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Karen Abbott

Author

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.

Karen Abbott reads from First Ward Ball,

Karen Abbott reads from First Ward Ball.

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4 min

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What are you working on now?

Abbott is exploring Depression-era New York.

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2 min

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How do you get past writer's block?

With non-fiction writing, there’s always something to write.

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1 min

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What is your creative process?

Abbott listens to music to get on the right frequency.

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1 min

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The Historical Narrative

Can a historical narrative ever be objective?

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2 min

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What is human nature?

Abbott talks about how she could write about such dark materials.

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2 min

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Why are we so fascinated by the underworld?

We have a vicarious need to see how far we could go, Abbott says.

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1 min

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Re: Will city governments always be corrupt?

Probably, Abbott says.

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1 min

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Was Victorian society more invested in its girls?

It would depend, Abbott says, on their class background.

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1 min

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How has feminine sexuality changed since the Victorian era?

At this point, urbanization was starting to change the social dynamic of courtship, says Abbott.

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3 min

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Karen Abbott on Legalized Prostitution

Legalization would make an unavoidable practice safer.

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1 min

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White Slavery in America

Abbott describes the turn-of-the-century culture that created the conditions for white slavery.

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2 min

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Sexual Mores in America

Will the country ever shed its Puritan origins?

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3 min

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Has Chicago changed since the turn of the 20th century?

Chicago is still the most theatrically corrupt city, Abbott says.

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1 min

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Social Reformers in the Early 20th Century

What motivated the social and political reformers in early 20th-century Chicago?

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2 min

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Sin in the Second City and Turn-of-the-Century Sexual Power Dynamics

Abbott’s book started with a lost great-great aunt, and ended with an exploration of the Everleigh sisters and the politics of sex in turn-of-the-century Chicago.

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9 min

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What drew you to writing?

Abbott was always drawn to people’s darker impulses.

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2 min

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A Catholic school graduate writing about strippers and prostitutes. The nuns, Abbott says, would be proud.

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2 min

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