Escape from the Green Mansion: Ordinary Church Women and Their Extraordinary Rescue of San Francisco's Brothel Slaves

by Christine Taylor

In the late 1800s thousands of Chinese women sailed to America’s West Coast. Many of them were enslaved as soon as they stepped off the freighters and were forced into prostitution -- the "green mansion."

American prejudice against the immigrant Chinese was ugly and strong, and many of these girls lost hope. Many of them died. But a few of them began to whisper about the “Jesus women.” The Jesus women were rescuing and freeing the Chinese slaves, and if the girls could just get word to them…

This book is a true story about the courageous Christians who risked everything to help free San Francisco’s brothel slaves.

Kindle Edition

First published December 10, 2014

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a real eye-opener about slavery in California in the early days. Shocking really. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire was covered and that was riveting. I found the writing a little
rough and that's the reason the rating is low. I'd give it a 3 1/2. Well worth reading.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great history of Chinatown in early San Francisco and of the creation of the home mission societies in both the Methodist and Presbyterian churches. Those church ladies had guts, standing up to the Tong bosses to rescue and protect the girls who were brought from China to slave in the brothels. The book gave first-hand accounts of the panic after the 1906 earthquake. All of the women and children in their shelters survived.

This book made heavy use of newspaper accounts, letters and church records of the late 1800s and early 1900s, which allowed me to get into the minds of that time period. However, it left me wanting more interpretation and perhaps some follow-up accounts of the lives of the women rescued.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting

This is very informative. The writing is very factual . Many of the vignettes are repetitive . Can see a reflection of today's attitudes towards immigrants

[Sue Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Escape from Green Mansion tells a story of prostitution and forced labor of Chinese women in the 19th century. It seems to be well researched and tells some individual stories of young girls fleeing their native land in hopes of a better life only to be forced into horrible conditions in the US. It is a story that needs to be told not only from a historic prospective but also because prejudice and similar situations still exist today.

This book is also largely about some Methodist and Presbyterian women's efforts to provide a safe haven for these enslaved girls. It tells how they went against powerful and sometimes dangerous men to find and protect these girls in California.

Although this is a true story, it often felt like the book was more a way to pat these women on the backs rather than to tell the story of those who were forced into prostitution. I wish there had been more followup and more about the strength of these young girls. Still, this is a good story to hear and to remind ourselves what individuals can do to help prevent wrongdoings.