128: Gilded Sins: The Rise & Fall of a New Orleans Madam
When Kate Townsend arrived in New Orleans in 1857, she was a young, poor, uneducated immigrant. Within just a few years, she opened one of the most luxurious brothels in the country. Her mansion at 40 Basin Street featured opulent, high-end decor. She hired beautiful women and catered to wealthy, well-connected clientele. As Kate’s wealth grew, so did her power. But a troubled relationship with her longtime boyfriend brought about her downfall.Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Asbury, Herbert. The French Quarter: An Informal History of the New Orleans Underworld. Basic Books, 2008.“Brothels of Antebellum New Orleans.” June 23, 2009. https://news.tulane.edu/news/brothels-antebellum-new-orleans.Gauthreaux, Alan G., and D. G. Hippensteel. Dark Bayou: Infamous Louisiana Homicides. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2016.New Orleans Republican. “Murder in a Bagnio.” July 31, 1870.New Orleans States. “Sykes Acquitted.” February 1, 1884.Tallant, Robert. Ready to Hang; Seven Famous New Orleans Murders. Harper Brothers, 1952. https://archive.org/details/bwb_P9-BJW-162/page/34/mode/2up.Taylor, Troy. Wicked New Orleans: The Dark Side of the Big Easy. History Press, 2010.The New Orleans Democrat. “Judge Sheehan Reviving a Long Forgotten City Regulation.” July 10, 1880.The Times-Democrat. “Sykes Forges His Landlady’s Name.” January 16, 1879.The Times-Democrat. “The Disturbance at Spanish Fort.” August 10, 1879.The Times-Picayune. “Civil Courts.” December 13, 1881.Whittington, Reagan. “Prostitution in New Orleans from 1860 to 1930: Timeline.” Digital and Public History Student Projects, April 23, 2020. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/dighist/7.Wilhelm, Robert. Queen of the Demimonde. n.d. http://www.murderbygaslight.com/2015/01/queen-of-demimonde.html.Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.