Karen Abbott is an American author and historian who specializes in writing about forgotten women in history. She is best known for her New York Times best-selling books Sin in the Second City and American Rose. Abbott was born in Philadelphia and grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a degree in English literature. After college, she worked as a journalist for Philadelphia Magazine and The Philadelphia Inquirer. In 2004, Abbott published her first book, Sin in the Second City, which tells the story of the Everleigh sisters, two madams who ran a high-end brothel in Chicago during the early 1900s. The book was a New York Times bestseller and was named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post. In 2010, Abbott published her second book, American Rose, which tells the story of Gypsy Rose Lee, a burlesque dancer and actress in the 1930s. The book was also a New York Times bestseller and was named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times. Abbott has also written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. She has appeared on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and NPR. She currently lives in Philadelphia with her husband and two children.