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Madam

by Antonia Murphy

  

€ 13.75 

ISBN: 9781398540347

A poignant and hilarious memoir from a mother who opened an ethical escort agency in small town New Zealand - the only country in the world where sex work is fully legalised - and dared to make a difference.

I'm Antonia, a real-life madam. I've got a blended family of six kids; I spend my mornings packing lunchboxes and my evenings reading bedtime stories. And two days a week, I work as a pimp. Procurer, madam - whatever you want to call it. Personally, I think of myself as a union organiser. For vaginas.

An ex-pat from San Francisco, Antonia Murphy is living on a farm in rural New Zealand with her husband and two kids, bored and isolated, when her husband leaves her. Suddenly, she has to figure out how to survive.

Upon discovering the decriminalisation of sex work in New Zealand, Antonia's mind starts to wander, and she reaches out to the international sex worker community online to learn more about the business. This group of smart, anonymous, sassy women open Antonia's eyes to the viability of sex work that safeguards women's health and dignity, while providing a clean, shame-free establishment for male clients. Inspired, Antonia decides to open her own agency: The Bach.

Over the next three years, she encounters more than she could have imagined: domestic abuse, assault, theft, drugs and a stream of silly, horrific and sometimes touching requests from her clients. She witnesses the ways so many women are trapped - by early pregnancy, lack of education and the constraints of their circumstances. More than anything, she sees fire in the women who choose sex work: they refuse to give up and be poor, even when the odds are stacked against them.

In Madam, we follow Antonia through the turbulent years of her agency, as she toils to keep both her business and family afloat, and to keep the women of The Bach safe and thriving as they practice the world's oldest profession.

368 pages.

Not Yet Published.

Printed on or after 03/07/25. Please note dispatch may take 5-10 days after publication date.
A separate order should be placed for this item. If you order this along with other items, your entire order will be held and despatched when complete.

Date of Publication: 03/07/2025

Cover of Madam - Antonia Murphy - 9781398540347Paperback

Madam also appears in these Categories:

Biography