The Last Madam: A Life in the New Orleans Underworld

The true story of Norma Wallace, who operated one of New Orleans' most lavish brothels beginning in the 1920s. Wallace started as a streetwalker in the French Quarter at age fifteen in 1916, eventually becoming a madam whose establishment attracted politicians, movie stars, gangsters, and corrupt police officers. Wallace's personal life was marked by dramatic relationships, including a bootlegger who shot her, a famous bandleader, and a man thirty-nine years her junior who became her fifth husband. She accumulated knowledge of the city's secrets, which she leveraged to protect her interests and avoid legal trouble—until District Attorney Jim Garrison's anti-vice campaign in the early 1960s led to her arrest. After her jail stay, Wallace transitioned to legitimate business, operating a successful restaurant. The book combines original research with Wallace's personal memoirs to document her life and the era of New Orleans history in which she operated.