The Last Madam

Customer Reviews

• Good book and an Excellent Book if you are From New Orleans  Jan 6, 2000 (51 of 52 found this helpful)

  New Orleans is one of the most visited cities in the USA. Even the casual visitor has been told the stories of prostitution and corruption in the majestic French Quarter. The story of Norma Wallace based in part on her audio taped autobiogaphy gives the present day reader the best look at what this life was really like. The writer is convincing, by naming names and places, that the world's oldest profession was almost respectible, even in the last half of the 20th century. The research done to write this book is amazing. The opinion you form of Norma, by the end of the book,is surprising. A good book and a must if you are familiar with New Orleans

• Underside of the Underside  Feb 1, 2000 (22 of 22 found this helpful)

  I was a young investigative reporter living in the French Quarter in the era Christine Wiltz writes about, and I saw it all -- the political payoffs, the crooked cops, the upscale whores and the spavined sluts, the overstuffed and pompous city fathers, the pimps and touts and junkies. What a rich mix it was! Wiltz, a native Orleanian, put the odor of pralines and boiled crawfish and "buster" crabs back in my nostrils for the first time in 50 years. She's caught the era perfectly, and with considerable writing skill. "The Last Madame" is as authentic as an open grave in the St. Louis Cemetery.

• Colorful And Tragic  Apr 1, 2002 (20 of 20 found this helpful)

  When the subject of this book shrugs off being shot in the ankle because she got a 7-carat diamond ring out of the affair, you know this is no ordinary person. Norma Wallace was one of the last Madams' of New Orleans. For more than 4 decades she ran her various houses that were the locations where young men were brought for their introduction to the carnal pleasures of adulthood, where actresses and actors frequently paid visits, and where a good percentage of politicians and law enforcement officers also passed some time. The book is not a glorification of what was at times a brutal existence. The book and the behavior of many is entertaining, but when reality becomes a bit too easy, incidents that were absolutely horrible brought reality back with great intensity.

  This is a story of a woman who knew what she wanted at a very young age, and who by the 1920's was making 100,000 per year. To survive and thrive during changes in political landscapes she was not only an exceedingly shrewd businesswoman, she was also a grand manipulator of politicians, and law enforcement. She managed to fit in 5 marriages, a relationship with a nationally known gangster, and the creation of a wildly successful restaurant business in with all her other interests. This woman was one of the original practitioners of multitasking.

  All of this came with a price, the same man who was a gangster might try to kill her one night, her jewelry that was valued at 70,000 decades ago and which she wore daily would make her a target. And for 40 years there was always some new rookie cop or politician that wanted to make his mark by closing her down.

  The story is wild, amazing and true; the read is almost as fast paced as her life.

• Fascinating  Feb 11, 2000 (11 of 11 found this helpful)

  A fabulous book with wonderful descriptions of New Orleans. Norma is, of course, legendary, so it was a privilege to finally learn the details of her fascinating life. It kept me on my toes the entire time I was reading it. How amazing that you can know how everything turns out at the end and still not be able to put it down until you're finished.

• From the first page, I was hooked.  Feb 1, 2000 (13 of 14 found this helpful)

  The colorful life of "landlady" Norma Wallace is laid out here in great detail -- her thoughts, shortcomings and enviable business sense, and the obsession with the beauty of youth that eventually becomes her downfall. Novelist Christine Wiltz has meticulously researched her subject, so readers not only come away with a full understanding about New Orleans' last real madam, they also get a real feel of the N'awlins of the early to mid 20th century. A great read before or during a trip to the Big Easy -- and an equally great read even if you've never set foot in the Crescent City.