Priscilla & Babe: From Slavery's Shackles to Millionaire Bordello Madams in Victorian Saint Louis

by Julius K. Hunter

In this intriguing novel, veteran broadcaster, author, and St. Louis icon Julius Hunter brings history back to life. Perhaps no one else would dare tempt the reading audience with the salacious and titillating details of two African American St. Louis madams --freshly emancipated from cotton plantations--in the way that Hunter has with this audacious work. By inserting the real-life characters of Priscilla Henry and Sarah "Babe" Connor into the historical narrative of the staid, stodgy, and culturally contradictory Victorian era in St. Louis, Hunter investigates and chronicles the underbelly of the African American experience in the late 19th century. Such a rendering contributes greatly to the literature of the period by adding depth and nuance to what is conventionally accepted as black life. Hunter asks the difficult what is success for those who have been severely oppressed in a capitalist and racist society? In covering the travails of Henry and Connor, Hunter hits at the modern notion of intersectionality by analyzing the role of race, gender, and sexuality. In essence, Hunter's story is most American with its inclusion of sex, politics, sex, racism, sex, and money.

350 pages, Paperback

First published October 29, 2014

Reviews

[Penne · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are from St. Louis then you will find this book interesting. It is not very well written, but I did enjoy reading not just about the madams and the bordellos but the stories about St. Louis itself.

[Jean-marie Meyer · Rating 1 out of 5]

One hopes better of a legendary journalist like Julius Hunter. Rife with typos, excruciating dialogue and repetition the only redeeming features are the narratives based on extensive research in which Hunter's skill occasionally appear.

[Helena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saint Louis County Library Book Discussion Club African American Experience