Customer Reviews

I Came Up Stairs: A Victorian Courtesan's Memoirs, 1867 to 1871

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The power in I Came Upstairs in its simplicity. It's a tale of survival, and of the costs. MC Halliday writes historical material with authority, her prose is smooth, and the erotica tasteful, even if some of the characters are reprehensible. I fell in love with Marissa.

The opening quote,

"I came up stairs into the world, for I was born in a cellar." Love for Love - William Congreve (1670-1729)

says it all about the memoirs of a Victorian courtesan's life.

Mabel Gray climbs from the bowels of poverty to become Marisa Montague, a temptress who dares do a dance of seduction before the earls, princes, and common men of society London during 1867-1871. You may have heard the saying "sow's ear into a silk purse," and that's exactly what happens when Roger Vickers discovers a filthy young woman huddling against the rain in an alcove outside a butcher shop. Mabel Gray ceases to exist, begins a life she never expected to live, and finds appreciation she's never known.

Although this book may be considered highly erotic, with vivid sexual descriptions and reality, the writing is done with such flawlessness, you'll be unable to stop reading until the end. The internal conflict drives the plot and spurs Mabel/Marisa to fill the needs never met during childhood. One of a family of seven, living in squalor, and a home infested with rats, Mabel would sooner die of cholera than continue her horrid existence. Roger Vickers has an ulterior motive when he lures her away, but his creation exceeds even his own expectations.

MC Halliday will pull you in from the first page and hold you hostage. Even if you've found sexual stories distasteful, this one, written as a memoir, allows you to peek into someone's diary and you won't want to miss a page. This book comes with a highest recommendation and an expression of surprise that a big-name publisher hasn't snapped up this awesome author.

I Came Up Stairs is available now at Eternal Press in download format or at Amazon.com in print. The book is also available for Kindle users.

This is the entire review I posted on my examiner.com column at [...]

MC Halliday writes with conviction. Peeking into the diary of Mae and reading about her rise in the social strata from the filthiest slums to become a renown courtesan is both chilling and admirable. The inner struggle of her day to day life is a gripping read. Ms. Halliday knows her time period and brings readers into the settings, dress, and modes of the historical 1800's.
The memoir is a must read for the erotica historical fiction fans.
I am eagerly awaiting the next thrilling novel from MC Halliday.

I liked this book. Although it was a generally predictable story, I did like the appearance of the women who were the wives of the men Marisa Montague took as lovers; one being the Duke of Wales. I did find the part of the book where Marisa and her two servant girls played with one another in view of other servants in Marisa's country home, a little unrealistic. It didn't somehow ring true. However, this is fiction and a Victorian tale, so who knows if these things actually happened. A good introduction to erotic writing.

I couldn't put this one down. The wonderful rags to riches story of Mae Gray as she climbs her way up from the gutters of London to the company of royals! Set in Victorian, England, MC Halliday, does it again! She takes the reader on a highly-entertaining, highly-sensual, page-turning journey with many a great lesson to learn. Beautifully written, I hope that there will be a sequel!