Good Time Girls of Arizona and New Mexico: A Red-Light History of the American Southwest

by Jan Mackell Collins

As settlements and civilization moved West to follow the lure of mineral wealth and the trade of the Santa Fe Trail, prostitution grew and flourished within the mining camps, small towns, and cities of the nineteenth-century Southwest. Whether escaping a bad home life, lured by false advertising, or seeking to subsidize their income, thousands of women chose or were forced to enter an industry where they faced segregation and persecution, fines and jailing, and battled the other hazards of their profession. Some dreamed of escape through marriage or retirement, and some became infamous and even successful, but more often found relief only in death. An integral part of western history, the stories of these women continue to fascinate readers and captivate the minds of historians today.

Arizona and New Mexico each had their share of working girls and madams like Sara Bowman and Dona Tules who remain notorious celebrities in the annals of history, but Collins also includes the stories of lesser-known women whose roles in this illicit trade help shape our understanding of the American West.

208 pages, Paperback

Published August 21, 2019

Reviews

[Lil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up on a whim when I visited the library to check out The Dry Season by Melissa Febos, which was in the same section. It seems like a lot of historical information about ladies of the night has been erased with time or lost to disasters like fires, so I commend the author for creating an edition that houses so many stories. That being said, it is hard to make something out of so little information. My curiosity wasn't satisfied with this volume, though this is likely due to lack of more details. Hard to fault the historian in this case. However...

During my reading, I felt like the author spoke about "shady ladies" with disdain, sometimes even using more derogatory terms to describe them. This took me out of her writing because it didn't always feel like she was using an unbiased, respectful lens (though it was clear she respected Silver City Millie at the very end). I can't fault her for using terms like "floozies" because they did have some effect on the experience. Made me raise my eyebrows, which is something only a handful of the historical details did.

I found myself curious about the author more than anything--perhaps colored by my reading of The Dry Season, I wanted to know what drew the author to the story of each chapter, as well as why she chose this area of study. But that is another book entirely, and I can't rate based on potential. I wanted to like this much more and hoped to pick up the volume with stories about Nevada, my home state and the only state where prostitution in certain areas is still legal. Alas, I wasn't hooked; for someone who isn't avid about history, I think I need more of a personal touch with the narrative to be fully invested.