Storied & Scandalous St. Louis: A History of Breweries, Baseball, Prejudice, and Protest

by Jo Allison

At the turn of the twentieth century, St. Louis, Missouri, was the fourth largest city in the country. For years, it was the westernmost metropolis, known for its manufacturing, beer, railroad hub, music, baseball, World’s Fair, and its romance with the Mississippi. This collection of shocking stories ripped from the headlines of the Gateway City’s seamy past includes tales of cholera epidemics, deadly newspaper-daily duels, ragtime racism, and Spiritualism scuffles. Readers will also meet the formative female figures behind the women’s suffrage movement in St. Louis, and discover how local brewers fought against Prohibition with the help of America’s favorite pastime—baseball.

Genres: History

352 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2021

About the author

Jo Allison loves to write historical fiction. In fact, she drives librarians and family crazy with her attention to historical detail. But readers love to be transported back a hundred years.

The Julia Nye Mystery series is set in 1910s St. Louis and Allison offers details on the time and city in a website, 1910s-stlouis-by-jallison.com.

Although her genres are mystery/suspense--and a new spy novel--her work is very character-driven.

Allison works from her home in Bristol, Virginia, with lots of trips to historical sites and libraries.

Reviews

[Trae Mitten · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting conglomeration of historical notes from the earliest founding of St. Louis through the mid 1900s. While several interesting stories and incidents were brought up by the author, non were explained in particularly deep detail, leaving the reader with an impression of having skimmed over each account. The term "scandalous" from the title may have been true by the standards of the time of each incident, but the descriptions did not leave such an impression on me. Overall, a quick and easy read, with some interesting anecdotes parsed in.

[Andie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good historical account of some of the lesser known parts of St Louis history - and not always the pretty ones. I learned a lot of new names and a lot of new facts. This book shows that St Louis is so much more than 'that city with the Arch' and shows the city in a new historical lens, albeit a bit grimy, but still, extremely interesting

[Mark Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Descriptive and Interesting account of some of the “scandalous” history of St. Louis from before the civil war thru the 60/70/80/90 s right up to current 2020. A little disjointed but overall a pretty good book to read .

[Adam Gutschenritter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick history, sources are found in the back if you wanted to learn more. This gives interesting stories, but few real details. It is what it claims to be a "pop" history of St. Louis.