who would someday be one of the most famous of the Storyville madams.

Madam follows Mary's struggles as one of the nameless underclass, fending off her abusive uncle while keeping her brother and sister-in-law fed and with a roof over their heads. Even at this point, she shows remarkable nerve and initiative when she assumes ownership of her own crib on Venus Alley, and again when she seeks employment with the flashy Lulu White, the unchallenged queen of the New Orleans bordellos. Lulu isn't impressed with what she sees in Mary, but Storyville saloon owner Tom Anderson is, and soon enough Mary has a new business partner, a new name, and a new destiny.

Running parallel to Mary's reinvention is that of a young piano player, Ferdinand LaMenthe, who is juggling professional ambitions of his own against his grandmother's expectations of Creole respectability. The name Ferdinand will eventually choose for himself will go on to be legendary in the history of American ragtime.

Featuring a well-researched cast of real-life characters from New Orleans's colorful past, as well as a vintage photograph to open each chapter, Madam breathes some life back into a brief period that has largely been scoured out of New Orleans's official history.

*This review is of an advanced reader copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*



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