By Suzy's Crew / April 15, 2026

Madam May: A tale of Madams, Morphine, Moonshine, and Murder, by Janet Hogan Chapman

Cover of Madam May

Available now in Paperback and eBook

Janet Chapman

From Janet Hogan Chapman, the author:

I wrote this book because I uncovered a fascinating story about my grandmother — she ran a brothel in the City of Atlanta in the early 1900s!

Other books by Janet Hogan Chapman:

After Madam May
Dorothy May
MotherLove
This Teacher Talks
The Letter Box

Applause! Applause!

“She was a strong, feisty, independent lady way before it was cool.”

“Imagining this colorful character as someone’s (the author’s!) Grandmother made the story a compelling …”

“This book was a great read. It is obvious the author has done her research. The historical details are fascinating. In spite of May’s questionable actions, she is a likable heroine and captures the reader’s sense of social consciousness. I highly recommend this book for those who like strong women characters and historical fiction set in the south.”

“Once I started reading, I didn’t want to stop. You can’t help rooting for May even with all her flaws. Never get in the way of a determined woman!”

“The description of Atlanta was fascinating — I could just imagine what the city looked (and smelled) like in the early 1900s.”

Talk a Little, Talk a Lot

There are book club questions at the end of the book. Author has met with several book clubs and is willing to travel.

Other Topics and Titles You Might Enjoy

The Faerie Morgana

A mystical tale of the Arthurian legend, a young woman growing into her immense magical powers.

Read More

Cover for Upon the Corner of the Moon

Upon the Corner of the Moon

The Macbeths you’ve never known: Destined to unite Scotland, they first had to survive as pawns in a dynastic struggle.

Read More

Sor Juana cover

SOR JUANA, MY BELOVED — The Poetry, The Passions of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, by MaryAnn Shank

Sor Juana had two passions in life: Poetry and the Viceroy’s wife.

Read More

Mystical Land of Myrrh cover

THE MYSTICAL LAND OF MYRRH, by MaryAnn Shank

Travel with a young woman, a Peace Corps Volunteer, to a country that will never come again.

Read More

Cover of Lunch Ladies

Lunch Ladies

It is 1976 and Hanley, Minnesota has a bicentennial parade in the works. Is this a task for lunch ladies? Their answer would be “no.”

Read More

Or choose one of these topics:

Madam May
May strives to become an independent woman in early 1900s Atlanta and was willing to do whatever it took to become one, in spite of being poor, rural and uneducated.
The Pelican Tide
A massive oil spill disrupts a family's future.
A Family Matter
A young wife following her heart. A husband with the law on his side. Their daughter, caught in the middle.
Finding My Way
Malala leads us to the person behind the fame, the one who loves and lives a kind, generous life.
Upon the Corner of the Moon
The Macbeths you’ve never known: Destined to unite Scotland, they first had to survive as pawns in a dynastic struggle.
50 After 50
Do you feel stuck in your life? Want a way out? Read 50 After 50 for ways to elevate your life. It's your life; it's up to you what you do with it.
The Four Queens of Crime
It is 1938 and Lilian Wyles, the first (real life) woman Detective Chief Inspector in the CID at Scotland Yard, must find the baronet’s killer at Hursley House. She quietly recruits the four queens of crime, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham to help her solve the case.
Saving Ellen
When you grow up in a big Irish family in which the mother is determined, stubborn, and drop-dead fumy, you can survive almost anything.
Lunch Ladies
It is 1976 and Hanley, Minnesota has a bicentennial parade in the works. Is this a task for lunch ladies? Their answer would be "no."
Gun Girl and the Tall Guy
1924 Brooklyn -- love, crime, and no turning back. The true story of Brooklynites Celia and Ed Cooney
The Faerie Morgana
A mystical tale of the Arthurian legend, a young woman growing into her immense magical powers.
Hidden Rooms
After coming home to bury her father, distance-runner Riley Svenson wants nothing more than to keep her close-knit family together and to get the hell out of her rural Ohio home town. But then a murder and a strange illness upend everything.