Sin In The Second City

Step into the glittering, lawless, and intoxicating world of Chicago’s Levee District—where politics, pleasure, and power collided behind velvet curtains. In Sin in the Second City (Random House, 2008), Karen Abbott brings to life the infamous Everleigh Club and the two sisters whose luxurious brothel captivated millionaires, politicians, and celebrities while igniting a national moral firestorm. Join our study group as we explore Chicago at the turn of the 20th century—a city pulsing with ambition, corruption, reform, and reinvention. Each week, we’ll dive deeper into the true stories of madams and missionaries, detectives and dilettantes, and the strange alliances that shaped modern ideas about morality, sexuality, and women’s autonomy. Come ready for vivid storytelling and lively discussion along with behind-the-scenes history of Chicago’s Red Light District. We will meet unlikely heroines and crusaders who defied expectations and scandals, power struggles, and questions that still feel urgent today. If you love Chicago history, bold women, or stories that peel back the city’s polished façade to reveal its most dazzling secrets, this study group will spark your imagination, and maybe challenge your assumptions. Enter the world of the Everleigh sisters… if you dare.