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jenjanet's review
3.0
I wanted to read this book originally because I was interested in the subject matter. The subject was very fascinating, and delves into the lives of 5 specific courtesans living in England and France. Through those 5 examples, the author gives a lot of background information about what it was like to live in that world and time period.
There are a lot of details about the money they spent, and their lovers/patrons which I enjoyed and I definitely felt that I learned a lot.
However I gave it 3 stars, because I felt that the writing was hard to follow at times for someone who does not know a lot about English and French history. The author assumed the reader is already quite educated about this, and as I was not, I ended up googling a lot of things. The author also uses a lot of French words to describe things but then doesn't really explain them further and at times, I did not understand what she meant. (I never studied French). It is not a difficult read otherwise; I got the idea. But it was a bit frustrating that the author assumed so much of the average reader.
The writing also goes off on many tangents that may not completely serve the story, or at least, were too lengthy.
Overall I don't feel there are many books on this subject or these specific women - therefore it's a great read. If you want to learn more about history it's also fantastic. The lives of these women were fascinating to learn about and it's cool that so much of their stories survived from written letters and diaries of those around them, and their own diaries. I would have actually liked learning more about how the author wrote this book, what research she did etc. I wish she had talked about that a bit - I assume she read many diaries and letters from these courtesans and their friends and that process would be fascinating to learn about.
There are a lot of details about the money they spent, and their lovers/patrons which I enjoyed and I definitely felt that I learned a lot.
However I gave it 3 stars, because I felt that the writing was hard to follow at times for someone who does not know a lot about English and French history. The author assumed the reader is already quite educated about this, and as I was not, I ended up googling a lot of things. The author also uses a lot of French words to describe things but then doesn't really explain them further and at times, I did not understand what she meant. (I never studied French). It is not a difficult read otherwise; I got the idea. But it was a bit frustrating that the author assumed so much of the average reader.
The writing also goes off on many tangents that may not completely serve the story, or at least, were too lengthy.
Overall I don't feel there are many books on this subject or these specific women - therefore it's a great read. If you want to learn more about history it's also fantastic. The lives of these women were fascinating to learn about and it's cool that so much of their stories survived from written letters and diaries of those around them, and their own diaries. I would have actually liked learning more about how the author wrote this book, what research she did etc. I wish she had talked about that a bit - I assume she read many diaries and letters from these courtesans and their friends and that process would be fascinating to learn about.
biajo83's review
3.0
I found it to be quite an interesting read. A look into the history of 4 remarkable women who lived for pleasure. I have added a few other book to my reading list after reading this one.
It is a bit dry in places, and run a little long near the middle with some of the bios. But all in all, an interesting look at some of the women of the 18th and 19 century.
It is a bit dry in places, and run a little long near the middle with some of the bios. But all in all, an interesting look at some of the women of the 18th and 19 century.
mapsco1984's review
2.0
Nominally follows the lives of 5 renowned courtesans starting in the late 18th century through the beginning of the 20th century.
But for a book about courtesans, and with a subtitle like Money, Sex and Fame in the Nineteenth Century, this is a remarkably dry book. I knew I was in trouble when somewhere within Harriet Wilson's biography we took a sharp left turn onto the history of underwear.
But for a book about courtesans, and with a subtitle like Money, Sex and Fame in the Nineteenth Century, this is a remarkably dry book. I knew I was in trouble when somewhere within Harriet Wilson's biography we took a sharp left turn onto the history of underwear.
apechild's review against another edition
5.0
My 2007 bookcrossing review:
This was an absolutely fantastic read. A look into a side of history from this period that you sometimes could forget existed (getting lost in Jane Austen world).
The book is like a collection of biographies on five of the most well-known British courtesans from the 17 and 1800s, all from different backgrounds, getting into prostitution for different reasons and having different experiences.
1. Sophia Baddeley - going from actress to courtesan, and having a very serious spending problem. And an interesting relationship with Mrs Steele who lived with her for a long time almost like a paid companion - also jealous and a bit of a control-freak. And ended up publishing her memoirs on Sophia's life. Something reminiscent there of the relationship in Notes on a Scandal
2. Elizabeth Armistead - actually a really sweet story of her relationship with the politician Mr Fox - so genuine it could restore your faith in the fact that there are decent people out there.
3. Harriette Wilson - Having seen her parents' miserable marriage together, she went into this trade out of choice in order to be an independant woman.
4. Cora Pearl - extravagant, flamboyant and to be honest, a bit of an exhibitionist - brit living in Paris, not the most attractive woman ever, but very successful at what she did.
5. Catherine Walters - very keen on her horses and hunting, successful... bit dull out of the five to be honest.
The double standards are frustrating - the fact that women were either in one land (good, righteous wife - or timid chaste girl - never having any sexual desires) or the prostitute on whatever level - and women from either side could never have anything to do with one another and could never go to the places where one type of woman went. And yet men, from all levels of society could hop from one land to the other as and when and this was perfectly acceptable!
You could get a little bit of a rose tinted view of the sex trade from this book I think though. Because despite these "success" stories, imagine the hundreds and thousands of women working as prostitutes who would have been used and abused and lived in poverty all their lives.
This was an absolutely fantastic read. A look into a side of history from this period that you sometimes could forget existed (getting lost in Jane Austen world).
The book is like a collection of biographies on five of the most well-known British courtesans from the 17 and 1800s, all from different backgrounds, getting into prostitution for different reasons and having different experiences.
1. Sophia Baddeley - going from actress to courtesan, and having a very serious spending problem. And an interesting relationship with Mrs Steele who lived with her for a long time almost like a paid companion - also jealous and a bit of a control-freak. And ended up publishing her memoirs on Sophia's life. Something reminiscent there of the relationship in Notes on a Scandal
2. Elizabeth Armistead - actually a really sweet story of her relationship with the politician Mr Fox - so genuine it could restore your faith in the fact that there are decent people out there.
3. Harriette Wilson - Having seen her parents' miserable marriage together, she went into this trade out of choice in order to be an independant woman.
4. Cora Pearl - extravagant, flamboyant and to be honest, a bit of an exhibitionist - brit living in Paris, not the most attractive woman ever, but very successful at what she did.
5. Catherine Walters - very keen on her horses and hunting, successful... bit dull out of the five to be honest.
The double standards are frustrating - the fact that women were either in one land (good, righteous wife - or timid chaste girl - never having any sexual desires) or the prostitute on whatever level - and women from either side could never have anything to do with one another and could never go to the places where one type of woman went. And yet men, from all levels of society could hop from one land to the other as and when and this was perfectly acceptable!
You could get a little bit of a rose tinted view of the sex trade from this book I think though. Because despite these "success" stories, imagine the hundreds and thousands of women working as prostitutes who would have been used and abused and lived in poverty all their lives.
internetnomads's review
4.0
Not gonna lie, the lives of 19th century courtesans sound fun as hell. They were covered in diamonds and threw epic parties. Certainly more fun than the "nice" women were having at the time.
heather_freshparchment's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
friendofgosig's review against another edition
3.75
Lots of this book was very interesting and on the whole it was well-written, but I felt that it wasn’t sure what it wanted to be. Structurally it covers the biography of five courtesans, but it is both more and less than that. The reason for this I think is just the fact that there is not that much evidence about some of the women she was writing about, and so a lot of time is spent describing the experiences of other women, and the men in their lives. Often the sources are limited to one or maybe two points of view for the whole biography, and though the author does acknowledge the bias in some of her sources, that does not really change the limitations to her vision.