Book Review: Charity Girl by Michael Lowenthal

 I must admit, this is the first book I have ever read in which the main character having The Clap is a major plot point. There's just something inherently noteworthy about that. Charity Girl takes place during WWI, and follows the exploits of 17 year old Frieda Mintz who gets caught up in the patriotic fervor and catches a social disease from a soldier named Felix Morse. Though Felix wants to do the honorable thing, he is caught up in the circumstances of his own life - and Frieda is left at the mercy of Mrs. Sprague from the "Committee on Prevention of Social Evils Surrounding Military Camps." Mrs Sprague's visit gets Frieda fired from her work at a department store, and sets in motion a series of events that results in the poor girl being interred at a detention camp for the treatment of diseased women.

 The dehumanizing treatment she  receives, medically and socially, is offset by the strength she finds within herself and her fellow detainees.  How she survives this situation, and what she does after her release, I won't spoil for you - but suffice it to say that the ending is a bit anti-climatic, though understandable given the time period.

Though the characters are fictional, the historical background behind this book is accurate. This is a little known event in history that I was unaware of before reading this book. During WWI, approximately  30,000 American women were rounded up with many being detained for months on end for the supposed purpose of 'preventing the spread of venereal disease to soldiers' by the Committee on the Prevention of Social Evils Surrounding Military Camps . Some of the women were prostitutes, some were charity-girls (those who picked up soldiers for a good time at dance halls and the like), and some were just ordinary girls in bad circumstances. Sometimes these women were treated and eventually released - but those found to be 'deviants' or 'repeat offenders' were often further institutionalized. 

The conditions in which they were kept were often poor, and the medical treatment primitive at best.  43 sites around the country were set up for this purpose. The medical treatment was forced , and often accompanied by hard labor,  poor treatement, and occasionally even assaults and rape.

 There are many historical  occurrences that we do not learn of in our textbooks and schools. Charity Girl illustrates one of these horrific moments in history through very personable characters. Even the government agents and keepers of these camps aren't entirely vilified - the author makes it clear that these were people who truly believed that they were doing right and moral things. I can't help but wonder how many horrible things have been done because of the prevalent moral standards of the time...

 This novel was an enjoyable read from start to finish. While the ending left me kind of disappointed in the main character's choices, I did understand why she made them.  I also appreciated that someone told the story of these girls and this event that we usually hear nothing about.

Charity Girl on Amazon