Book reviews

The Madam
Julianna Baggott Book Review

Read a book review online (click here to search reviews)
Books Movies  
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Mystery/Thriller Literature Romance Biography History
Julianna Baggott Books
New book search
Julianna Baggott Message Board
Get more information about this book
Plot Summary of The Madam
"Alma is the wife of a railroad worker and mother of three children in 1924 working in a hosiery mill and running a boarding house to support them. Alma's husband Henry hears about a great opportunity in Miami: steamer trunks, unclaimed from a luxury ship, are available for purchase. Henry decides that they will seek their fortune on the docks, and Alma agrees to leave the children behind temporarily. Alma decides that Irving, the eldest, is old enough to be on his own. She takes the younger two, Willard and Lettie, to a Catholic orphanage but promises to come back for them. Henry and Alma drive down to Miami, only to discover that the steamer trunk they bought contains nothing of value, as promised, and they start to go home. But Henry changes his mind and stays on the Miami docks, sending Alma back to West Virginia by herself. On the way to W. Virginia, Alma meets Roxy, a gentle giant. Alma picks Lettie up from the orphanage, like she promises, but is convinced by a nun that Willard is better off staying. With survival at stake, Roxy and Delphine, Roxy's new girlfriend and an aquaintance of Alma's, convince Alma to open a brothel. It becomes very profitable, and in time Lettie is raped by a policeman, someone she and Delphine both knew way back when, and decides to marry him. The policeman, Smitty, is very abusive to Lettie, and her mother, Delphine, and Roxy finally get her out of the relationship - unofficially. The four women need to come up with a way to totally end it."
Ariana, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Madam
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - depressed
Time/era of story - 1900-1920's
Life of a profession: - prostitute/stripper/porn
Poverty, surviving Yes
Kind of living: - making "Ends Meat" by prostitution
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Pregnancy/Child rearing Yes
Major part of story: - giving up children
Job/Profession/Status story Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - prostitute
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence

Main Adversary
Identity: - society
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 2 (a little)
United States Yes
The US: - Deep South

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references
Amount of dialog - little dialog
Most similar books to The Madam
Yama: The Pit by Alexander Kuprin
The Diary of a Scullery Maid by Joe Rogers
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Light in August by William Faulkner


Click here for more information about this book


Julianna Baggott Resident Scholar Profiles

 TOP SCHOLAR:
  Ariana  

SCHOLARS: Sandra Calhoune  


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Three ways to search for Literature books!

1) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot or subplot below!

Animal story

Crime & Police story

Ethnic/regional/gender life

Exploring into the wild

Family, caring for ill

Family, loving relations

Family, struggle with

Internal struggle/realization?

Job/Profession/Status story

Kids growing up/acting up?

Political/social activism

Poverty, surviving

Pregnancy/Child rearing

Religion theme?

Romance/Romance Problems

Sports Story?

War/Revolt/Disaster on civilians



or 2) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
3) Even more search options available with a Detailed Booksearch (click here)

Use our site!
Feedback
About us
Bribe your congressman!
Rudy Giuliani



Most recent discussions:

General Book Talk
Book writing discussion
Off-topic message board
.
Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer 12:17:36 PM
Michael Gerber 9:39:20 AM
Terry Goodkind 7:22:26 AM
Isobelle Carmody 5:19:11 AM
Norah Lofts 12:26:00 AM
Diana Gabaldon 10:32:23 PM
Ivan Cat 9:23:05 PM
Scott Westerfield 9:20:54 PM
General Discussion (All Topics) 7:10:00 PM
Jude Deveraux 5:56:12 PM
George W. Bush 4:34:34 PM
Ray Bradbury 4:27:50 PM
Karen Armstrong 2:13:10 PM
Karen Armstrong 12:58:19 PM
Lana Wood 6:06:13 AM
Lynn and Gilbert Morris 12:20:20 AM
David Pelzer 10:32:56 PM
Max Shulman 8:44:04 PM
Kate Brian 5:25:02 PM
Ruth Minsky Sender 3:34:26 PM

More message boards