Madame Brussels

The Life and Times of Melbourne's Most Notorious Woman

By: Barbara Minchinton

Narrated by: Lucy Moir

Madame Brussels, the most legendary brothel keeper in 19th-century Melbourne, is still remembered and celebrated today. But until now, little has been known about Caroline Hodgson, the woman behind the alter ego.

Born in Prussia to a working-class family, Hodgson arrived in Melbourne in 1871. Left alone when her police-officer husband was sent to work in remote Victoria, she turned her hand to running brothels. Before long, she had proved herself brilliantly entrepreneurial – her principal establishment was a stone's throw from Parliament House, lavishly furnished, and catered to Melbourne's ruling classes.

Hodgson rode Melbourne's boom in the 1880s, weathered the storm of the depression years in the 1890s and suffered in the moral panic of the 1900s. Her death in 1908 signified the end of one kind of Melbourne and the beginning of another – in terms of prostitution, the city went from tolerance to complete prohibition in her lifetime.

Drawing on extensive research, author and historian Barbara Minchinton deftly pieces together Madame Brussels's story and recreates a fascinating, colourful period in Melbourne's history. This is a major biography of an Australian icon.

©2024 Barbara Minchinton and Philip Bentley Recorded by arrangement with Black Inc (P)2025 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

'[D]iligently researched and crisply written.' (Simon Caterson, The Saturday Age)

'This new biography of Madame Brussels should intrigue readers who already have an interest in nineteenth-century Victoria, and catch the interest of those new to the subject. Caroline Hodgson was a fascinating woman and her story enriches and complicates Melbourne's history.' (Marian Quartly, Inside Story)

'In a world where propriety and reputation were important, Madame Brussels pulls on the threads of outward society to examine the underbelly underneath.' (Ashleigh Meikle, Arts Hub)