Tuesday, March 15, 2022 - 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Hello readers!
Join us this month to read and discuss Debby Applegate's "Madam: the Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age." Library Journal says:
"Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and biographer Applegate (The Most Famous Man in America) writes a highly readable and richly detailed piece of cultural history. All but forgotten today, Polly Adler (1900-1962) was once the proprietor of Manhattan's most renowned bordello and an associate of some of America's best-known gamblers, racketeers, musicians, and celebrities. Using archival materials and sources available only in private collections, this biography appeals on many levels. It traces a unique kind of Horatio Alger story, that of an unschooled Jewish immigrant from Belarus who arrived in the United States alone and friendless in 1913, and who relied on her charisma, brains, and unfettered ambition to become nationally infamous as the "queen of the vice-ring." In addition to its detailed account of Adler's rise to fame and fortune and her encounters with colorful characters, Applegate's book offers fascinating descriptions of New York City history, immigrant and working-class life, organized crime syndicates, changing sexual mores, and cultural upheavals of the 1920s."
We have limited copies in the print collection, but if there isn't one available, head over to our Overdrive collection where we will have unlimited downloading of the ebook and eaudiobook in the month before the event!
Get registered now, and a reminder email with the Zoom link will be sent the day of the event.
Iowa City Public Library Iowa City Public Library America/Chicago publicZoom event
Registration is closed.
Hello readers!
Join us this month to read and discuss Debby Applegate's "Madam: the Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age." Library Journal says:
"Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and biographer Applegate (The Most Famous Man in America) writes a highly readable and richly detailed piece of cultural history. All but forgotten today, Polly Adler (1900-1962) was once the proprietor of Manhattan's most renowned bordello and an associate of some of America's best-known gamblers, racketeers, musicians, and celebrities. Using archival materials and sources available only in private collections, this biography appeals on many levels. It traces a unique kind of Horatio Alger story, that of an unschooled Jewish immigrant from Belarus who arrived in the United States alone and friendless in 1913, and who relied on her charisma, brains, and unfettered ambition to become nationally infamous as the "queen of the vice-ring." In addition to its detailed account of Adler's rise to fame and fortune and her encounters with colorful characters, Applegate's book offers fascinating descriptions of New York City history, immigrant and working-class life, organized crime syndicates, changing sexual mores, and cultural upheavals of the 1920s."
We have limited copies in the print collection, but if there isn't one available, head over to our Overdrive collection where we will have unlimited downloading of the ebook and eaudiobook in the month before the event!
Get registered now, and a reminder email with the Zoom link will be sent the day of the event.
If you need disability-related accommodations in order to participate in this event, please contact the Library.
This event is open to the public.
