Karen Abbott is a journalist and author of the New York Times bestseller Sin in the Second City, an exploration of the role of brothels in the cultural and political life of turn-of-the-century Chicago. Prior to publishing Sin in the Second City – which took her three years to write and research – Abbott worked for Philadelphia magazine and for Philadelphia Weekly. Abbott, a native of Philadelphia, received her BA from Villanova University in 1995. The critically acclaimed Sin in the Second City tells the story of Chicago’s Everleigh Club, a famous high-end whorehouse that was known as the “finest brothel in the land.” Abbott lives with her husband in Atlanta and is working on her second book, a portrait of Gypsy Rose Lee and Depression-era New York.
With non-fiction writing, there's always something to write.
Abbott talks about how she could write about such dark materials.
We have a vicarious need to see how far we could go, Abbott says.
It would depend, Abbott says, on their class background.
At this point, urbanization was starting to change the social dynamic of courtship, says Abbott.
Legalization would make an unavoidable practice safer.