Bertha’s Bookshelf-Behind Brothel Doors

🕙 Join us Saturday January 24th at 10:00 AM as we finish up our January read.

They were rule-breakers, risk-takers, and community builders.

From common working women to powerful madams like Anna Wilson, Maggie Wood, and Big Ann Wynne, these women defied social norms to carve out independence, wealth, and influence — often at great personal cost. Some entered the life out of desperation. Others chased freedom and financial control unavailable anywhere else.

In return, they faced judgment, violence, illness, fines, jail, and lives cut short — while their successes were quietly buried alongside their names.

Behind Brothel Doors: The Business of Prostitution in Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma (1860–1940) tells the complicated, human story of resilience, ambition, tragedy, and survival.

💬 Can’t join us in person? No problem!
Visit https://misslaurasmuseum.com/contact-us/, fill out the form, and we’ll add you to the virtual meeting link so you can join the discussion from anywhere.

Whose stories get remembered — and whose are left behind?