- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: William Morrow (Nov 13 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0066209552
- ISBN-13: 978-0066209555
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 3.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 671 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #876,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Nothing quite catches the eye like the promise of sex. This tease of a book (a pleasing companion to Virginia Rounding's more scholarly Les Grandes Horizontales, published earlier this year) follows five prominent "fallen" Englishwomen across the long 19th century, tracing individual lives and changing societal attitudes. Patterns emerge of how women entered and left the profession, along with insight into the comparative public lives of men and women, the legal status of many long-term relationships, and the interesting habit of "kept" women taking the name of their first major client, oddly like slaves of the American South taking their masters' names. All through, Hickman (Daughters of Britannia: The Lives and Times of Diplomatic Wives) seems as interested in the finances of the demimonde as many of her subjects are, but it's unclear whether she intends this as a measure of courtesans' value in a market or whether she has simply become as fascinated as contemporary observers were with dinners, jewels and fashions. Her chatty footnotes catch the reader up on the gossip and personalities of the time and elaborately link characters across the different narratives. Occasionally, her central figures get lost in the discussion of their associates, rivals, clients, cooks and dressmakers. Her account of Elizabeth Armistead, in particular, lingers as much on Armistead's famed protector and later husband, the Whig politician Charles Fox, as on the woman herself. Hickman addresses issues of attraction and sex appeal as best she can from her sources, but frankly, one is left wondering what happened in the bedroom. Was all of the courtesan's charm in the seduction? 16 pages of color photos not seen by PW.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Hickman has penned a collective biography of five of the nineteenth century's most intriguing and influential women. Though their names might not be readily familiar, Sophia Baddeley, Elizabeth Armistead, Harriette Wilson, Cora Pearl, and Catherine Walters wielded tremendous power during their heyday. In an era when men unquestionably dominated the spheres of business, education, and government, intelligent, desirable courtesans were able to rise above the restrictions placed on conventional women, reveling in their exceptional status as the most sought-after creatures in that curious shadow society, the demimonde. Exploiting their wit, their charm, and their originality, these women brokered their sexual, intellectual, and financial independence, bringing kings, artists, and power brokers to their knees without lifting so much as a finger. Serving as a microcosm of the courtesan phenomenon, these fascinating life stories provide a provocative slice of social history. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
'WE NOW BEGAN to think of the masquerade,' wrote Eliza Steele comfortably in her long and gossipy memoir of the life of Sophia Baddeley, and we settled it that Mrs Baddeley should go in the character of Juliet, and I in that of the Nurse. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
'WE NOW BEGAN to think of the masquerade,' wrote Eliza Steele comfortably in her long and gossipy memoir of the life of Sophia Baddeley, and we settled it that Mrs Baddeley should go in the character of Juliet, and I in that of the Nurse. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A rarely covered segment of history,
By
This review is from: Courtesans (Hardcover)
This is a well researched and well written account of a segment of society rarely covered in detail by historians. While it gives extensive details of five particular courtesans over a 150-year period of time, contrasting their beginnings, life styles, and societies of the time, the author has also included information on other courtesans as well as introductory material on the role of courtesans in the social structure.Real courtesans were not prostitutes, as indicated by another reviewer. They held a higher place in the social structure. In a way they were mistresses, but sometimes had more than one patron. Unlike prostitutes, they were independent, i.e, they did not have a pimp or madam. They received callers of their own choosing at their own residence, or sometimes traveled with patrons. It was helpful to be pretty, but important to be intelligent, amusing, charming, and a good companion. They preferred patrons with the same attributes, but a patron also had to have money. Courtesans tended to have extravagant lifestyles. It was not uncommon for men to provide them with a life annuity. For men, it was a sign of social status to be able to afford a courtesan, providing her with a house, a carriage, horses, jewels, money for fancy clothing, etc. The account provides a good look at the society and politics of the time period. It also illustrates the double standard, where a married man could openly have a mistress, but a married woman involved with another man could be turned out into the street in the middle of the night to live or die. For a look at a French courtesan, see the motion picture "Camille," although be forewarned that the motion picture has a sad ending that may make you cry. For something more upbeat, the motion picture "Gigi" is about a young woman being trained by her grandmother to be a courtesan. For contrast, the motion picture "Irma La Douce" is a lighthearted look at a French prostitute. All of these are set in Paris.
5.0 out of 5 stars
5 Women of the demi-monde,
By
This review is from: Courtesans (Hardcover)
This is a well-written book concerning a sub-genre of women in the late 18th to early 20th centuries: the courtesans, or women who used their sexual allure to attract men to give them financial backing for their extravagent lifestyles. It's a fascinating glimpse into another type of life, and what amazed me is the avidity with which the careers of these women were followed by the majority of people of the time. In an age that didn't boast supermarket tabloids, the "respectable" newspapers ocasionally had articles about these women and their exploits. There was, to be truthful, a double standard operating here: a woman courtesan was not necessarily welcome everywhere in "polite society", but a man who dallied openly outside of his marriage vows had no such shunning problem. Have we advanced more in our supposedly "enlightened" days? I guess so, but it's not much of a gain for us, I believe. Read this book to get a feel for a style of life that's gone now, but is very interesting all the same.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Grand Horizontals,
By
This review is from: Courtesans (Hardcover)
This gripping biography of the British courtesans in the late 18th to early 20th centuries is more about power than money or sex as the title indicates. There is nothing here to titilate. These women, all different in approach and appreciation, wielded great influence in a man's world, relying on little more than their intellect and allure.The historical asides offered by Hickman are as fascinating as the mini-biographies of the five women profiled. Make no doubt about it, whatever the outcome in the long run, each of these women were successful businesswomen within the context of their era. What they were not is common drabs or politicized activists. A sister book, "Grande Horizontales," about French grand courtesans of the same age (including a profile of Cora Pearl, a British woman in France), is not nearly as well written nor captivating. Still the subject, with its whiff of decadence and luxe glamour, is absorbing.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > History > Europe > England > 19th Century
- Books > Literature & Fiction > Canadian
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Humanities > History > Europe
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Social Sciences > Anthropology
- Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Anthropology > Cultural
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
