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The Women of Little Lon

Sex Workers in Nineteenth-Century Melbourne

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The Women of Little Lon

By: Barbara Minchinton
Narrated by: Fiona Macleod, James Saunders
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About this listen

Sex workers in 19th-century Melbourne were judged morally corrupt by the respectable world around them. But theirs was a thriving trade, with links to the police and political leaders of the day, and the leading brothels were usually managed by women.

While today a popular bar and a city lane are famously named after Madame Brussels, the identities of the other ‘flash madams’, the ‘dressed girls’ who worked for them and the hundreds of women who solicited on the streets of the Little Lon district of Melbourne are not remembered.

Who were they? What did their daily lives look like? What became of them? Drawing on the findings of recent archaeological excavations, rare archival material and family records, historian Barbara Minchinton brings the fascinating world of Little Lon to life.

©2021 Barbara Minchinton (P)2021 Bolinda Publishing 19th Century Australia, New Zealand & Oceania Modern Oceania Women
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Loved this book. So much research about such an important and interesting subject. Great narration too. Did not want it to end.

Great book!

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An excellent description of the life of sex workers in Melbourne in the 1800's.
A hard life to be sure that was the only choice for many women in an age of sexism, hardship and moral hypocrisy.
History is often far more fascinating than fiction and this book is a fine example of it.

Fascinating and enlightening

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Incredible and detailed history of 19th Melbourne brothels. An excellent resource for historians and family historians alike.

Little known history of Melbourne

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.