A Less Than Enjoyable Evening

Once inside the speakeasy, Dolly and Minerva find a wild crowd, determined to have a good time. Some are dancing to a jumping jazz band called Clarence Williams' Blue Five. Others are trying to keep up conversation by shouting over the music. Waiters circulate constantly with trays of champagne and cocktails. A number of magazine reporters have gotten wind of the newcomers to the social scene and begin snapping photos of the girls. Willard says "This is what they call "The Roaring Twenties, girls!". All in all, it's not particularly fun for the Ackermann sisters. One more thing on the list of What To Avoid.

Getting Into The Speakeasy

Willard has planned a night at a speakeasy, a clandestine nightclub. In the Prohibition Era, the sale of alcoholic beverages was illegal, so many bars, taverns, and nightclubs had to keep liquor sales a well-known secret. Some clubs were located in unlikely places to avoid detection, and a bouncer at the door screened customers and alerted the patrons of police raids. Inside, storage for liquor was hidden behind secret doors and bars could be disguised with sliding panels. The 21 Club of New York City was one of the most famous speakeasies.

Unfortunately, Willard has forgotten the password required to enter this establishment, but Minerva saves the day - or the night!

A Visit To Gin Lane

After the meeting with Uncle Digby, Mother takes Dolly and Minerva to the home of her parents. Poor baby Maggie! No wonder Mother is so aware of the huge inequalities of society!

In the first half of the 18th century, the distribution of cheap, flavored alcohol, called jenever, Geneva, or "gin", caused a situation called "The Gin Craze". The strong and extremely inexpensive liquor caused an epidemic of drunkenness among the very poor. The government tried various measures to curtail the production and sale of gin, with little effect. Gin was easy to produce and easy to sell. Gin dulled the miseries of life among the desperately poor, and as people would choose gin over food, it became obvious that their plight was becoming much worse. Drunken mothers gave birth to babies with fetal alcohol syndrome, and quieted their babies and hungry children with gin. 

The Gin Act of 1751 saw the end of the Craze, as liquor vendors were required to have licenses to sell. Unlicensed distillers and vendors were shunned, as deadly versions of home-brew gin appeared. So much like the dangers of American Prohibition (1920-1933). Another similarity is that food prices rose, causing people to choose food over drink.