Madam “Some of Manhattan’s most colorful denizens—from writers and pols to corrupt cops and mobsters—traipsed through the Depression-era brothels run by Polly Adler, the savvy subject of this exuberant history by a Pulitzer-winning biographer.” —The New York Times Editors' Choice, Best Books of 2021 “Madam, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Debby Applegate, tells a fast-paced tale of radical, willful transformation. . . .Replete with accounts of Polly’s many court battles, newspaper headlines, mobster dealings and society gossip, Madam is a breathless tale told through extraordinary research.” —The New York Times Book Review A compulsively readable and sometimes jaw-dropping story of the life of a notorious New York City madam who played hostess to every gangster, politician, writer, sports star and Cafe Society swell worth knowing, and who, as much as any single figure did, helped make the twenties roar—from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Most Famous Man in A