Author Ami McKay used her great-great grandmother, a female physician in nineteenth century New York City, as inspiration for her new novel, The Virgin Cure. Life in that city in the 1800s, especially in the section known as the Bowery, has always fascinated me and I enjoyed this peek into that world.
The story is told by Moth, a 12 year old girl born to a Gypsy fortune-teller and a father who abandoned them both, but not before choosing her name, supposedly whispered to him by an ancient pear tree. When Moth’s mother can no longer afford to feed them both, she sells her to a woman of high society as a servant. Moth flees the abuse she suffers at the woman’s hand and after finding her mother gone from their home, finds herself at Miss Everett’s, a brothel that specializes in deflowering of young girls such as herself. Moth becomes friends with the other girls but bonds with Dr. Sadie, the brothel physician who tries desperately to get Moth out of the brothel before it’s too late.
Moth finds a life of privilege at Miss Everett’s but is fearful of the price she’ll have to pay. She is reminded constantly of her mother, who did not nurture her but only warned her repeatedly to stay away from men. She is proud of her roots, her childhood home in the slums, and promises not to forget where she comes from.
The Virgin Cure takes place during a period when there were an estimated 30,000 orphans on the streets of New York City. While the boys survived by stealing and then selling their stolen goods, and some of the girls were able to work as salesgirls, most ended up selling themselves in any way possible — a servants if they were lucky, prostitutes if they weren’t. Female physicians were not highly respected so ended up working with this indigent population, where their services were desperately needed as syphilis was running rampant. In fact the title stems from the myth that deflowering a virgin would cure a man of syphilis.
While Moth tells her story, Sadie adds notes to the margins to explain terminology, include dress descriptions from Harper’s, or print newspaper articles that describe life in the 1870s. While some of these notes are helpful, I found others distracting. Nevertheless I recommend this novel to those who enjoy this type of historical fiction.
Other Historical Fiction set in New York City:
- The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye
- Heiress and Baroness by Susan May Warren
- Triangle by Katharine Weber
A wonderful series set in 1900 New York, follows a midwife as she tends to the poor and solves mysteries. Called “Gas Light Mysteries,” the series is written by Victoria Thompson. I am going to read “The Virgin Cure,” and I highly recommend Victoria Thompson’s books. Thanks for alerting me to this book!
That sound like a great series, I’ll have to look into it! Thanks!