The Butterfly Women by Madeleine Cleary

 

Around 10 years ago now (or maybe longer), I did a walking tour of Melbourne which focussed on the lane ways of Melbourne. The lane ways are something that Melbourne prides itself on, and there are all sorts of different worlds down these lanes, from gigantic living walls to huge murals, graffiti walls, and plenty of signs of history. During the tour we were shown how if you look up, you can often see the history. It may be in the form of the pulley arms that are still present where goods were hauled up into warehouses, or an ornate ceiling that has been protected in an old arcade that where the other shops have been modernised. Looking down, you might see the beams on the side of buildings which are there to protect the walls from a horse and carriage bumping into it, or a water trough that has been there for many, many years.

Sometimes, though, you need to look harder to find the hidden history of the city, and The Butterfly Women by Madeleine Cleary is a book which brings this hidden or forgotten history to life. Set in 1863, this book shines a light on the dark corners of the area around Little Lon. This is an area where the poorest of the poor lived, where women in particular have to do anything they can to make ends meet. It is also the area where the high class brothels are, where the dressed girls provide entertainment to the great and good of society, behind the closed doors of establishments like Papillon. This era is a very interesting time historically. After being founded in 1835, the city of Melbouren grew exponentially when gold was found in surrounding regions in the early 1850s. It was very rapid growty, and undoubtedly came with some growing pains.

The story is predominantly told through the voices of four fascinating women. Johanna Callaghan is an Irish woman who is found in a terrible condition after being beaten. The woman who found her is Mary Jenkins, who dresses in her husband's police uniform and patrols the streets around Little Lon. And then there is Madam Catherine Laurent who owns Papillon. She knows many secrets of her clients, men are publicly respectable who would rather not have the public know the truth, but who can be useful to Madam Laurent when she needs them. The final voice is that of Harriet Gardiner. She is a refined upstanding woman who has no reason to get involved with the goings on at Papillon, but she is driven by curiosity and the desire for truth. As a journalist she wants to do more than write stories about fashion and society events. She wants to tell meaningful stories about those in society who do not have a voice.

The truth is that the streetwalkers of Little Lon are being murdered, one by one. Despite the fact that there have been several deaths, the police aren't interested and the newspapers are not reporting the story. So it is up to the four women to try and find out what is going on and to catch up a murderer. Eventually the police are forced to acknowledge that their is a serial killer in their midst. The newspapers start sharing the story through articles from someone known only as The Vagabond. Could The Vagabond be the murderer? He certainly seems to know a lot. 

There is so much going on in this book. Beyond the obvious murder mystery, we also see what the lives of women were like, from the poorest of the poor to the protected upper classes. 

Johanna begins working as a servant at Papillon, but she knows that this is never going to bring her enough money to become respectable and so she wants to started working within the pleasure house, no matter what the cost may be. Here she builds friendships with the women who support each other despite their varying backgrounds. It almost seems strange that someone would aspire to become a high class prostitute but it is a way out of desperate poverty that is open to her.

We also see racism again Irish with the No Irish Need Apply signs that are hung in businesses and against Chinese who are feared because they are different and are seen to be taking gold and jobs. The indigenous treatment is also very clear due to their very minimal presence on the page. Most of the indigenous people were moved out of the city to reserves away from society. The racism and sexism was also seen when people who had information that could help with the investigation were ignored because they were prostitutes, or women, or of a different ethnicity. 

Many of the place names mentioned like Lonsdale Street are very familiar to modern Melburnians. We also get to see some of the events which continue to play a role in Melbourne now. For example, at one point, Johanna attends the third running of an annual horse race at Flemington racecourse. That race, the Melbourne Cup, is still running today and is a major event in Melbourne.

At it's heart this is a historical mystery, but don't make the mistake of thinking it is a cozy little mystery, because it is dark and gritty. So the question is does it work as a mystery? The answer for me was a resounding yes. There were a few red herrings along the way, but when the case is finally solved I was able to see how the clues had been there all along. It also worked as a strong piece of historical fiction set in the city I call home. I found this to be a very intriguing and engrossing read and I am pleased that I read it. 

This story is made all the more interesting given that the author's own family history includes a brothel owner. The family made every effort to become gentrified over the years so the fact that this was in the history was only discovered relatively recently.  I am going to an author event soon and I am looking forward to hearing more about this.

Next time I am in the part of the city where this book is set, I will be certainly looking at it differently.

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews, and with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge that I host. This was also one of the books I nominated to read as part of 20 Books of Winter. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy.

Rating 4/5