VETERAN MADAM W h e n Hamlet told Ophelia, "Get thee
to a nunnery," Shakespeare scholars
BRANDY BALDWIN say, he was really urging her to go to a
brothel, not a convent. There was no
PAYS FOR such double-talk when San Francisco
Judge Daniel Hanlon told Marlene Bald-
HER SINS win, 40, the same thing. "I suggest Miss
Baldwin find her way to the right nun-
—IN A CONVENT nery," he said from the bench, "or she
could end up in state prison." "Bran-
dy" Baldwin has long been one of San
Francisco's best-known brothel keep-
ers. With her fourth conviction for
offenses related to prostitution last
month, she seemed headed inevitably
for the big house. While waiting to make
bail, however, Baldwin came in contact
with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd,
a 339-year-old Catholic order devoted
to helping women in trouble. After
they put in a good word with Judge Han-
lon, Brandy Baldwin found herself
doing an unexpected penance—a 90-
day sentence at Gracenter, a home run
by the sisters. "Has Brandy put on a
habit yet?" joked one reporter. "Well,
she has a habit," answered Sister Mary
Columba, administrator of the convent,
"but she's trying to break it here."
A Mormon from Boise, Idaho, Bald-
win was a computer programmer
before she decided to try a more an-
cient profession in the 1960s. As a
madam, she closed four establish-
ments after police raids—and was
almost killed when she fell from a third-
floor window during a 1973 arrest. Soon
after, she lost custody of her daugh-
ter, now 13, from a marriage that had
ended in divorce. She claims the
injuries from the accident robbed her
of any ability to feel sex; in any case,
her health was a crucial factor in
the judge's decision to remand her to
the care of the nuns.
In the convent Brandy's life has been
transformed—at least for now. She ris-
es every morning at 6:30, does house-
hold chores, then leaves at 9 for a
small office she rents in nearby Marin
County, where she's writing a book.
"The nuns call me periodically during
the day to see if I'm there," she smiles.
Curfew at the center is early evening,
except on Friday and Saturday, when
it's 10 p.m. for everyone except new-
comers like Brandy. "I tried to watch
Dallas last Friday," she laments,
"but Sister Bernardine came in and
said, 'It's after 10; you'll have to
turn it off.' " Still, both the madam
and the sisters say the experiment is
working. "I'm their first felon," Brandy
notes. "I've wrecked my life, but now
I'm climbing out of the snake pit."
Sister Columba seems pleased with
her guest's progress. "She's been very
helpful and agreeable," says the nun.
"I wouldn't mind having a whole house-
ful of Marlenes." NANCYFABER
" W e are watched very closely," says Bald-
win on the convent grounds. "It some-
times feels like grade school."
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redisseminated without permission.