Courtesans [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Katie Hickman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

This title tells of the extraordinary lives and times of a small group of women who, during the course of the 19th century, rose from impoverished obscurity to become some of the most powerful, independent and wealthy women the world had ever seen. These were women who took control of their lives - and those of other people - and made the world do their will. Men ruined themselves in desperate attempts to gain and retain a courtesan's favours, but a courtesan was always courted for far more than sex. In an age in which women were generally not well educated, a courtesan was often unusually literate and literary and so was courted for her conversation as well as her physical company. Courtesans were extremely accomplished and, in the 19th century, exerted a powerful influence as leaders of fashion and society. They were not received at Court, and inhabited their own parallel world - the demi-monde - complete with its own hierarchies, etiquette and protocol, but nonetheless even to be seen in public with one of the great courtesans was a much-envied achievement. This text focuses on the stories of four outstanding women, each told as a mini-biography. Harriet Wilson, Lola Montez, Cora Pearl and Catherine Walters were women of very different personalities and talents. Spanning just over a 100 years, their lives exemplify the dazzling existence of the courtesan. They were admired by many, queens of fashion, linguists, musicians, accomplished at political intrigue and, of course, possessors of great erotic gifts.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Daughters of Britannia: 'This is a delightful and exceptionally well-written book, funny, lively and warm-hearted.' Philip Ziegler, Daily Telegraph 'This is a lovely book: affectionate, celebratory and as conscious of the glory as the hardship. These women lived; they saw dolphins in the Bosphorous at dawn, took tea with empresses, watched eclipses in Turkistan. And they were so lonely that they wrote it all down.' Libby Purves, Sunday Times

About the Author

Katie Hickman was born into a diplomatic family in 1969 and has spent more than twenty-five years living abroad in Europe, the Far East and Latin America. She is the author of the bestselling Daughters of Britannia. She has also been short listed for the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award for A Trip to the Light Fantastic, to be reissued as Travels with a Circus and was short listed for the Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year for her novel The Quetzal Summer.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper Collins; illustrated edition edition (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007113919
• ISBN-13: 978-0007113910
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #843,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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