The Boy from the Brothel

G.J. Anderson

Description

In this historical tale, an intuitive orphan rises from the streets of Vienna with the hope of transforming his dark beginning into a future of financial success and happiness.
It is 1907 and nine-year-old Willi has built a solid reputation on the streets. Although he is becoming a legend among the gangs and street urchins for his ability to plan ahead and sense danger, Willi has other ideas. After separating himself from life in the gutter by securing a space in an unused top-floor store room in a warehouse, he is now free to observe the seedier side of the night life of Vienna and the early morning starving artist community alone.
A year later he heroically saves a young woman from a brutal situation. As a reward, he is offered a meal at an exclusive brothel, where he endears himself to the ladies and is offered an opportunity for employment as a messenger. Through his contact with the brothel’s patrons, the Madame’s financial genius, and the worldly education he receives from the ladies, he gains vast insight into the workings of upper society and the financial world. As he matures into manhood, Willi partners with a mentor to build a financial empire. But when the Second World War unleashes chaos, Willi becomes a conduit to save downed allied airmen. As the war draws to its final close, he is badly disfigured by an American bomb while rescuing another girl from a horrifying fate. Guided by the many strong women in his life, his path leads him to eventually rebuild Austria and extend his holdings into the United States, now only time will tell if Willi will be set free of his scars to capture the happiness he has always wanted.
In this historical tale, an intuitive orphan rises from the streets of Vienna with the hope of transforming his dark beginning into a future filled with financial success and happiness.

Sujets

• Historical
• Willi
• Viena
• Austria
• Death Ray (magazine)
• Street children
• Slavic fairies
• Brothel
• Vienna
• Anschluss
• Fiction
• Bully
• Autriche

Informations

• Publié par: iUniverse
• Date de parution: 14 juillet 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781663240972
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The Boy from the Brothel
 
The Story of a Street Urchin’s Rise to the Pinnacle of Viennese Society
 
 
 
 
 
G.J. ANDERSON
 
 
 
 

 
THE BOY FROM THE BROTHEL
THE STORY OF A STREET URCHIN’S RISE TO THE PINNACLE OF VIENNESE SOCIETY
 
Copyright © 2022 G.J. Anderson.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
Certain characters in this work are historical figures, and certain events portrayed did take place. However, this is a work of fiction. All of the other characters, names, and events as well as all places, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
 
 
iUniverse
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6632-4096-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6632-4097-2 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022910675
 
 
iUniverse rev. date: 07/13/2022
 
To Janine De Greef, who began smuggling downed airmen before the Belgian schoolgirl turned sixteen years old. By war’s end, she had returned hundreds of British and American airmen to their families. Her family saved 320 of the more than 800 Allied airmen who had survived being shot down. Unlike the 250 members of the Belgium underground who died in concentration camps, Janine survived the war and died peacefully on November 7, 2020, in Brussels.
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.
—B. T. Washington
The only difference between me and a homeless man is this job. I will do whatever it takes to survive … like I did when I was a homeless man.
—C. Bratton
CONTENTS
Part 1
Chapter 1       Bertie
Chapter 2       The Bath
Chapter 3       Education
Chapter 4       Discovery
Chapter 5       Wasagasse
Chapter 6       Lessons
Chapter 7       Gerta
Chapter 8       Independence
Chapter 9       Eva … or Ava?
Chapter 10     Partners
Chapter 11     The Chuppah
Chapter 12     Seduction
Chapter 13     Goodbye
Chapter 14     Shloshim
Chapter 15     New York
 
Part 2
Chapter 1       Elisabeth
Chapter 2       Ruth
Chapter 3       Nightmares
Chapter 4       Anschluss
Chapter 5       Death Ray
Chapter 6       Hohenbaden
Chapter 7       The Inspection
Chapter 8       Billy Ray and Nigel
Chapter 9       The Box
Chapter 10     Explosion
Chapter 11     Solitude
Chapter 12     Hans
Chapter 13     Washington
Chapter 14     Wirtschaftswunder
Chapter 15     Reunions
Chapter 16     The Date
Chapter 17     Goodbyes
PART 1

CHAPTER 1

Bertie
1907
After the unexpected blow to the back of Willi’s head, his first semiconscious thought is of the water thrown into his face to revive him. The water is cold, but the temperature of the water doesn’t bother him nearly as much as its putrid smell and taste do. Willi thinks, Whoever threw this water must have scooped it up from the gutter . It’s filled with not only human trash and garbage but also the waste of horses and stray dogs.
Willi attempts to spit out the foul taste and rub the burning sensation out of his eyes. He must regain full consciousness as quickly as possible before another blow can drive him down to the ground again. That would finish this fight. He needs time for his brain to reengage, for his vision to return. Rolling over to his hands and knees, he shakes his head to clear the fog out of his mind. Think! A plan! The texture of the cobbled sidewalk is hard to balance on.
Now he feels the metal toe of a heavy jackboot crashing into his right side, accompanied by the cracking of bones and the unbearable rush of pain. His arms and legs give out. He’s flat on his stomach, facedown and helpless again. I don’t know which is worse—the pain in my side, the fog in my mind, or that I can’t take a deep breath . His mind is clearing enough that he knows he must do something drastic, or he will be killed by this monster. Don’t get up so fast , he tells himself . Stall for time—time to think and plan . He must ignore the pain.
Willi slowly rises to his hands and knees to gain some time and not look ready to continue the engagement. He needs time. But he has only a few seconds to think. Now he sees his opponent clearly for the first time. He’s a Strassenkinder , just like me, but a little older and a lot bigger and stronger. I can’t win this fight through strength or size—only with a plan, with strategy. The aggressor preens and struts overconfidently like a victorious prizefighter, arms raised in a victory salute. He starts taunting Willi, poking and pushing him. He obviously wants to put on a show to demonstrate his dominance for the growing audience of urchins . The larger boy needs to demonstrate his superiority, his higher ranking in the informal hierarchy of Vienna’s street culture. This is his chance for respect, bragging rights, and dominance. Half the street urchins watching the fight cheer him on for a quick finish. The other half yell for Willi to get up and fight back.
Willi slowly rises to his feet, but his knees are still wobbly. He needs more time to clear the fog and think of a plan . He always has a plan. As his vision clears, he looks more closely at the big boy and asks himself, Who is he? Willi does not recognize the man-boy standing in front of him and figures he must have come over from Gumpendorf, a nearby neighborhood. The street children of this area follow Willi’s lead. He is the leader by default in this area of Mariahilf, and all leaders can expect challengers. Willi also recognizes his mistake in venturing too far east to the park that separates his district and the other neighborhoods. While this is neutral territory, it is also a free-fight zone. This is where challenges are settled. The mainly dirt park is all that remains of a once-grassy area. Like the street children who inhabit it, maintenance has been ignored. The only thing green are infrequent weeds scattered among the trash dumped by the locals. It is barren—even the streets surrounding the park have closed storefronts.
As the attacker dances around Willi, laughing and poking at him, Willi remains in a low, crouched ready position, turning in sync with the bigger boy so that he is always facing him. Willi knows that to stand erect will signal that he is ready to resume the fight. But he must come up with a plan first. Having lived on the streets for his entire life, he knows full well the dire consequences of losing the fight. Not only would my home block be embarrassed, but I would also become his subject and be required to do his bidding. I would lose all status and respect. This is the law of the street: the powerful control the weak. It’s true of animals and of humans. Someday soon, Willi will learn that this is how the whole world works. If one is to rise to the top, one has to challenge and defeat many rivals.
Willi is still staring at this overconfident opponent. A plan , he thinks . I need a plan . I must be smart. How can he use this brute’s weakness to overcome him? What is his weakness, anyway? Willi sees his opponent strutting and playing to the crowd of young boys. This takes his attention away from Willi. The plan! Next time he turns his back and raises his hands into the air—attack. Attack from the rear, and attack high. Wrap my arms in front of and through his and lock my fingers together behind his head. Push his head forward. Hard. Willi has been in enough street fights to know that the body goes where the head leads. A quick kick into the back of one knee should take him to the ground. Finally, drive his face forward into the cobblestones with all my weight. If this doesn’t work, and he stands up, my next plan is to run.
The aggressor turns away from Willi for the cheers from the group of boys who followed him into the park. Now! Willi springs up from his coiled position, slips his arms in front of the upraised arms of his opponent, and twines his fingers together behind a large head. Before the other boy can react, Willi pulls his own elbows back and feels the boy’s dirty hair press against his face. The smell of the opponent is a mixture of sweat and boiled cabbage. Willi kicks into the back of his left knee, which immediately buckles. Both boys fall forward toward the sidewalk, with Willi straddling his opponent like a horseman. The other boy’s face makes a sickening thud and then a crunching noise as it contacts the sharp edge of the stone curb. Willi immediately dismounts and steps back. Oh, please, I hope this works , Willi prays . The other boy groans and slowly brings himself up to all fours.
Willi takes a second to look around. Which alleyway is the best and safest? He looks over his shoulder and identifies his escape route. The other boy lets out one last groan