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9 1/2 Years Behind the Green Door: A Mitchell Brothers Stripper Remembers her Lover Artie Mitchell, Hunter S. Thompson, and the Killing that Rocked San Francisco

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Simone Corday not only provides intimate details about working at the O'Farrell Theater, she kept track of conversations between she and her long-time lover Artie Mitchell, and her compadre Hunter S. Thompson in journals.

In her memoir, you are like a fly on the wall, drinking in so many delicious details about her life with these over-the-top counterculture icons.

It's a sensual, emotional page turner. You won't want to put it down, and then you will be crying out for more, lingering on that final page, and searching for old Mitchell Brothers' films to get more glimpses on her extraordinary life.

Simone Corday, MA in English, author and former dancer at the famed Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre in San Francisco. Jim and Artie Mitchell opened O'Farrell Theatre on July 4 1969. It quickly became the place to be in San Francisco for lovers of all things sex. Hunter Thompson called it "The Carnegie Hall of public sex in America."

I have been looking at old reviews of Simone's book 9 ½ Years Behind the Green Door. I want to steer clear of the trite first line like "Corday was a stripper, dancer "etc. Why? Because there's more to ladies of this ilk than meets the eye, at least the ones that I have met over the years. During my time in London in 1986 sleeping rough, I was never short of a coffee or burger - complements of the dancers at a local spit on the floor strip joint. They worked hard, letting the fat, greasy, drunken horde maul them for a few extra quid. Looking back on it, these girls could play the slobs like BB King could play guitar. The girls went home with some cash, and the slobs went home with nothing but lint and a feeble, cholesterol fueled hard-on in their pockets.

On their way home the girls would stop-by my bench /bed with a coffee or something to eat. We'd chat for a while, they'd give me the low-down on their night and I on mine. It killed an hour, I got fed and they got to unwind. They were a special sort of person, strong-willed, compassionate and no nonsense. They made my time in London that bit easier.

In 1981 Simone walked into a world of sex, drugs, debauchery and whatever else that went with the Mitchell Brother territory - in particular Artie Mitchell. She became his long time, long suffering lover - putting up with more than anyone should, but in a misshapen way they became locked in a bond many would envy. Until that is when Artie was brutally murdered by his brother Jim in 1991. And for all intents and purposes got away with it, serving only 3 years in prison.

The point of the book for the most part concentrates on her relationship with Artie and his death; although sex is prevalent it doesn't take away from the purpose. They were wild in their own different ways, and that mix makes it hard to stop reading. He strikes me as being a cruel man without realising it or meaning to be. With a constant haze of sex and drugs clouding his brain, he comes across as sometimes needy and insecure with sudden flashes of brilliance and confidence. He was a handful to cope with but Simone was prepared to deal with it, and did so for nearly 10 years.

Hunter S. Thompson a friend of the Mitchell brothers drifts in and out of this story. Reading it I can imagine him bounding around with his usual bow-legged gait, doing what he did best - plamasing everyone in sight, looking like he owned the place. He was at O'Farrell to do research for a Playboy article (which was never published.) He was dubbed "Night Manager" A title I`m sure he relished. He loved being around people, he loved to enjoy himself with the help of whatever substance happened to be around, and where better than O'Farrell Theatre. The Mitchell brothers were responsible for the making of the documentary "The Crazy Never Die."

Simone told me.. "Hunter hadn't been satisfied with the Mitchell project, (The Crazy Never Die) and although there are a few copies around, it was never properly released. There had been a lot of problems with the sound. They had filmed it themselves with a skeleton crew, and everyone involved had been drunk or high. Hunter was filmed speaking to large crowds at college campuses, but there was almost no recorded sound. It had been impossible to recapture the dialogue and the questions and reactions of people. The night I was at the filming at Tosca Hunter delivered a hilarious monologue, but it was never recorded."

For me it's a nice change to read a book that includes Hunter but is not about him, you get to see another side of him. It's hard to put a fine point on it, I guess read the book and make up your own mind. Even though Hunter's presence in the story is a selling point, that doesn't mean the book can't stand alone without him. It's a fascinating and sometimes disturbing account of a unique partnership ending in devastating circumstances, with little justice.

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For a realistic, hearfelt look at what it was like to dance at an infamous strip club, have a long love affair with porn king Artie Mitchell, and hang out with Hunter Thompson, this is the book to read! Full of uncanny detail, Corday's story is affectionate, funny, sexy, and a real page-turner. With a searing account of Artie's slaying by his brother Jim and the motives behind it, the murder trial which cost him $1.3 million, and the political connections that helped him get off with serving just 3 years at San Quentin.

I was there...and saw most of what Simone wrote. We worked together for years. She was inner sanctum, I was living my own life. Scarily enough, we all thought Artie's behavior was perfectly normal...when behind the painted walls on O'Farrell St. Her book is vivid, brilliant, and true! I am proud to say I knew this woman, and have the utmost respect for her honesty, and unselfishness in laying her heart and soul out for the world to see. A must read!

An absolutely unmissable read for anyone interested in this bizarre story of two brothers who had the world on a string and then stuck a pin in it.