Summary of Debby Applegate's Madam

By IRB Media

Get the Summary of Debby Applegate's Madam in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: As Madam Polly, the proprietress of ‘New York’s most opulent bordello,’ society came to me. Back in Manhattan, Polly and her girls finished their primping and then curled up around the radio receiver in her parlor.

Over the course of her childhood, her father would travel to the metropolises of Warsaw and Berlin and would return to New York City, making him, Pearl noted archly, “an authority on everything.” But the booming so petrified the Christian peasant girl who served as their maid-of-all-work that whenever she heard it, remembered Pearl, “she would throw her apron over her head and plunge blindly toward the nearest exit, caroming against chairs and tables and, more often than not, leaving the floor strewn with my little brothers who had to learn early either to dive for safety or be bowled over.” The young man who served as Moshe’s apprentice in the tailoring business would cower till the bellowing subsided, then dash to the foot of the stairs to beg Moshe to repeat himself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Nov 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638157526

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Debby Applegate's Madam

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The author was a prostitute in the 1920s. She would later become a madam in the 1940s, when she ran a brothel with her pimp husband.

#2

During this time, boxing was at its peak, and the fights were always exciting. It was not uncommon for people to go into debt just to go to a fight, and the winner usually ended up in even more debt.

#3

While the press focused on the squabbles between Dempsey and his manager, Jack Kearns, they often overlooked the support system he had in Polly Adler, a sharp businesswoman and financial brain.

#4

Whore is a word that shocks the ear and tastes bitter on the tongue. The English language is abundant with more elegant terms to describe a woman who exchanges sex for money: prostitute, sex worker, lady of the evening, working girl, fallen woman, call girl.

#5

Another woman who defied the typical stereotypes of a prostitute was Pearl Adler, the owner of Manhattan’s most renowned brothel. She was sweet and tiny, and looked like a doll. She had a husky voice that many mistook for a man’s.

#6

The author visited the same madam over forty years later, still running her business with the same enthusiasm she had back then.

#7

Despite all the dangers and challenges associated with her profession, Polly was determined to keep it up. She had plenty of money, and she knew that once people found out her secret, she’d be treated like a celebrity.

#8

The fight between Jack Dempsey and Gene The Mighty Thor Miller was a very important one for the New York underworld. It was a way for the gangs to settle their differences, and for the big bosses to gather intelligence on each other.

#9

On July 9, Legs Diamond, one of New York’s most notorious gangsters, was arrested on a narcotics charge. It was rumored that the police had been tipped off by Arnold Rothstein, who employed Diamond as a debt collector and bodyguard.

#10

The fight was close at the start, but by the sixth round, the once-fierce Dempsey had slowed down considerably, and was being heavily outboxed.

#11

The author’s great-great grandmother, Pearl Adler, was a Jewish immigrant who left her home in Russia in the early 1900s to escape anti-Semitism.

#12

The author’s path in life was similar to that of Polly Adler. She was a social worker who ended up running a brothel.

#13

During Prohibition, many people turned to alcohol or drugs to get high. This included the Broadway showgirls who worked for Polly.

#14

The author’s friend Polly was a prostitute who ran a house of prostitution in Manhattan. One night, she was raided by the police and ended up in the big black patrol wagon. She was fingerprinted and booked under her current alias: Pearl Davidson, age 26.

#15

The judge was amused by the antics of the defense attorney, who was known for her extravagant outfits. She was sentenced