Frontier Madam: The Life of Dell Burke, Lady of Lusk

by June Willson Read

This is the first biography of Dell Burke, whose estate sale drew national attention when she died in 1981 at age 93. Painstakingly researched for over five years, June Willson Read's landmark history tells the story of a broken young woman who saw opportunities in the Alaskan gold rush, the copper mines in Montana and the oil fields in Wyoming. But it wasn't mining that made Burke's fortune – she focused on the entertainment needs of the lonely men who poured into the uncharted west to strike it rich. In 1919, the genteel and gracious Burke opened the Yellow Hotel brothel in Lusk, Wyoming, where she reigned for six decades, until 1978. Although condemned for her profession, she was beloved for her generosity and her devotion to the community. For example, during the Depression, Burke financed Lusk's water-power system and single-handedly saved the town from going bankrupt. Read interviewed locals, historians, and Burke descendents to present a fascinating story of a little-known entrepreneurial powerhouse.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Book Club

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2007

Reviews

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dell Burke, who owned and ran one of the most famous brothels-- the Yellow Hotel in Lusk Wyoming--for sixty years, is the subject of this entertaining biography. Dell was an intelligent, feisty, generous entrepreneur. Written in chronological order, the author has to imagine some of the dialog based on her numerous interviews, and her writing flow tends to stumble at times, but overall I found the book to be a quick, enjoyable read.

[Tonya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frontier Madam: The Life of Dell Burke, Lady of Lusk was not quite the book I thought it would be. I happened upon it when browsing the shelves of a used book store and figured "what the hey" and picked it up.
Frontier Madam is supposed to tell us the story of Mary Ada Fisher later known as Dell Burke, Lady of Lusk, WY. Dell Burke moved to Lusk, WY in 1919 and opened her brothel, after some good business decisions she soon owned a couple lots of land with hotels. Her Yellow Hotel served as a brothel and bar before, during, and after prohibition. Dell's money floated the city of Lusk's light, water, and sewer bills, along with the Chamber of Commerce, Lions, Rotary and even provided new window's for a local church. Dell even provided college tuition for a few local boys over the years.

As June Willson Read attempts to tell us the tale of "Dell Burke: The Lady of Lusk" it read more like "Dell Burke: Rumors and Remembered Conversations." Never at anytime did I, as a reader, feel like I was getting to know Dell or what drove her. I expected insight into the brothel and it's inhabitants. What I received was the Lusk locals, that had little to nothing to do with Dell or her girls, giving vignettes about their two sentence conversations along with bits of rumor. As a reader we did of course get the facts about what the Yellow Hotel looked like, where it was located, and that there was a country house but it felt like I was reading a series of newspaper fluff pieces. I longed to read of the Yellow Hotel's inhabitants and their way of life.

Don't get me wrong the writing itself was ok, the subject matter was presented well and accurately, but the writer never tracked down any of the working girls as far as I could tell. All the information given was repetitive and hometown gossip. I find it hard to believe that the price of a good time stayed anywhere from $5 to $20 from 1920 up to 1980, but that is what the reader is led to believe by the writer. There are many times the reader, I mean many times, is told about how Dell or her girls appeared in public. Nice clothes, hair, and makeup but God forbid we forget to mention the smell of 'expensive' perfume following them around too.

The author also makes it known numerous times that Dell and her girls were checked out monthly by a doctor and mostly clean. That's it. No info was given or even as far as I can tell looked into about STDs, unwanted pregnancies, or how these were dealt with in Dell's Yellow Hotel.

I appreciate that Dell was presented as a business woman. Most successful Madam's were exceptional business women and I'm glad that part of Dell's life was presented. I also appreciate the generosity of Dell was communicated via telling the stories of helping Depression Era sheepherders and hobos.

All in all the book was ok, it was factual and covered all that was known by Dell's family and the town gossips but I still felt that it didn't give the real story of Dell or her girls from the Yellow Hotel.

[Paula Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting little history of Wyoming and the Wild West. A bordello built by a savvy madame made an impact on the small Wyoming community of Lusk, impacts that were mostly positive. Dell made sure she knew men in power and was able survive because of it! What a character!

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read

[ev leanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Dell’s story is quite interesting.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was such an interesting time period in America's history. Also, while some information may be missing regarding more personal aspects of her life, it says multiple times how Dell Burke was a very discreet person. So how would very personal information be available anyways? I found the book to be very interesting and well researched.

[Helen Pugsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still love it just as much as I did in 2008