The Courtesans: The Demi-Monde in 19th-Century France

by Joanna Richardson

Richardson pens a colorful portrait of twelve of the most famous courtesans; women who encrusted bathroom taps with jewels, fought duels in the Bois de Boulogne, scandalized society, influenced the press and politics, and ensnared the husbands and lovers of the most beautiful women in Paris.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, France, 19th Century, Historical, Research

177 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

Reviews

[Rachel Pollock · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful overview of twelve prominent courtesans of the 2nd Empire, but like many biographies written in the mid-20th century, it suffers from a narrative voice hidebound by what reads now as bigotry and sexism. Great bibliography for tracking down primary sources

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this but slightly annoyed with all the French that wasn’t translated.

[Lucy Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, though the writing style is rather dated now.

[Alex Sarll]

Found discarded in the street - exactly where a moralising novelist would ensure its subjects ended up too (though perhaps not in Wandsworth). And in truth, some of them did, though others settled down to respectability, and a few even held on to the riches they amassed, so overall you'd be hard-pressed to claim that it had worse odds than any other mode of life in Paris' turbulent 19th century. Still, reading this 1967 book is a reminder that, for all the sixties sometimes get seen, by both fans and foes, as the beginning of the contemporary world, they were nevertheless A Very Different Time; if few historians, and certainly few female historians, would have taken quite such an unabashed interest in this topic a few years earlier, nor is it easy to imagine a modern writer this openly seduced by the extravagance, glitz, and debatably decorous misbehaviour of the Second Empire, or willing to sincerely say "French society has always given a generous place to women. It has always been an ambiance in which a woman felt delightedly feminine." Richardson's fondness for her subjects is clear; even la Païva, "the one grande horizontale who appears to have had no redeeming features", somehow earns a little grudging respect. Not that this stops her from including the muttering of those who dissented from the celebration of each woman. Normally men, funnily enough - the Goncourts in particular come across as a right little pair of two-faced bitches, making it all the more amusing that Richardson was the first non-French writer to win the prize named for them. And if, as was often the case, any of the subjects wore too many jewels at once, or worse, had the temerity to look less attractive in old age, you can be sure we'll hear about it. What the courtesans thought of each other, on the other hand, is for the most part another of the book's omissions; their relations with men, with polite society, the long-suffering Empress are faithfully recorded, but there's little hint of any friendships or rivalries which may have existed between them, and certainly not of anything more; celebrating expensive sex is one thing, but only in the abstract, and the book is oddly innocent in its avoidance of any detail more explicit than a state of undress, never mind any hint of queerness. Had it been longer, its omissions may have bothered me more, not to mention the epilogue generalising about women who sell sex with statements which some of the book's own accounts prove at best incomplete. But given its brevity, I mostly incline to regard it as a curious relic of two long-ago worlds.

[Jim Chevallier · Rating 4 out of 5]

My initial interest in this book was via my interest in nineteenth century Parisian restaurants, whose *cabinet particuliers* hosted much of the behavior associated with this elegant and erotic world. The actual stories of the courtesans are interesting enough, though often repetitive accounts of someone from a modest background making her way up into great luxury through her charms, making outrageous sums of money which she then squandered outrageously before often (though not always) dying young or ending in ruin. Most of those portrayed here seem to have been warm, even sensual enough, with the exception of the icy, single-minded La Pavia. Two made their way into literature and are important figures for that alone.
Attentive readers will also see that more than one of these women suffered rape or other abuse before beauty allowed them to escape fates which nonetheless remained those of innumerable other less glamorous women. One can easily take offense at how freely some of these women spent in a time of great poverty for many, but it is important to realize that extravagance itself was a form of marketing and that however shameful - though often glamorous at the time - their professions, these were women whose options were often severely limited. Sex was as good a tool as any in an era when talent and competence were stymied by the standards of the era.
For those with an interest in nineteenth century Paris, the book holds further interest in showing men who, however tangential they were to these women's lives, were central to French political and social life in the time - politicians, a press magnate, artists, poets, composers, etc. - The bit players in these stories played the lead roles in many aspects of French life of the time and seeing them here casts new light on men known for very different sides of their lives elsewhere.
Though I read French fluently, I too was mildly annoyed by the lack of translations, but that really shouldn't be an obstacle for any Francophile reading this book. Otherwise, the book includes a number of images of the women involved, but today a search on the Web will generally yield a far wider range.
The book is not for everyone, but if Paris in this era interests you, it is a rich read.

[Jennifer Smith-Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find the history and stories of the 19th century demimonde in France fascinating so really expected to love this book. But I was sorely disappointed, and only got less than halfway through. The author loves name-dropping other personalities from the era in the text, so it’s obvious you should be an expert to know who they are. There are also swaths of French phrases and words , untranslated. Again, the sentiment is the reader who should be a deep-dive expert in all things French before reading this. Which I’m not.

[Courtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

Dry as a bone. A large portion of it is in French without any interpretations provided. I thought the lives of these women would be fun to read because of the scandal surrounding them. However, from what I did read, they seemed mundane. Major missed opportunity here for the author. This read like a textbook.

[Vincent Hernot · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining series of portraits of those courtesans in France who so dominated society, with a couple of quips and witticisms almost worth the book alone.

[TayTerTot · Rating 3 out of 5]

its a nonfiction book, but i got like 3/4 of the way through it before my brain felt like it was melting

[William Fregosi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading this book in tandem with Grandes Horizontales: The Lives and Legends of Four Nineteenth-Century Courtesans by Virginia Rounding and rereading Alexandre Dumas fils' La Dame aux Camellias as research for a talk I'm to give on Verdi's La Traviata. Ms Richardson gives a general outline of the glittering, "decadent" 19th century in France and then profiles a dozen of the most prominent women inthe Demi-Mond, women who consorted with and influenced politicians, kings, the arts and society. Well written, with as good number of period engravings and photographs, the book is interesting social history.

[Danielle Reily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am glad I finally finished this book, I had a really hard time getting into it. I found the actual facts very interesting, but that was about all. I didn't like that there was a lot of French throughout the book, untranslated. I tried to translate for a while, but I gave up after the first half and tried to just use the context to understand. I also had difficulty in following the writer's train of thought, the stories would skip around a lot. I appreciated the comtemperary discriptions and memoirs, but they often seemed a little forced, or strangly placed within the timelines. I may just not be as interested in the time period, but this was not a book I would personally recommend.

[Yrinsyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating glimpse into the world of the courtesan (less than a mistress, more than a prostitute) in France during the 2nd Empire. This small work is a collection of recollections of the men who loved them, news/society articles, and tales from the women themselves. Although they lived ostentatious and glamourous lives (diamond encrusted soles of shoes, marble baths, lace and velvet strewn boudoirs), these women faced poverty and obscurity once they had passed the peak of their powers. An engrossing introductory read.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A scandalous account of the history of courtesans in France seemingly told as if behind a fan at an important gathering, this is slightly gossipy, yet maintains the elegance most courtesans themselves did. Some of the fun is hearing how much wealth and jewelry these courtesans amassed, and their unfortunate declines and (un)remarkable deaths. A lot of (untranslated) French spoils the fun for those of us who can't remember their semesters of study in college, but it shouldn't completely ruin this romp through the beds and bank accounts of "les grandes horizontales."

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, however I found the french lingo difficult to understand. The author throws full french sentences into the paragraphs without bothering to translate them. Does she assume that only people who know french would read about french courtesans? It would have been more enjoyable if I understood all the little french quotes and passages.

[Leyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. Reading about the different ladies was such a fun read. I read it in two days, the vignette's proved to be intriguing. I liked that there was much French in it. I used google translate to get through most of it and that added to the enjoyment of the book. I would read more of Joanna Richardson's biographies in the future, Rachel is next on the list.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fascinating read.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Surprisingly dry.

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly-written vignettes about women I've never heard of, barely sketched and hardly tied into a bigger picture. What was this, a book of grad school poster abstracts?

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

very obscure courtesans (to me anyway) was surprised how wealthy some became and also how some became street people..
from the photos ...they looked very matronly even in their twenties

[Ting · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not impressed.

[Cocobean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic portrait of the social-climbing, nouveau-riche, ambitious women who characterized the pleasure, sensuality, gaiety, and luxury of the 19th century in Paris.

[Sirena · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book about sexually empowered women in 19th century France should not be this boring. But, I suppose that is the problem with a lot of academic writing.

[Tuyet Duong · Rating 4 out of 5]

again my fascination with courtesans - what better than a catalogue of the best ones

[Roni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super enjoyable and informative!