Walking to work one morning, Ruth Foster is stopped by the sheriff, who threatens her with arrest if she doesn't accompany him to a health clinic to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases. Even though she's done no more than kiss a man, Ruth finds herself at the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women.
There she finds women from all walks of life, and the reasons why many of them are incarcerated are suspicious indeed. As Ruth becomes acquainted with her fellow inmates, she also learns that Superintendent Dorothy Baker is not a woman to be crossed.
Baker takes her mission of transforming degenerate souls into upstanding members of society very seriously. If anyone at the Colony flouts anything listed in her rule book, the consequences are swift and harsh. Be that as it may, Ruth is determined to get out-- no matter what it takes.
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In many respects, I've mellowed as I've gotten older, but not in all. Misogyny now infuriates me. As I learn more about the ridiculous laws women have had to deal with, I'm not only angry, but I also wonder why on earth women have put up with this treatment for centuries. When did we lose our spines? But I digress.
Donna Everhart's Women of a Promiscuous Nature is based on the long-buried history of the American Plan, set in motion during World War I to prevent soldiers from contracting venereal disease. Women could be forced to undergo testing for these diseases and placed in "industrial farm colonies" for the flimsiest reasons. Rumors. Being poor. Eating alone in a restaurant. Speaking to a soldier. Being pretty and unmarried. Yes, prostitutes were also incarcerated, but most of these women were not.
Strong characterizations make this book a winner. I couldn't help but take them all into my heart-- two in particular. Ruth, a young woman who just happened to be too pretty to be walking alone to work, and fifteen-year-old Stella, whose home life was so abominable that the farm colony felt like heaven to her. But three characters figure prominently in Women of a Promiscuous Nature. The third is Superintendent Dorothy Baker. Letting readers into her mind is a stroke of genius. We're given insight into how a woman could actually treat other women in such a horrible way and think she was helping them. Although I never did give up my hearty dislike of Dorothy Baker, her character does have depth. She's not merely the villain of the piece.
Women of a Promiscuous Nature shines a light on a murky piece of American history, and in so doing, readers can take the book's characters to heart-- becoming angry for them, worrying about them, and wanting to help them escape from their prison.
Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart
eISBN: 9781496740731
Kensington Books © 2026
eBook, 368 pages
Historical Fiction, Standalone
Rating: A
Source: Net Galley
I've never even heard of this! The treatment of women in books like this always makes me angry. Sounds like an important story to know though.
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