Alice Lib/E: Memoirs of a Barbary Coast Prostitute

by Ivy Anderson, Devon Angus, Gavin Marguerite (Reader)

In 1913 the San Francisco Bulletin published a serialized, ghostwritten memoir of a prostitute who went by the moniker Alice Smith. “A Voice from the Underworld” detailed Alice’s humble Midwestern upbringing and her struggle to find aboveboard work, and candidly related the harrowing events she endured after entering “the life.” While prostitute narratives had been published before, never had they been as frank in their discussion of the underworld, including topics such as abortion, police corruption, and the unwritten laws of the brothel. Throughout the series, Alice strongly criticized the society that failed her and so many other women, but, just as acutely, she longed to be welcomed back from the margins. The response to Alice’s story was unprecedented: four thousand letters poured into the Bulletin, many of which were written by other prostitutes ready to share their own stories; and it inspired what may have been the first sex worker rights protest in modern history.

For the first time in print since 1913, Alice: Memoirs of a Barbary Coast Prostitute presents the memoirs of Alice Smith and a selection of letters responding to her story. An introduction contextualizes “A Voice from the Underworld” amid Progressive Era sensationalistic journalism and shifting ideas of gender roles, and reveals themes in Alice’s story that extend to issues facing sex workers today.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Feminism, Audiobook, Womens

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Kimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

In addition to a fascinating historical record, this book was an unexpected reminder to be compassionate, and to consider questioning capitalism in its current form:

"...the 'demand' is there, and it's got to be supplied. Only don't blame the women that supply it. Everybody supplies some demand-the demand that happened to hit them hardest when they were weakest."

[Aletha Pagett · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a well written, insightful book and what an unusual exploration of a person in history that we don't often think about.
Under the umbrella of this prostitute's story many subjects are touched upon-ie male/female sexuality and standards of morality, unequal access to employment and unequal pay, inadequate health care, charity that may be given in good spirit but is inadequate in breadth and the amazing strength of women.
This was a very unique book that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was received through Goodreads.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn’t stop playing out the book in my mind as a pre-code Hollywood melodrama. Whether from a single source or a composite, “Alice’s” memoirs serve, along with Jack Black’s You Can’t Win, as a necessary record of the San Francisco Bay Area’s Underworld in the early 1900s.

[Sabrina Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where to start with this book review…

I write a historical mystery series set in 1900 San Francisco. So when I came across mention of the 1913 Bulletin newspaper serial while reading My Own Story by Fremont Older for research, it instantly intrigued me. I went online to see if I could find it in the Bulletin archives. Alas, there are no digital archives for the Bulletin, and A Voice From the Underworld was nowhere to be found online. So I was thrilled to find Alice: Memoirs of a Barbary Coast Prostitute, and so thankful to Ivy Anderson and Devon Angus for digging through library archives. They saved me a lot of time!

But still, I was expecting to slog my way through a dry, 100 year-old narrative and pick out any useful tidbits along the way in the name of research. So I was completely taken by surprise when I couldn’t put it down!

Alice Smith’s life story pulls you along from page to page, and it’s small wonder that this story kept the Bulletin readers eagerly awaiting every new installment. It’s also easy to see why the majority of male readers began writing nasty letters to the editor. Her narrative holds a stark mirror to the face of men. And the majority didn't like what they saw. Even going so far as to claim that the woman was making up stories about men.

Whether Alice Smith was one woman telling her tale or the combination of multiple prostitutes and their stories, remains a mystery. Although, from what I’ve read of Fremont Older, I tend to think it was the story of one woman. But either way, it’s a story that could easily (and sadly) be told in our modern day. So little has actually changed.

Common history paints the past with broad strokes, and the idea of ‘prim and proper’ Victorians and Edwardians endures. But in 1913, economic justice, labor rights, prison reform, and the inherent dignity of sex workers as human beings was being discussed in the San Francisco Bulletin. It’s a conversation that we are still having as a society. And in some places, we aren’t having those conversations enough.

The slow, downward spiral of her life, reading of betrayal after betrayal by family and so-called friends, the insights, and the bleak truth in this memoir go straight to the heart, because it’s a story that has been repeated by tens of thousands of women, and it’s a story that will (sadly) be told again… countless times.

Whether you are interested in San Francisco history, women’s rights, or none of the above, I’d recommend this book to everyone. Because this is a human story. And as Alice said so long ago, “Can’t people understand that they are responsible for each other, in lots of ways?”

Some quotes from memoir:

“Every girl that is locked out at night, or that is made to feel she isn’t wanted at home, is just that much nearer the brothel—nearer than people suppose.”

“We were the men’s big show; put there by men; kept there for the use of men, to be used as they chose and talked to as they chose, meant forever to be the satisfaction and the victims of their worst hours. Our trade was not our own; it wasn’t even invented by us; it was created by the men when they had a mind to be lower than animals. And they were animals. I don’t know whether animals have speech; but if they have, they don’t use it as men do. And animals don’t have prostitution. It took men to achieve that.”

“Don’t you see how I despise you and hate you in my heart, for the way you have used me? Don’t you think I would spit on you in scorn, if it wasn’t just for your money? … it’s in every woman’s mind when she bows down as a prostitute before one of these “lords of creation”.”

“There’s only one thing in this world that is harder and more appalling than the fight to leave prostitution; and that is to stay a prostitute.”

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely amazing book & a must read for anyone interested in Bay Area history!

Full review is on my blog:
https://raeofbooks.com/2017/12/04/boo...

[Juliana Machado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Achei super interessante! O livro faz um recorte da sociedade da Costa Oeste dos EUA, focando no papel da mulher na sociedade, principalmente da prostituta. Na verdade o livro mistura o relato de uma prostituta, que conta sua vida e como ela entrou para a prostituição, com as cartas que o jornal que publicou esse relato recebeu dos leitores. Com isso vamos temos contato com questões importantes que viriam a ser discutidas posteriormente pelos movimentos feministas: o papel da mulher na sociedade, no mercado de trabalho, sua desvalorização, estigmatização, a possibilidade de ter uma vida independente, fora do casamento. O que mais me impactou foi a comparação que uma leitora-prostituta fez em uma das cartas enviadas ao jornal: a mulher que se casava sem amor, mas para ter alguém que a sustente ou por status social, também não está vendendo seu corpo como uma prostituta? Apesar do tema pesado, a leitura é fluida e bastante enriquecedora! Recomendo!

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very good. Narrative history, a culmination of several of the women involved. The back stories of the women I found most interesting. The reasons for turning to prostitution were always economic hardship, but most of these women had jobs when they made the decision. It was simply they were not paid enough to live. The low wages for the women were in part because it was expected/implied they were making money on the side, so employers weren't obligated to pay a decent wage. The politics of the era, the local morality movements from clergy, the constant push to illegality, paired with the constant demand for prostitution made for a great read.

[Jason Prodoehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I shelved this under biography and historical fiction. It is an engaging story, and shows you a world in which few people of the time (or any time?) get to see: what it's like to be a prostitute in the early 1900s. I must admit, whenever I see a long introduction, inside, I roll my eyes and plod through it, looking forward to the main story. I wouldn't skip the introduction, just telling you how I think about it. In this case it is particularly important to get the full context of the story. It helped me see the economic impact of prejudice against women, and how fair wages contribute to difficult or unlivable conditions for women. Married, and unmarried women. Though there is speculation this is not a real story, it certainly didn't seem fantasy either.

The introduction was fascinating and helpful to my own limited understanding. The story is not a cut and try "girls life gone wrong" story, and it was of great interest to me. This is an eye-opening book, even today.

[gi · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was expecting more academic analysis, but that's on me. i thought the introduction was kind of misleading, cause the explanation and context made me expect the rest of the book to be less cohesive / narrated and more of a collection of separate letters about different experiences. i was definitely expecting more letters at the end of the chapters. i was also expecting more discussion about the political developments around prostitution law, but i understand this was more of a social history perspective than a political one.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5
This was so fascinating! Super well put together and told in a very engaging way. Whether Alice was one person or an amalgamation of many, her story is one that needs to be heard.

[Apollo Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strongly written, honest, plain-spoken, and revealing. Great pieces on gender and on the relationship between human suffering and compassion, both in the pieces by Alice and by the letters from readers at the time.

"Can't people understand that they are all responsible for each other, in lots of ways?"

"All through vegetable and animal life the female is the custodian of life. This has made her a highly specialized, sensitive being - the custodian of love. She knows love. Men know only a stormy frenzy that they call love."

"She didn't say much more; but I knew. She had suffered. It's the people who have suffered that make the world fit to live in."

(I recommend skipping the very long introduction, which contains details on the historical circumstances of the articles collected. Suffice it to know that they were very likely real, that Alice may have been a composite, and that they were published in San Francisco in 1913.)

[Rafael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without this book I would know little about the circumstances that drove and — in many, many cases around the world — still drive people into sex work. Alice is a sympathetic woman who tells her story with truthful devotion to a life that nearly ruined her. She does not hide the emotional pain, and yet does not wallow in it either. I recommend this to mature readers, not because it is graphic. On the contrary, the story is measured and becalmed. Rather, because she shares a deeply sad and redemptive story that deserves good faith from worldly readers.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book which comes from a 1913 memoir originally serialized in a San Francisco newspaper. Even though it’s likely fiction, it was a compelling look at the conditions in the west and Midwest in early 20th century. Perhaps my favorite parts were the letters to the editor - a flood of women speaking up about double standards and the reality that current state of marriage was basically prostitution, since women had no other way to live. II read the narrative first and then went to the introduction, which I mostly found to be an odd mix of redundant or irrelevant.

[Jaci ☻ · Rating 5 out of 5]

- WOW, 5 STARS, I’ve never walked away from a book so refreshed. I originally discovered this book recommend to me on Spotify Audiobooks. The description intrigued me so much I found a copy via interlibrary loan.

- I didn’t realize how much I’d love this book. The topic itself was already super intriguing but man, this threw me for a loop and threw out all assumptions I had of the early 1900s.

- I love the introduction, it’s so rich and full of research context, the authors’ process of discovery. The way the author’s have both have set the scene is just so vivid and full. I have so many questions about the research process and how they pulled this timeline together. I want a documentary, this topic is fascinating!


Highlights ✨
- I’m shocked sex work was booming when the men:women ratio was out of whack. More men and less women in the population, higher demand for sex work. But when the women’s population increases, more women to marry, all of a sudden sex work is bad! EW brothels? Let’s shut them down. Your morality is in question! Let’s clean up the streets but now you have to literally be a street walker, there is no brothel for your protection. HUH?? The hypocrisy is unreal, only when it better serves men is it normalized. WILD.
- Also, to curtail men’s vices, with the though “if men’s urges were fulfilled they wouldn’t commit violent sex crimes.” Hence, not being satisfied in your marriage, seek a sex worker. But I’m in awe of learning how women were led to prostitution contrasted to the reasons we know of in contemporary times. Unfortunately it was super common in cases of rape, women were questioned of their morality, “you must be a promiscuous woman if he r**** you.” Then her fate is sealed once people know and she turns to sex work to survive. It’s so heartbreaking how society continues to treat women. The misogyny is disgusting and cruel and hard to read through without twisting my face.
- Also, the fact that if a woman was dressed nice and had jewelry, it was automatically assumed she was a prostitute!! But then on the other hand, the city mayor was out publicly with his mistress and it wasn’t taboo, just a common thing to do. I’m in awe!

- I was fascinated by the fact that city hall was doing free STI testing a woman had to be tested every 4 days to receive a certificate that deemed her healthy to work, but if she wasn’t healthy her face and full name would be up for the public to see IS WILD. I’m shocked they provided affordable/free resources to sex workers to help them during early 1900s.

- In the intro we learn more about the Red Light Abatement Act, societal taboo’s/exceptions to prostitution given the timing and political climate, black women’s wages and racist attitudes, Chinese women being kidnapped into prostitution compared to their white colleagues who made more money and had more freedom, queer men/gender bending in Barbary Coast.
- These topics could each use their own books but I appreciate seeing historic content addressing their existence and impact, even though these anonymous letters of response have no proof of race/ethnicity.

- I love the comparison of a loveless marriage to prostitution

- Oh this quote just absolutely broke my heart and still rings true today for all of the gossips in our lives “Why should these people have been so eager to find out something wrong with my life? Why couldn’t they have been all forgiving and broad-minded…?” (Page 225) That’s on period!!!
- “Remember that it’s the people who have made mistakes and suffered for them, that make the world worth while.” (Page 236)
- “Don’t let your good fortune make you hard toward us.” (Page 236) PERIOD that’s on privilege!

- What an ending and WHAT A BOOK, 5 STARS!

[Katie Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot recommend this book enough to people that are interested in or studied Women’s Studies. I wish people that don’t care about women and bodily autonomy and equal rights would read this. Honestly, it should be required reading for a well rounded education. It’s so good and the women’s letters to the editor between chapters are so relevant still today. I believe prostitution should be legal and protected by the same rights and protection under the law given to any job; whether you don’t or not this book gives a fascinating look at the pros and cons of legal and illegal prostitution and the reasons why so many women, and unfortunately girls, end up in this profession. I think this book covers maybe four or five years of “Alice’s” (pseudonym) life, but it feels like many many lifetimes. Y’all for real, read this book!

[Kalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will be the second memoir I’ve read on sex work and I’ll say what takes it to 5 stars for me is the ending not being so rushed.

Having a more well rounded idea of who Alice is was also very refreshing. The painfully truthful recollections she shares also paint what I’d imagine is a more realistic way of the life compared to the last book I read which seemed to glorify it more than one would think.

It’s historical accounts like these that can educate society on the dangers of poverty and the patriarchy. Sex work has been around forever and will likely never disappear. There’s power to be shifted in how sex work is approached and spoken of. This book certainly aids in the starts of how the conversation can change.

[Liz B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This made a good book club book even though it wasn't the best read. (It was a good read...and it got better as it went on.)

I think it's likely that these memoirs were heavily ghostwritten in spots (well, I think the end was just flat-out made up), and they would be very differently written for a modern audience. That's part of what made it interesting.

If I were the editor of this book, I would have strongly recommended cutting the forward to maybe two pages of necessary historical context and then locating all the rest of the analysis, history, and explanation as an afterword.

I'm glad I read it--I learned a lot about a time and place and profession I didn't know much about.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an assignment for a California History class, but I am glad I had the opportunity to read it. It is a very good narrative of the life and tribulations of sex workers in the early 1900's. It also tells about the 1917 sex worker's rights march; the first of it's kind in modern history. This march had the same basic motivation that was behind the Women's Suffrage Movement; women fighting for their rights. Very good read if you are at all interested in this largely overlooked piece of history.

[Jenny K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent historical record rescued from the depths of microfiche. The book includes the memoirs, a selection of contemporary letters to the editor after the publication of the memoirs, and a preface that gives historical context. All very well-written. I have some experience in the sex trade, and the story strikes close to the heart, I can see how much is the same over the past century. Fortunately, there is more treatment for STDs and more support for single mothers now, but the psychologic, societal, and economic situations that drive someone into prostitution ring so true.

[Margogo · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We were the men’s big show; put there by men; kept there for the use of men, to be used as they chose and talked to as they chose, meant forever to be the satisfaction and the victims of their worst hours. Our business in life was to help men when they were at their lowest. Our trade was not our own; it wasn’t even invented by us; it was created by the men when they had a mind to be lower than animals.”

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book consists mainly of a serialized story in a San Francisco newspaper in the early 1900s, and may be a composite of many women. Interspersed, there are letters to the editor from various women writing in on the subject of prostitution - some even wondering how different it really is from marriage. I appreciated the glimpse into local history of that time.

[Adricarrillo]

It is edited nicely. I recommend it to have a better and close view to the historical context of California and to prostitution, in general. English is my second language; my reading skills are focused especially on academic texts; however, I had the joy of experiencing a fluent primary source vocabulary and structure. I know I will reread it very soon.

[Qtprep1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was interested in this book because of the parallel expose of prostitution & governmental clinics for venereal diseases in San Francisco, USA & Hanoi, Vietnam. I found it interesting that around 1910s-1930s, 2 different countries, a world away, women from Asians to Whites worked as prostitutes to make a living!!! It’s sad, tragic and serve as a reminder that women must be paid a living wage and given education and trainings so that they can be kept out poverty and oppressions!

[Karah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story ended in a satisfying way. She escaped prostitution with the help of her sister. They had been separated due to Alice's profession. Alice and her sister reunited joyfully and lived contentedly.

Alice never took pride in hooking but she reached a point where it became unbearable. Thus her determination became resolute.

Cheers!!!!

[Jaina Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, frustrating, insightful and thought-provoking. As relevant today as it was a century ago, unfortunately. (and by that, i mean that justice and equity for sex workers continues to be a valiant struggle against institutionalized forms of oppression)

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

i enjoyed reading the introduction. I thought Alice's story was an interesting read. I never knew that there was a place called the Barbary coast in San Francisco. I think its a good book. What else can I say. I liked the book.

[Alice Pederkoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating piece of scholarship! Really broadens the conversation to realize that what we have labeled "the patriarchy" in the last 50 years has been understood by women and railed against much longer than that!!

[Chanita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rarely do I give a book five stars. The introduction of this book deserves the highest praise. Don’t let its length put you off. It provides the context to understand the stories of the lives that follow.

[Maria Shanle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look into an important part of San Francisco's history, with compelling supplemental materials to provide context to the serialized memoir.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into the world of prostitution in the early 1900s. It gave very real stories in addition to the reactions to the articles.