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Courtesans
Courtesans: Money, Sex and Fame in the Nineteenth Century | Katie Hickman
21 posts | 5 read | 1 reading | 14 to read
An examination of the lives of nineteenth-century Britain's demimonde offers insight into the hierarchies, etiquette, and protocols of the period's courtesans, focusing on five women of particular influence as well as the factors that contributed to their social successes and decline. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.
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LostInSpace
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Mehso-so

I felt it was too detailed in places and went off on a tangent.

Such a unstable and unsure walk of life, mostly based on youth, beauty and allure, and once those you were gone you didn‘t have much going for you. Securing a wealthy man early in life was absolutely imperative.

I felt sad for these women, rich and beautiful but all could fall down in the blink of an eye.

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LauraBrook
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Today's mail! Courtesans was through PaperbackSwap, the right is the new edition of Slightly Foxed, and the others were all from Amazon, sadly. I'm already 1/3 through with the dot to dot book, which is fun but sad bc I'll probably finish it tonight or tomorrow. Oh well, I know I have a couple around here that are unfinished.

Yay for #bookmail!

LeahBergen Murder of a Lady looks good! 7y
batsy @LeahBergen @LauraBrook Yes, it does! And the British Library Crime Classics covers are always lovely. 7y
erzascarletbookgasm Courtesans and Murder of a Lady look good! 7y
laytonwoman3rd Always a good day when the new Slightly Foxed arrives! 7y
63 likes4 comments
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batsy
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This focuses on five women, all of whom were English if memory serves me right, but some who lived in other parts of Europe. What I like about this book is that while it describes the (hard-won) #glamorous aspects of their lives, it doesn't romanticise it--these women had to overcome poverty and abuse and find ways to outwit patriarchal laws, norms. Inspiring, in a way, and a good read. #AugustGrrrl @Cinfhen

Sue Sounds interesting! 7y
Tsubame I have the impression I'd read this rather sooner than later! 7y
batsy @Sue @Tsubame Not exhaustively detailed but a good read for popular history! 7y
See All 12 Comments
LauraBrook Great review, and now I need this! #stacked 7y
batsy @LauraBrook Thank you! I recall you mentioning the TV show Harlots I think sometime back, so you might enjoy this book 👍 7y
REPollock If you want more in this vein, check out Grandes Horizontales by Virginia Rounding. I did a bunch of research reading in this area a couple years back and that was my favorite. 7y
LauraBrook @batsy Wow, you've got a great memory! (Or I was kind of shouty 😮😝) Adding it to my used bookstore shopping list! 7y
LauraBrook @REPollock Oooh, that sounds good! #stacked 7y
Cinfhen Where's @LeahBergen ?!? This book is screaming your name!!! 7y
LeahBergen @Cinfhen Haha! It is! @batsy and I previously discussed it on my last courtesan post. 😆 7y
batsy @LauraBrook Not at all shouty, just enthusiastic 😀 7y
batsy @REPollock Thanks, will look it up! 7y
75 likes5 stack adds12 comments