Courtesans: Money, Sex and Fame in the Nineteenth Century [Hardcover]

Katie Hickman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2003

During the course of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries a small group of women rose from impoverished obscurity to positions of great power, independence and wealth. In doing so they took control of their lives -- and those of other people -- and made the world do their will.

Men went to great lengths in desperate attempts to gain and retain a courtesan's favors, but she was always courted for far more than sex. In an age in which women were generally not well educated she was often unusually literate and literary, and courted for her conversation as well as her physical company. Courtesans were extremely accomplished and exerted a powerful influence as leaders of fashion and society. They were not received at court, but inhabited their own parallel world -- the demimonde -- complete with its own hierarchies, etiquette and protocol. They were queens of fashion, linguists, musicians, accomplished at political intrigue and, of course, possessors of great erotic gifts. Even to be seen in public with one of the great courtesans was a much-envied achievement.

In this riveting social biography, Katie Hickman focuses on five outstanding women -- Sophia Baddeley, Elizabeth Armistead, Harriette Wilson, Cora Pearl and Catherine Walters -- each of whose lives exemplifies the dazzling existence of the courtesan. She reveals their extraordinary exploits -- including their stints in Paris, New York and California -- and offers insights into the glamorous history of courtesan life.

Editorial Reviews

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.

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

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition edition (November 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0066209552
• ISBN-13: 978-0066209555
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #615,332 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rarely covered segment of history, June 28, 2004

By 

Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Courtesans: Money, Sex and Fame in the Nineteenth Century (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.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Grand Horizontals, February 24, 2004

By 

P A Brown (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Courtesans: Money, Sex and Fame in the Nineteenth Century (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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Biography/Social Histroy, August 5, 2004

By 

Gypsi Phillips Bates "bilbiophile" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Courtesans: Money, Sex and Fame in the Nineteenth Century (Hardcover)

Courtesans is both biography and social history. It follows the lives of five prominent English courtesans (Sophia Baddeley, Elizabeth Armistead, Harriette Wilson, Cora Pearl and Catherine Walters), giving an individual biography of each woman. The biography then forms the center of the social history, as Hickman shows British society of that time in relation to the particular courtesan--with the exception of Cora Pearl, who spent most of her time in Paris and therefore it is Parisian society that is explored.
Cora Pearl

Though there are many other courtesans equally as well-known, Hickman focused only one from each epoch of British society. She then gave briefer biographies of that courtesans friends and rivals as part of the social history.

Though short, each biography is excellently done and with them Hickman gives a surprisingly detailed account of London social life--the demi-monde as well as "real" society--over a period of nearly 150 years. Birth control, women's rights, and prostitution also receive in depth treatment by Hickman, as she constructs social history around these famous ladies.

Hickman shows the world that is excluded from most histories and thereby the reader is able to construct a fuller picture of the world of high society in London from the time of George III throughout the early 1900's. I can not recommend this book highly enough to anyone interested in the social history of Britain during these times.