Madame Brussels, the most legendary brothel keeper in nineteenth-century Melbourne, is still remembered and celebrated today. But until now, little has been known about Caroline Hodgson, the woman behind the alter ego.
Born in Prussia to a working-class family, Caroline arrived in Melbourne in Left alone when her police-officer husband was sent to work in remote Victoria, she turned her hand to running brothels.
Before long, she had proved herself brilliantly entrepreneurial- her principal establishment was a stone's throw from Parliament House, lavishly furnished and catered to Melbourne's ruling classes. Caroline rode Melbourne's boom in the s, weathered the storm of the depression years in the s and suffered in the moral panic of the s. Her death in signified the end of one kind of Melbourne and the beginning of another- in terms of prostitution, the city went from tolerance to complete prohibition in her lifetime.
Drawing on extensive research, author and historian Barbara Minchinton deftly pieces together Madame Brussels' story and guides readers on a journey through a fascinating, colourful period in Melbourne's history.
This is a major biography of an Australian icon. This is the story of Marvellous Melbourne and an age-old profession. The authors of this fascinating biography do not know why Hodgson chose the name of Brussels for her enterprise, but believe it is likely she did so for the effect. To avoid confusion between references to Caroline Hodgson and her husband, the authors refer to her throughout the book by her given name, and so I will too. Caroline arrived in Melbourne in Left alone when her police-officer husband was sent to work in remote Victoria, she turned her hand to running brothels and entertainment businesses.
