Good Time Girls of Colorado: A Red-Light History of the Centennial State
Throughout the Gold Rush years and beyond, prostitution grew and flourished within the mining camps, small towns, and cities of nineteenth-century Colorado. Whether escaping a bad home life, lured by false advertising, or seeking to subsidize their income, thousands of women chose or were forced to enter an industry where they faced segregation and persecution, fines and jailing, and battled the hazards of their profession. Some dreamed of escape through marriage or retirement, and some became infamous and even successful, but more often found relief only in death. An integral part of western history, the stories of these women continue to fascinate readers and captivate the minds of historians today.

The Centennial State had its share of working girls and madams like Mattie Silks and Jennie Rogers who remain notorious celebrities in the annals of history, but Collins also includes the stories of lesser-known women whose roles in this illicit trade help shape our understanding of the American West.
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Good Time Girls of Colorado: A Red-Light History of the Centennial State
Throughout the Gold Rush years and beyond, prostitution grew and flourished within the mining camps, small towns, and cities of nineteenth-century Colorado. Whether escaping a bad home life, lured by false advertising, or seeking to subsidize their income, thousands of women chose or were forced to enter an industry where they faced segregation and persecution, fines and jailing, and battled the hazards of their profession. Some dreamed of escape through marriage or retirement, and some became infamous and even successful, but more often found relief only in death. An integral part of western history, the stories of these women continue to fascinate readers and captivate the minds of historians today.

The Centennial State had its share of working girls and madams like Mattie Silks and Jennie Rogers who remain notorious celebrities in the annals of history, but Collins also includes the stories of lesser-known women whose roles in this illicit trade help shape our understanding of the American West.
19.95 In Stock
Good Time Girls of Colorado: A Red-Light History of the Centennial State

Good Time Girls of Colorado: A Red-Light History of the Centennial State

by Jan MacKell Collins
Good Time Girls of Colorado: A Red-Light History of the Centennial State

Good Time Girls of Colorado: A Red-Light History of the Centennial State

by Jan MacKell Collins

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$19.95 
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Overview

Throughout the Gold Rush years and beyond, prostitution grew and flourished within the mining camps, small towns, and cities of nineteenth-century Colorado. Whether escaping a bad home life, lured by false advertising, or seeking to subsidize their income, thousands of women chose or were forced to enter an industry where they faced segregation and persecution, fines and jailing, and battled the hazards of their profession. Some dreamed of escape through marriage or retirement, and some became infamous and even successful, but more often found relief only in death. An integral part of western history, the stories of these women continue to fascinate readers and captivate the minds of historians today.

The Centennial State had its share of working girls and madams like Mattie Silks and Jennie Rogers who remain notorious celebrities in the annals of history, but Collins also includes the stories of lesser-known women whose roles in this illicit trade help shape our understanding of the American West.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781493038053
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date: 08/22/2019
Pages: 200
Sales rank: 1,029,142
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Jan MacKell Collins has been a published author, speaker and presenter since 2003. Her focus has always been on western history, with an emphasis on historical prostitution. Collins has published numerous articles on her subjects in such magazines as True West, Montana Magazine, All About History and numerous regional magazines. Ms. Collins currently resides in Oregon, where she continues researching the history of prostitution.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments v

Introduction: Colorado's Mile-High Maidens viii

Sin on the Santa Fe Trail 1

Ladies of the Camps 8

Jane Bowen: The Sage Hen of Silverton 18

Mattie Silks: Denver's Enduring Madam 25

Jennie Rogers: Queen of the Colorado Underworld 40

A Violent Femme: Mollie May of Leadville 49

A Family Affair: The Vanolis of the San Juan Mining Camps 59

Laura Bell McDaniel: Queen of the Colorado City Tenderloin 68

Pearl DeVere: The Pearl of Cripple Creek 85

French Blanche: A Damaged Dove 95

Spuds Murphy: "Poor Little Spuddy" 102

Laura Evens: "Eat, Drink, Go to Bed or Get Out" 109

Bessie Rivers: "The Swellest Woman You Ever Met" 122

Lou Bunch: Three Hundred Pounds of Pleasure 131

Mae Phelps: A High-Toned Hussey 139

Notes 147

Bibliography 157

Index 168

About the Author 182

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