Good Time Girls of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush: A Secret History of the Far North

by Lael Morgan

Morgan offers an authentic and deliciously humorous account of the prostitutes and other "disreputable" women who were the earliest female pioneers of the Far North.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Womens, American History, Research, Westerns, Cultural

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I know about the Alaskan Gold Rush could be written on the back of a matchbook, so I really enjoyed reading this and learning about that historical period. And I think that the book itself is interesting, and at its strongest when it's telling chapter-length stories about the lives of famous dancehall girls and prostitutes and madams. I also really adored all the old photographs and excerpts from journals and news articles, they helped to keep me grounded in the era.

Back then - and in the Far North - the boundary between the demimonde and polite society was more permeable than we give it credit for being, and maybe moreso than it is now. It was interesting for me to read about how the different towns dealt with "the necessary evil". I personally don't support legalizing prostitution, but I am interested in the reality of legalized prostitution so far as what laws make women engaged in the trade safer (banning pimps, red light districts that are patrolled regularly, registries and regular checkups) and what makes them less safe (corrupt officials, extortion, a lack of law and order generally). Reading about women who started from nothing and made it big, or started in a rich East Coast family, became a prostitute during the Gold Rush, married out and went on to become pillars of society was pretty fascinating, especially given how we as a society treat sex work basically as a one-way street nowadays. But I did have a few problems with the book.

First of all, Morgan's tone is kind of all over the place. She takes a determinedly upbeat approach to prostitution, from the title to her dismissal of depressing statistics and stories. "So a bunch of prostitutes killed themselves or were murdered this one time ... but it's not because they were prostitutes, it's because of man troubles!" Uhm, what? You can't write off violence at the hands of men as if it's not a problem that necessarily disproportionately affects prostitutes. When she's writing about individual women, she can be warm and understanding. She humanizes them, tells the stories of their childhoods, explains how they got into the "trade", etc. But just when you think she's doing this so that her audience will see that prostitutes are people too, she tells a joke and the punchline is "Get it? Because she's a whore! Lulz" or "Men would even fuck the old ones ZOMGLOL!!" So I found myself glaring at the book at odd intervals. Another grating part of her Prostitution Is Kewl outlook is the way she frames it as a "choice", even when there's absolutely no reason to do so. Yes, some women chose prostitution because it was lucrative, it was less stigmatizing then than it is now, and it was unskilled work. But she admits early on that there were approximately zero jobs available to women outside of prostitution, she more than once talks about women who were kidnapped or otherwise forced into it, and she glosses right over these aspects of the "choice". She even mentions the women on the Fairbanks line after the boom, who were in their 40s-60s and had all of their retirement savings stolen in what appeared to be an inside job at the savings and loan, and follows up with tasteless jokes about old hookers and how it's such a mystery that they all continued to work ... they must've loved their jobs, amirite?!! Picture me glaring.

Another annoying quirk is her repeated mentions of how men loved particular prostitutes because they were so happy all the time and had cheerful natures. Now maybe I'm just being overly sensitive, but I can't help but think that maybe the reason happy prostitutes stood out from the crowd was that it's not necessarily a happy-making job. I just picture these men walking the Line, looking in the windows at a bunch of depressed, abused and hopeless women aged 16-25, and complaining because they weren't more fun-loving. Anyway.

Randomly, there were 3 or so chapters in a row about 2/3ds of the way into the book that weren't really about women at all - it seems like maybe she just had much more material on Fairbanks than on the other boom towns because she settles in to talk about several founding fathers of the town in a row, and the only tangential relationships they have to "Good Time Girls" are such as you might expect in a town of 4,000 people. So that was weird. And when she's writing about these men, when it comes up that a few of them were repeatedly charged with rape she (seemingly unironically) explains that the charges were dropped when it came out that the women didn't have spotless reputations. And when one man gets sentenced to 12 years for raping a young teenager, she seems very upset that he was forced to endure the indignity of prison. Again I say: uhm, what?

In the end the book itself - subject matter, structure, illustrations, etc. - was enjoyable, and I really learned a lot. But I felt like the author couldn't decide whether she thought her subjects were Good Time Girls, "a necessary evil", unsung pioneers, or hahaha GROSS they're hookers! And that took away from my enjoyment of the book.

[Sue Shipley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, full of facts and personal stories of the girls of the north. The author ties together many of the stories with the men who owned the dance halls and theaters. Also the men in law enforcement the judges and others. This Book tells of "girls with a heart of gold" with many stories of help to destitute miners and those that fell ill.

The old saying "live fast and die young" certainly applies to many but not all of the girls. Some lived well into their eighties. Wish I had read this before visiting Fairbanks, Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan.

[Jeff Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history books tell us that Mrs. T.H. Canham was the first non-native woman to cross Chilkoot Pass into Yukon Territory, but she was actually the first “respectable” woman to make that trek and traveled with her husband in 1888. The first woman to make that dangerous passage was actually a well-known prostitute, “Dutch Kate” Wilson, traveling on her own, in 1887. The discovery of gold in the Klondike region of the Yukon, and later in Alaska, lured thousands of prospectors and adventurers to risk their lives in the far North. Along with the miners came other types of “gold-diggers” who saw an opportunity to provide goods and services in a region that had nothing. Entertainers, dance hall girls and prostitutes were among the small group of woman who dared to make the dangerous journey. Many of these woman were just as adventurous and fiercely independent as the men they followed. This book is a collection of long lost stories about many of these early woman.

[Kayla Carroll · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 7% because I underestimated how much testosterone this book had and I don’t care about the Gold Rush (last parts on me)

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into the style this was written in at first, but once I figured that out, it was good fun. I almost could have used more background on the Alaskan frontiers and explications of all the primary source quotes, but the author did a pretty good job fitting enough in and really letting the anecdotes about the women shine.

It really was a different world. It's easy to forget what different personalities flourished in different times. It felt very much like the author was just telling it like it was rather than forcing it into more understandable tales.

While the author might have put a happy gloss on aspects of the history, I prefer that to incessant victimization you find in some histories of women. Fortunes were made and lost in a north america where life was more precarious than it is now and it was no different for prostitutes. Morgan makes the girls responsible for their choices while also pointing out at the beginning that as women they really had very few. Their stories are parallel to a lot of poor in the new world at that time whose lives are so colorful because they had nothing to lose.

[Liss Carmody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I wasn't sorry I decided not to buy this book and to borrow it from the library instead. Its strongest points are the little biographies and vignettes of individual women who worked as prostitutes in Alaska during the late 1800s - beyond this, it makes an effort to draw a comprehensive picture of how prostitution as an institution shaped the landscape of the society of Alaskan towns, both during the booms and moving forward into the 20th century, but it struggled some by getting bogged down in specifics of individuals and places and court cases and addresses and so on. There were some interesting stories tucked away, but it was a bit dry.

[Dasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellently researched with a nuanced agurment. Morgan brings to life the many and varied experiences of women in entertainment and sex work during the Yukon Gold Rush. Importantly, she notes that this did not equate liberation, rather the fact that so many women found independence in this career is a testament to the limitations placed upon women.

[Vera-Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't think this book was as much of the women as it was of the men & the politics of the times during the goldrush. Slightly disappointed, but still made for interesting read as I was up in the area at the time of reading it.

[Russell Sanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

After taking a delightful walking tour of Skagway, Alaska, entitled Ghosts and Goodtime Girls, I wanted to know more about these “ladies of the evening” that were so prevalent—and most probably essential—to the Gold Rush days of our 49th state. So I purchased Lael Morgan’s well-researched and acclaimed book Good Time Girls of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush. Unfortunately, after reading it’s more than three hundred pages, I found that the walking tour I took told me just about everything I needed and wanted to know. The tour highlighted the good things about the “girls,” and it touched on some of the tragedy. Morgan’s book might be summarized as endless tales of women who shot, got shot, robbed, got robbed, married, got divorced, and became, in some cases, model citizens. Yes, these prostitutes were pretty much like all of us here, living lives not very different from other hard-working people, especially those living in a semi-lawless time in a mostly lawless land. Their tales, individually, are interesting, but collectively, I thought, were endless. If I read one story about a “girl” who shot a customer, I read ten or more. Likewise, the “girls” who got sent to court for various reason, “girls” who got robbed or who themselves robbed, etc. It seems I just didn’t want to read the same thing over and over, even if the story happened, with some variation, to a different woman each time. And Morgan doesn’t mention venereal diseases until the very end of the book, as if these didn’t become prevalent among these women until the 1950s, when those naughty American soldiers brought the diseases. A more honest account might have included tales of women who battled the scourge of the profession, rather than focusing so much on how happy the women she speaks of were. Yes, some committed suicide along the way, but most of the women Morgan profiles lived to very old ages indeed. And that is good, for it says that this profession they practiced was not some dreaded thing, some shameful act, but rather it was an accepted and appreciated line of work in a time and place where very few so-called respectable women resided. And it is heartening to see that so many of these goodtime girls left their mark as humanitarians, leaving us to believe that—at least for their era—they were not all women of ill-repute. The book is a good one, but I did find reading it tedious.

[Gift · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Moralists tend to think of prostitutes as parasites on society, but that stereotype falls away in situations where men heavily outnumber women and are forced to share them, and where conditions are so difficult that all must fight to survive. Thus the pioneering whores of yore or of the Far North were accorded unusual license and respect. And whatever their motives in entering the trade, they definitely earned both” (p. 9)

I cannot express enough how much I appreciate to read a book like Good Time Girls. This book has it all! It is based on a profound research (Lael Morgan worked 30 years on this book!) and it quotes profoundly. It is structured as an academic paper/book but written as a “mainstream literature” or a novel. This combination of valid but still entertaining narrative is quite rare and I appreciated it a lot. I didn’t get bored throughout the book; it wasn’t dry or repetitive. It also helped that Morgan added many photographs and maps to her story telling. It helped me to imagine how these good time girls really looked like and with which living condition they had to cope with in their everyday live. What´s more, I am a huge fan of old pictures in general. I would buy this book solely for its beautiful photos. But there is another aspect that made me fall in love with this book – Morgan´s respect and appreciation that she showed for all those girls and women who were courageous, desperate or naive enough to pioneer the Far North.

I am so sorry to see that this book isn’t as popular (at least at Goodreads) as it deserves to be. It is well researched and written and it deals with important and still relevant sociocultural and political topics. What´s more, it is beautiful because of its aesthetics and its humanity.

[LobsterQuadrille · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's initially interesting to read the life stories of some of these women, but after the first few it becomes very repetitive. The prostitutes with their own chapters are usually ones who were successful and eventually became prominent citizens and philanthropists, and the ones mentioned more tangentially usually ended up committing suicide, supposedly over a breakup most of the time.

My main issue is that I felt I wasn't getting the full picture of what the women's lives were like in the frontier boomtowns. I guess it's possible that some of the more successful were content being in this trade because it kept them in evening gowns and jewels, but I don't believe for a second that prostitution was somehow nothing but empowering to these women. Even though it was lucrative in this particular setting, these women were still working a high-risk job, vulnerable to violence and disease. Some of them were forced into prostitution or exploited by pimps, and yet these aspects of the trade are all only mentioned in passing. It felt disingenuous and manipulative to brush aside these facts and keep skipping back to the success stories instead.

This book just doesn't sit right with me because of the way it trivialized the stories of prostitutes who didn't get happy endings. I would only recommend reading it if someone is specifically researching this topic, as it does provide a lot of names and dates. But for a more balanced and in-depth overview I would look elsewhere.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 to 4 stars. Author Lael Morgan provides a wealth of information about the ‘good time’ girls (really mostly mature women) and many of the Gold Rush miners who came north to the Yukon and Alaska in search of their fortune. Much of her research was first hand interviews with the actual participants. This is priceless knowledge that can no longer be duplicated. There’s a lot of comradery mixed with brutality in this group of people that I found interesting and very curious. Lawlessness was the rule (except where the Mounties were present in the Yukon). But there was also some practical justice and a get-along attitude (especially in Fairbanks) that I found refreshing.
I recommend ‘Good Time Girls’ by Lael Morgan to anyone interested in the Klondike & Alaska Gold Rush of 1898 and into the early twentieth century.

[John Geary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. It gives you some insights into the history of the Gold Rushes in Alaska and the Yukon in the late 19th and early 20th centuries – of course, it’s a history that you wouldn’t read in most history books in school. There were some poignant stories, some funny ones, and some inspiring ones. One of the more interesting ones involves Robert Stroud, who was involved with a good time girl named Kate Dulaney. For those who may not recognize the name, Stroud became the famed Birdman of Alcatraz, spending most of the last part of his life in prison. He’s just one of the many colourful characters that you meet in this book.
Probably deserves more than three stars but certainly not four; if I could, I would rate it 3.5 or 3.75

[Jennifer Abdo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of really great stories/biographies about the women who worked in the far north in a profession that still struggles for mainstream legitimacy or respectability. In the early times, the women made their own money and often owned hotels and shops among the non-sexworkers. Miners often left their gold with them for safekeeping. It seems their district gave to the town and the town gave to them after fires and other tragedies. Maybe they were better off and more accepted than today's sex workers - in some ways. It's complicated.

This is more about those following the gold rush who pushed in to Yukon and Alaska Territory and staked claims, so unfortunately you won't get any clear idea about how the native people fared. I would like to read those accounts though.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th were hard times for women...dominated by men with few chances to become financially secure on their own. Then came the gold rush to Alaska and the Yukon. Women were an extremely scarce commodity. Those who were willing to face the hardships of the North country and use their bodies as saleable service, were afforded the opportunity to become wealthy beyond their dreams. Each chapter is a vignette of these ladies. This is a little noted part of history and how it truly impacted Alaska and the Yukon. This does not read like a novel. I would recommend to history buffs.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came upon this book several years ago at the University of Alaska book store. I questioned my own interest in reading it and dismissed that interest for more than five years, finding it available each time I returned to visit family in Alaska. This year I found a copy in a used book store and even then continued to question my interest. During the process of reading it I found my motivation. “First seek to understand.” I thank the author for her work and encourage all readers to reach beyond their personal judgement, read, learn, and understand. This work was historically viewed as a “necessary evil.”

[Sean Kottke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last unread acquisition from the Alaska cruise. This is an exhaustively detailed, meticulously researched, and salaciously entertaining history of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush "demimonde." There's fodder for a thousand true-crime and frontier noir tales in them thar hills, but the bigger picture they all cohere into is an alternative history of the Gold Rush, one defined by women who found their own means to empowerment in a gold-crazed, uber-masculine atmosphere.

[Darcie Treutle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was my souvenir from my trip to Alaska this summer. I had no idea how prevalent prostitution was during the Gold Rush nor the cultural acceptance and business savvy of the women who traveled west to make their fortunes. This book was dense and took me awhile to get through but was interesting, filled with fun anecdotes and stories of that wild time. Very well researched about a niche part of history.

[Sophie Cimon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was fascinating to read about women that did go North instead of the usual and overtold stories about miner. I enjoyed the Yukon part, you can feel through the reading that this was another world that probably won’t happen again. The last parts of the book, about Fairbanks and such, was less great. Maybe information was too scared to find, but the stories focused too much on the men.

I love the fact that there is so much pictures in it. Gives you the ambiance.

[Nancy Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up on vacation in Alaska. It is a serious history and study of the contributions of prostitutes during the gold rush. It begins with Dawson in Canada and follows thru Alaska gold strikes to Fairbanks. Along the way the USA comes in for criticism about how the government did not govern during this wide open period.

[Darlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories of the women who joined the gold rush to make money and to flee the constraints of the lives they were living. The author did an amazing lot of research for this book. Great stories and many photos of the people and places who were part of the wild and wooly Yukon gold rush. Who knew that these women played such an important part in that time and place.

[Debbie Koester · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Good Time Girls" by Lael Morgan. Factual novel about the secret history of the Alaskan Gold Rush -- where prostitution was considered "a necessary evil" but afforded women of that time more money and power than they otherwise would have had. Reading this made me appreciate the fact I live now, not the late 1890s and early 1900s where women struggled to make enough money to live.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, really well researched. The stories of individual "ladies" are fascinating. However, I wish the author had included more details on how they got to, and into Alaska. She glosses over the effort and time expended to get to Alaska and then travel to the interior before roads and cars and, in the beginning, even trains.

[Marjorie Cavalier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history, but not for everyone. It is about sex workers during the Gold Rush of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 2014 my husband and I visited the Red Onion Saloon Broth Museum in Ketchikan. The author spent 30 years reaching the stories of the first female pioneers some of whom accumulate great wealth and independence but there was also heartbreak.

[Amy Siegfried · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just could not engage with this book which rather disappointed me. I had thoroughly enjoyed the similar book about Seattle's good time girls but just could not finish this book. Made it through Chapter 3 and no further.

[Christine Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read on the "necessary evil" of prostitution during the gold rush and settlement of Alaska. Well written and well organized accounts of some of the main good time girls of the age. Success and tragedy woven into the threads of hard times.

[Rasheta · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pretty good book on the female involvement in the Yukon/Alaska gold rush.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting stories that give you an amazing sense of how horrifying it would be to have been a woman in those times!

[Stace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting and fun historical facts. It jumped from person to person with little to flow or connection.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good historical read as long as you leave your bias at the door. It was what it was.