The Price: My Rise and Fall As Natalia, New York's #1 Escort [Hardcover]

Natalie McLennan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2008

In this sexy, darkly funny, and surprisingly poignant memoir, famed New York call girl Natalie "Natalia" Mclennan tells her full story for the first time. A cautionary tale about a bright, confident young woman who sells her future for easy money and glamour, "The Price" takes readers inside the world of the twenty-five-year-old-girl "New York" magazine labeled "The $2,000-An-Hour Woman."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McLennan, purportedly the highest paid Manhattan call girl of her time, has an interesting story no doubt: topping out at $2,000 an hour, she made headlines in 2005 when she landed on the cover of New York magazine. In this memoir, however, the 28-year-old Montreal resident is unfortunately reticent regarding the emotional and psychological details of her sex- and drug-fueled former life. Drawn by fast money and drugs, would-be actress McLennan hooked up with Jason Itzler, owner of the New York Confidential escort service and self-proclaimed "King of All Pimps." She writes with detachment and nonchalance about both the idea and the experience of selling her body for cash (she brought along an imprint machine for clients who preferred to pay by credit card), keeping any part of the business from becoming very interesting. Published in part to capitalize on McLennan's associations with Ashley Dupre, the escort whose liaisons with former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer led to his resignation, this memoir adds little insight.
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About the Author

In 2004, Natalie McLennan (born in Montreal) began working under the name Natalia for the escort service NY Confidential. Since that time, Natalie has been a featured guest on the Today Show and Larry King Live, and has appeared in such print media as the New York Times, New York magazine, New York Post, and the Daily News.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Phoenix Books (November 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597775940
• ISBN-13: 978-1597775946
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,500 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Well Written, November 25, 2008

By 

James R. Holland "Author of Boston's Notable ... (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Price: My Rise and Fall As Natalia, New York's #1 Escort (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

When I ordered this book I thought it was about Ashley Alexandra Dupre, the sex escort that brought Eilot Spitzer's political dreams to a blazing crash landing. It wasn't, but it was about her co-worker and friend Natalie "Natalia" McLennan. It was easy for me to get the two of them mixed up because when the Spitzer news story first broke Ashely was trying to stay out of the spotlight--at least until she could turn the publicity into a boost in her singing, acting and modeling career. Natalia on the other hand was sought out to appear on "Larry King Live," "Entertainment Tonight" and "The Today Show." This book seemed at first like it was stealing Ashely's thunder, but while that may have been one of the reasons for it's publication, it will probably only help sell Ashley's own memoir when it is eventually published?
The book's "Prologue: When Natalia Met Ashley" introduces the two soon-to-be very high priced and successful call girls to each other and describes in minute detail how Ashley was easily recruited into the business by Natalia and her pimp Jason to become an important part of the "New York Confidential" Agency.
After that introduction of Ashely, Natalia begins her own tale of her journey into the Sex Escort business. As is the case with so many women caught up in the sex trade, her downfall was drug addiction. However, in Natalia's case she was pretty much a druggy before she began selling her body.
This is the story of relatively shy girl from Canada who dreams of becoming famous and eventually gets swallowed up the meat grinder of New York City. As the National Tap Dancing Champion of Canada she danced with Gregory Hines at the Montreal Jazz Festival and then began her "off-off Broadway" acting career. She is basically mesmerized by the shiny, false glitter of NYC nightlife. She was soon making $2,000 an hour by renting her body.
Anyone who finds this story interesting, which reads much like a Country Western Ballad, will probably enjoy reading "In Good Company: The Escort's Guide," "The Business Side of Escorting II: An Escorts Guide to Intelligently Running Her Business in the Cyber Age," "Call Girl" by Jeannette Angell and "The Last Madam: A Life In The New Orleans Underworld." All of these non-fiction books are surprising well written, as is this memoir. In all of those books the authors warn of the dangers of drugs and advise not falling prey to living the high life and to save money for their retirement, which will be arriving sooner than they think. (Feel free to read my Amazon Reviews of all those books). Even the most successful sex workers, some of whom actually make more money than the President of the United States is paid by the taxpayers, need to develop savings and retirement plans.
It's a shame that Natalie didn't benefit from this common sense advice, but like most people who have never made big money, she thought it would last forever. This is a good read and when Ashely's story is eventually published I'll read it as well. There are some very interesting and unexpected details about the life of a sex worker included in this volume. Sex always sells. Ask Eliot Spitzer!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, fast read, June 19, 2009

By 

Baby Jane (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Price: My Rise and Fall As Natalia, New York's #1 Escort (Hardcover)

I liked Natalie's writing style and felt drawn into the crazy life she lived as an escort. I could see where it was headed from the start, however, and was very glad to see that she was able to get out of "the life." I hope she continues to do well and I highly recommend this book as a cautionary tale to young women who want to take the fast track to making lots of money quickly. It's not worth the loss of dignity and self-esteem, and one can sense this even when it seemed like Natalie was having the time of her life.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Read, December 28, 2008

By 

P. Novak - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Price: My Rise and Fall As Natalia, New York's #1 Escort (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

I chose this product to try something outside of my normal topics of interest. This book was certainly interesting. The author has a unique writing style, very similar to how you would imagine her talking to a friend. It was very informal and accessible after getting used to it in a couple of pages. The author doesn't get into great details about her escapades, and the drug use was just written about in the same way that most of us would write "I tied my shoes." It was just seen as part of her day.

Reading the book I felt the author was trying to provide her own form of therapy, and/or score a new source of income. She didn't seem to be asking for pity which is something to respect. She took ownership of her decisions, and in retrospect seemed to gave a good grasp of her past. The one thing I wish she had covered was how she started doing drugs, from page one it seems they are always just there, and no big deal.

Overall this was a quick, illuminating read about a world most of us could not imagine existed.