Customer Reviews

A House Is Not a Home

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Although not well-remembered today, Polly Adler had a certain notoriety in her time -- the 1920's through 1940's -- as the best-known "madam" in New York City. This book is her autobiography. Published in 1953, it reached number two for thirteen weeks on the "New York Times" nonfiction bestseller list (kept out of the top spot by Norman Vincent Peale's "The Power of Positive Thinking" -- what a contrast!). It was among the top ten nonfiction bestsellers of the year, and went on to sell over two million copies.

This book is a very good read. Although credited to Adler, she apparently had a ghostwriter who assisted. The book is clever and humorous but also sad. Adler's personality certainly comes through. She kind of fell in to this kind of work, but she had just the right temperament for it -- tough but compassionate. She also knew how to mingle with the right people. (Her houses had some very well-known patrons.)

The book has a real feel for the New York of the twenties and thirties -- including the New York underworld of the time.

Since the book was published in 1953, it couldn't be too explicit. But one still gets a fair idea of what went on in Adler's various "houses."

This book does not in any way glamorize prostitution. On the contrary, it shows that many of the girls involved became drug addicts and alcoholics. The customers may have had a good time, but that seems to have been mostly one-sided.

"A House is Not a Home" was made into a movie in 1964. The movie was generally not well-received, but the theme song, by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, is a minor classic. But the song is a love song not faithful to the spirit of the book. The real meaning of the book's title is that a house of ill repute could never be a real home to those involved.

I first read this book 25 years ago. I borrowed it from a friend at school and was heart broken when I had to return it. Even as an ignorant 15 yr old, I realised that this book was important. I have been looking for my own copy ever since and am so pleased with this new release.

If you are in any way interested in history, expecially from a womans point of view, this is the book for you. It never occured to me (as a 15 yr old) that women played a role in history until I read this book. Mind you, I attended a private girls school and I still had no idea that history could be relayed from the perspective of a woman; a migrant; a law breaker; you name it....this book covers all the gaps and presents a womans/migrants/law breakers point of view of New York in the 20's, 30's and 40's.

Most importantly, this book is an autobiography, so much more personal, warm and authentic. I really came to like Polly Adler and I truly admired her guts and her honesty.

25 years later, this book is a little more tame than I remember. I was outraged by the goings on when I first read it. Nonetheless, it is still powerful and dare I say it again, important.

A House is Not a Home, by Polly Adler

Polly Adler was known in Manhattan from the 1920s to the mid 1940s. This is her story of her life. She was born in a small village in White Russia. Planning to emigrate, she was sent first to America as the oldest child. Then WW I prevented the rest of her family from emigrating. She got a job in a factory, then was laid off. A friend offered her a room in Uptown New York. It didn't last, then a bootlegger offered to pay her rent if he could use the place for a rendezvous. Polly made deals in arranging dates for rich men with young women. She was arrested, the charges dropped for lack of evidence. Polly decided this business was better than lower paid factory work. She tells about the lives of others in Chapter 2 Part I.

There were rugged times in the early Twenties, it was not a period of prosperity. Many small businesses failed in 1921. Her Lingerie Shop failed in the "Coolidge Prosperity". Her savings were lost in a crooked card game. She went back to running a house. Polly explains the differences between gangsters and businessmen. The 1920s saw the rise of organized crime in New York (Chapter 3). [Were the morals of the Twenties that different from current society?] Polly and her girls visited Saratoga for the racing season. She met new clientele that way. Renting space in an office building meant quiet nights. Polly dealt with the upper class. Was it good for business? Why are so many prostitutes addicted to drugs and alcohol? They are cut off from their families and normal society, and suffer from loneliness. Their work is joyless, their working years are limited in this unhappy life. The major factor is poverty of some kind (p.99).

In the 1920s it was "fashionable to make money any way you could" (Chapter 5). Speculation was no longer considered immoral. Polly describes one party at her house (p.112). Her house rules were: no drugs (p.118). One girl got the Cold Turkey cure (p.119). She turned to alcohol (p.125). The 1929 Stock Market Crash wiped her out (p.126). Her business picked up (p.127). People sought scapegoats, the Seabury investigation revealed corruption (p.128). Polly fled to Newark NJ (p.130), then elsewhere. The investigation led to the abolition of the Vice Squad because of their rackets (pp.136-137). When questioned Polly denied everything (p.148). The end of the Vice Squad left NY a "wide-open town" (p.154). Polly returned to her business (Chapter 7). Polly was in danger (p.165). Her newspaper publicity was good for business (p.175). Polly was convicted (p.200). Polly explains why she couldn't go legitimate (p.216).

Polly again returned to her business (Chapter 9). The economics are explained on pages 231 to 234. Who makes money from prostitution? See page 238. New York became a world city in the late 1930s (Chapter10). Foreign visitors meant more business (p.252). Polly offers her views on society (pp.257-259). Self-serving statements? A friend advised Polly to write her memoirs (Chapter 11). Was it psychotherapy (p.277)? Polly enrolled in college and later began to write this book. The first draft followed the advice of friends and authors; this version puts herself in the book. This book tells about the life she witnessed. It gives her viewpoints, and includes comments on newspapers and society. It is an expose of life that is seldom mentioned in newspapers, and censored in movies and entertainment. Its not an academic work; who would read that? This life continues today in the cities and towns of America. Just read your local newspaper for classified ads for "Massage".