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The first time I heard of the mulatto madame was in April of this year. Her great, great, great granddaughter shyly mentioned a few of the 'known' facts about Melvina and I became intrigued. The questions I had back then are the same questions that most people have when they first hear of Madame Massey.  
1 - How does a black woman in the late 1800s, manage to run brothels and serve alcohol in a dry state for over a decade without prosecution?
2 - When she is arrested and convicted of bootlegging in 1901, she stays in the warden's quarters and not in a cell at the main building. How is this possible, given that at no other time (prior or since) has a female prisoner been afforded such courtesies? 
3 - Sometime before arriving in Fargo, a man backs out of his wedding proposal, she sues, and wins! Melvina is awarded $5,000 in the suit. Once again, this is sometime between 1860-1875 in Washington DC. How does a black woman of the time, afford a lawyer, let alone have the wherewithal to actually press charges? 
These are but a few of the facts in the amazing life of Melvina Massey. However, there are gaps in her life that we cannot explain, as well as her apparent notoriety in the Minnesota territory and Rhode Island. Given these and others, the only logical explanation I could come up with was that Melvina (intentionally or not) was passing as white. This is supported by the contradictory treatment mentioned in the press at the time. For most of her stay in Fargo, she is regaled as the owner of the 'Crystal Palace' (there is no mentioning of her race) and then after her conviction in 1901, the tone in the papers is more of a 'racial' nature. She is called 'negress' on more than one reported occasion yet in trips to Rhode Island to visit her son and grandchildren, the local paper goes to great lengths to announce her arrival. As if she was a noted celebrity, socialite, or heiress. This is the latter part of the 1800s, so once again it begs the question, 'Did white people assume Melvina Massey was white all along?' 
Fascinating are the times of Melvina, and in this historical fiction, I seek to capture most of what is known and to fill in the gaps as needed within the pages of this novella. 
"In 1881, two women will begin a battle for the moral fabric of Fargo North Dakota, that will shape a generation. The mulatto madame and the Christian evangelist divide the town's loyalties and a husband's bed, all the while setting the stage for justice for one and closure for the other."
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