More on Idaho Madams
Fur, silver, and gold first lured men to Idaho Territory. Women soon followed. And what women they were! Molly B'Damn, Peg Leg Annie, Spanish Belle, Lou Beevers, Diamond Tooth Lil—the names alone promised excitement and intrigue.
In fact, these madams led complex, turbulent lives. In Idaho Madams, meet Maggie Hall, a devout Catholic whose husband used her to pay off his gambling debts. Working as a prostitute, Maggie made her way west and, as Molly B'Damn, became the guardian angel of an Idaho mining camp. Or Annie McIntyre, a young girl among the prospectors and ne'er do wells of Rocky Bar who amassed a small fortune as the local madam only to lose it all—along with both her legs.
Idaho Madams uncovers the enigmatic and salacious lives of 30 women who ran brothels in the Gem State from the 1850s to the 1980s. Here are the hedonistic and sometimes heroic exploits of Effie Rogan, Jennie Girard, Nettie Bowen, Ginger Murphy, Dixie Colton, and Dot Allen, but also the unsung sagas of Carrie Young, Grace Freeman, Willow Herman, Hattie Carlton, and many more. As told by author Milana Marsenich, the stories of these women come alive with voluptuous detail, historical photographs, and the social context of the times.
More on Milana Marsenich
Award winning author, Milana Marsenich lives in Northwest Montana near Flathead Lake at the base of the beautiful Mission Mountains. She enjoys quick access to the mountains and has spent many hours hiking the wilderness trails with friends and dogs. For the past 20 years she has worked as a mental health therapist in a variety of settings. As a natural listener and a therapist, she has witnessed amazing generosity and courage in others. She first witnessed this in her hometown of Butte, Montana, a mining town with a rich history and the setting for Copper Sky, her first novel.
Copper Sky was chosen as a Spur Award finalist for Best Western Historical Novel in 2018. Her second novel, The Swan Keeper, was a Willa Award finalist in 2019. Her short story, "Wild Dogs", won the Laura Award for short fiction in 2020.
She has an M.Ed. in Mental Health Counseling from Montana State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. She has previously published in Montana Quarterly, Big Sky Journal, The Polishing Stone, The Moronic Ox, BookGlow, and Feminist Studies. She has four published novels, Copper Sky, The Swan Keeper, Beautiful Ghost, and Shed Girl, and one popular history book, Idaho Madams. Her popular history book, Mary MacLane: Butte’s Wild Woman and her Wooden Heart, will be out sometime in 2025.
You can find her online at:
Website: https://milanamarsenich.com/
X/Twitter: https://x.com/milanamarsenich
Thoughts on Idaho Madams
First off, I can't even begin to imagine the challenges of writing a book about a group of women who changed addresses (and names) frequently and went out of their way to not leave any trace of the lives they led. Yet that is exactly what Milana Marsenich signed up for with Idaho Madams.
Truthfully, I didn't know what I was getting into when I started reading this book. What this book revealed was much more than the predictable part of these women's lives: violence, poverty, mental and physical illnesses. It also revealed surprising tales of charity, community service and bravery. There were also plenty of vintage photographs and historical newspaper articles to bring these women to life. Marsenich also traced the changes in the red light district from the early days when women were in charge to the changes that affected these women as the area became more settled and men took control of the red light districts.
This book may not be for everyone but as a history buff I found it a fascinating tale that made me look at an aspect of the Old West I had never really thought about before.
A Little Extra
Milana may be known for her books about the West (fiction and nonfiction) but she also has a children's book that looks enchanting. Lily and the Trumpeter Swan is the story of a young girl trying to save a trapped swan who just wants to finish migrating. We only have ducks, geese and the occasional heron in the dams behind our house. What I wouldn't give to see a beautiful swan.
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