51�Թ�

A quarter-century ago, the women Francois killed were largely dismissed, labeled simply as streetwalkers and drug addicts, as if they had no ties to anyone else, no lives, no loyalties.

Finally, a Cinderella for streetwalkers and gym rats!

The party is elsewhere in the boardinghouse where our heroine, Esther, a shy, plain woman of 35, sits in her room sewing corsets and camisoles for socialites and streetwalkers.

For her part, Ms. Sheehy crafted long, deeply reported articles about streetwalkers, courtesans, the Black Panther party and the “golden men” of New York’s commuting class.

On Saturday nights my flamboyant friend Paolo, who taught Italian, would throw roses to the streetwalkers as we drove through the red-light district to the Opera House.