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Title details for American Magdalene : the redemption of Belle Brezing by Tattershall, Doug. - Available

American Magdalene : the redemption of Belle Brezing

by Tattershall, Doug.
Brezing, Belle,d1860?-1940
ebook
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Belle Brezing was born illegitimate, raised in poverty and cast off at the age of 15 after her mother's funeral, with a baby in her arms and her door padlocked by the landlord. From this desperate childhood, Brezing became rich and famous, operating what Time magazine called the "most orderly of disorderly houses." Horse racing meets in her hometown of Lexington, Ky., helped make her brothel known nationwide, but behind her success was a determination to provide for her daughter. When author Margaret Mitchell needed a hardscrabble woman to serve as confidante to Rhett Butler, Brezing entered "Gone With the Wind" as Belle Watling. When Brezing died in 1940, a massive crowd gathered at the auction of her household items, but despite the iconic and bawdy image in her hometown, her story is a more human one. The visits of her doctor, university book collectors, the city's only female police officer and her priest offer glimpses into the years of seclusion at the end of her life.

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Languages

  • English