Lynda Drews shares The Maid and the Socialite: The Brave Women Behind Green Bay's Scandalous Minahan Trials

Date and Time for this Past Event

• Saturday, Apr 8, 2023  1pm - 2pm

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Join us for a reading and Q&A with local author Lynda Drews, as she shares with us the true, untold story of two Green Bay women in her new book The Maid and the Socialite.

At the turn of the 20th century, cities around the world were rife with syphilis, yet no blood test could prove it. Two women in Green Bay, Wisconsin found their lives destroyed by that simple fact. Mary, an illiterate maid, and Mollie, a college-educated socialite, fell victim to the physical violence and mental abuse of celebrated surgeon Dr. John R. Minahan. To silence them, he claimed they had that shameful and dreaded disease. But as medical science advanced and suffragettes marched for their rights, Mary and Mollie found the courage to stand up for theirs.

This is the only full account written about Dr. John R. Minahan, whose family dominated Green Bay’s professional, business, and political arenas from 1892 to 1954. Dr. Minahan’s wealth built a college stadium, science center, and six-story office building—all named for him—while history lost, or perhaps erased, Mary’s and Mollie’s heroic stories—until now.
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Lynda Drews, a Wisconsin native, gave the commencement speech at her University of Wisconsin-La Crosse alma mater. She encouraged students to journal their lives as she had. In 2009, Run at Destruction: A True Fatal Love Triangle was the outcome. Publisher’s Weekly said: “the author and victim’s shared moments… are remarkable.” The Investigation Discovery Channel filmed a segment based on that book, and it was endorsed by Ann Rule, the best-selling true crime author.

The Maid and the Socialite: The Brave Women Behind Green Bay's Scandalous Minahan Trials (released in 2023) takes place in Lynda's hometown in an era where women were treated as less than equal to the city's powerful men. The Midwest Book Review states that this true story is told with "the drama of fiction and the compelling research of fact."

When Lynda’s not writing, she teaches classes for WRITE ON DOOR COUNTY, participates on the Brown County Historical Society Board, reads, runs, knits, plays bridge, and drinks coffee. The latter is a necessity, even at bedtime.