Madam Millie is a very entertaining book. It is a book about the life of a famous madam whose brothels were located mainly in Silver City, New Mexico. The book delineates Millie's life from the time she was a little girl until she was fifty-six years old, when the government shut here brothel's down. Millie led an incredibly interesting life, a life worthy of annotation.
Millie's life started out "normal-. Her parents named her Willette Angela Fantetti, but up until her biography was published, only three or four people knew her real name. She was born February 28, 1906, in Kentucky. Willette better known as Millie lived in a normal family with her mother, father and older sister. Millie's "normal- family life was short lived. Her parents passed away when she was the tender age of six. Millie and her sister were left alone and were then put in foster care. Millie went through a series of different homes. Social workers moved Millie from home to home usually because she ran away. In the times Millie was on her own, she learned how to fend for herself. She learned how to work to survive.
Millie and here sister had finally found a foster home they were comfortable in when her sister became ill with tuberculosis. At that time, people did not know much about tuberculosis and victims of the disease were usually sent out west where the dry air was believed to help. Friends at Millie's high school found a sanitarium for her sister, Florence in Deming, New Mexico. Millie was only fourteen years old when she and her sister made the move. Although Millie was underage, she was given a job the Harvey House, a restaurant, where she worked as a waitress. She used most of the money she earned at the Harvey House to pay for her sister's treatment. This left her with little money to support herself. .
Florence's condition was not improving at the Deming sanitarium, so Millie decided to look for another one; she found a sanitarium in El Paso, Texas.
