The Worst Woman in Sydney: The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh

The legend of Kate Leigh, Sydney’s famed brothel madam, sly grog seller and drug dealer, has loomed large in every account of Sydney’s criminal history from the 1920’s to the 1960’s including TV’s Underbelly and every other account of Sydney’s criminal history from the 1920s to the 1960s. But she has never had a biography of her own. Despite having more than 100 criminal convictions to her name, Kate Leigh is also remembered as a local hero, giving money to needy families and supporting her local community through the hard times of Depression and war. Here, novelist and historian Leigh Straw teases out the full story of how this wayward Reformatory girl from Dubbo made a fortune in eastern Sydney and defied the gender stereotyping of the time to become a leading underworld figure.

Publisher: Newsouth
Date Published: 2016
Book Condition: Near fine softcover with minor edge wear to covers and a small mark to top of the text block. Otherwise, an unmarked copy internally.