The Double Vice: The 1st Hidden Gotham Novel by Chris Holcombe (free ebook reader txt) 📕

(the absolutely NSFW) “Shave Me Dry.” They kicked at the walls of convention in the 20s and defied what women were supposed to look like and sing about, particularly as women of color. Their influence on music and performance should not be overlooked any longer.

Certain fictional places were also inspired by their real-life counterparts, such as The Oyster House being a fictional version of The Clam House (where Gladys Bentley often performed). The mansion of Zora Mae’s Heaven and Hell party is a mashup of the Bailey House on 10 St. Nicholas Place and the house of 14 and 16 St. Nicholas Place. Dash’s own Pinstripes was inspired by an inter-racial club reportedly in the East Village during the same time period.

Other settings, such as The Shelton Hotel, the Hot Cha, and the Greenwich Village Inn, were real, but finding descriptions of their interiors—beyond publicly filed floor plans, that is—proved to be difficult. So, like all good fiction authors, I made them up. Same with Dash’s tailor shop Hartford & Sons, which is based on a 1920s photograph of a Greenwich Village storefront.

Street names have a way of changing in New York City. For instance, the Cherry Lane Playhouse is now on Cherry Lane, but back in the 20s, it was called Commerce Street. Unfortunately, the New York Public Library didn’t have a street map from 1926, so I did my best to maintain accuracy with what was available.

I want to thank all those whose works and archives have helped with the development of this book. Any errors or misinterpretations are mine and mine alone.

About the Author

Chris Holcombe is an author of LGBTQ+ historical crime fiction. The Double Vice is the first novel in his Hidden Gotham series, which showcases New York’s lively but criminally under-represented queer world of the 1920s. He is also an award-winning songwriter, winning “Best Folk Song” at the 2009 Hollywood Music in Media Awards, as well as an accomplished brand strategist in marketing and advertising. He lives with his husband in New York, where he is hard at work on the next Hidden Gotham novel The Blind Tiger.

For more information, visit www.chrisholcombe.com and follow Chris on: