The “raunchy, hilarious, and thrilling” true story of the incomparable Norma Wallace, proprietor of a notorious 1920s New Orleans brothel (NPR). Norma Wallace grew up fast. In 1916, at fifteen years old, she went to work as a streetwalker in New Orleans’ French Quarter. By the 1920s, she was a “landlady”—or, more precisely, the madam of what became one of the city’s most lavish brothels. It was … brothels. It was frequented by politicians, movie stars, gangsters, and even the notoriously corrupt police force. But Wallace acquired more than just repeat customers. There were friends, lovers . . . and also enemies.
Wallace’s romantic interests ran the gamut from a bootlegger who shot her during a fight to a famed bandleader to the boy next door, thirty-nine years her junior, who became her fifth husband. She knew all of the Crescent City’s dirty little secrets, and used them to protect her own interests—she never got so much as a traffic ticket, until the early 1960s, when District Attorney Jim Garrison decided to clean up vice and corruption. After a jail stay, Wallace went legitimate as successfully as she had gone criminal, with a lucrative restaurant business—but it was love that would undo her in the end.
The Last Madam combines original research with Wallace’s personal memoirs, bringing to life an era in New Orleans history rife with charm and decadence, resurrecting “a secret world, like those uncovered by Luc Sante and James Ellroy” (Publishers Weekly). It reveals the colorful, unforgettable woman who reigned as an underworld queen and “capture[s] perfectly the essential, earthy complexity of the most fascinating city on this continent” (Robert Olen Butler).
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One of my favorite books. If you love New Orleans and have ever wondered about some of the “naughtier” bits of history that the tour guides never talk about–read this book.
Norma Wallace was the last successfully madam of New Orleans. She grew up poor, went into prostitution, took over running a whore house by time she was in her early twenties. She ran a high class house, girls were required to dress nicely when out and about and had doctor check her girls twice a week. Norma’s life is covered in snap shot of …
Great picture of a part of old New Orleans that has been replaced by newer corruption! Fascinating.
Read it because of the wonderful stories about New Orleans. I remember some of the characters from my youth. If you are from N O L A don’t miss it.
Anyone interested in New Orleans history should read this book.
Wonderful read! Highly recommend!
too many characters
I love all things historial and all things New Orleans, so this book gave me both. I can’t wait to go back to New Orleans this summer and pass by 1026 Conti Street (the place this book is based out of)
This book seemed to be real and might have been considering the bibliography. Very, very interesting.
ok; moves slow at times. Good history of the “industry” at the time and anecdotes
I live in New Orleans, so I found it very interesting. Tragic ending.
I quit reading this thing. It got tedious.
Hard to keep my attention. slow
A lot of history about a fascinating city
Incredible immersion into the era and culture.
Having lived in NOLA after the fact, I had heard stories about the houses from the natives and thought it would be an interesting read. I was not disappointed. A very well-told story of real life. I liked Chris Wiltz’s style so much that I am looking at other titles to read.
It was entertaining.
I found this book to be a true historical capture of New Orleans “in the day”. I never knew about the prostitution ring that went on there although I always knew it was a city of ill repute—-DAA
I love books that deal with history of a particular city or part of our country.
It could of had a little more action in romance and erotica area.
Very interesting insight to early New Orleans and the city government corruption during that period