Belle's Best Bits: A London Call Girl Reveals Her Favourite Adventures

Belle de Jour #5

by Belle de Jour, Brooke Magnanti

Belle's best bits ... plus a few new asides from London's favourite call girl ... just in time for the fabulous third ITV series starring Billie Piper.

Genres: Sex Work, Memoir, Erotica, Nonfiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Brooke Magnanti is a forensic scientist and writer, who, until her identity was revealed in November 2009, was known by the pen name Belle de Jour.

While completing her doctoral thesis, in 2003 and 2004, Magnanti worked as a call girl. Her diary, published as the anonymous blog Belle de Jour: Diary of a London Call Girl became popular, as speculation surrounded the identity of Belle de Jour. Magnanti went on to The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl in 2005 and The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl in 2006. These were followed by Playing the Game, Belle de Jour's Guide to Men, and Belle's Best Bits.

In 2007, the books were adapted for TV as Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper. In November 2009, fearing her real identity was about to come out, Magnanti revealed her real name and occupation as a scientist. Her first book published under her real name was the non-fiction The Sex Myth in 2012.

Magnanti's first crime novel, The Turning Tide, will be published by Orion in 2016.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eine leichte Lektüre für Zwischendurch
Jedoch etwas oberflächlich, was mich leider auch stört sind die doch häufigen Übersetzungsfehler

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice read but it feels a bit like she recycled the ones she wrote before but perhaps if you read the books further apart it would be better. Still ☆☆☆

[Vivien Fung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saucy. Belle started off as a blogger and it shows - the book is more a mishmash of crap and gold than any sort of coherent, resolved storyline - but, you know. If anyone told me they weren't curious about what the life of a callgirl was like I would instantly peg them as a bullshitter. So, very informative in that sense. Alriiight. I wouldn't kick it out of bed.

[Muneer Uddin · Rating 1 out of 5]

One would expect a book by someone who has been as hyped as Belle du Jour to be interesting.

This book is less about Belle's "adventures" as a prostitute, and more the daily journal of a normal woman who sleeps with people for money on occasion. The book subsequently becomes like life, a sea of banality with a few islands of excitement. I expect more in a book.

Pass.

[Emma James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved reading about the requests of Belle’s ‘customers’. Felt it was an empowering read, and although we know sex work is not as glamorous as some of the stories, i still enjoyed that she seemed to be the one in control, which doesn’t seem to be the case with most sex work, unless ur a dominatrix. Nice short stories also so you can just dip in and out of.

[Cathrine · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be honest I was a bit disappointed. In the UK Belle de Jour is phenomena and for a while she was everywhere. This is suppose to be her favourite adventures, but I didn't get excited, laughed or felt anything really.

[Hrvoje · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh, shock, love. Best bits indeed, and if you choose one of the books by Belle de Jour, why not choose the one that could easily be called ”Belle's Top Hits”? And it's nice to know what happened five years later.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry to see just how much of the book was previously published.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok for a quick read. It was nice to find out what happened five years on its nice to know Belle was ok.

[Emma Andrews]

A really good read thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Book Addict Shaun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring.

[Marjorie · Rating 1 out of 5]

terrible. not funny, not entertaining.

[Becca Ladd · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's amazing how you can reread a book and you feel as if its different. loved it

[Amanda E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Belles' books are always a good light entertaining read. And it's always fun reading about other people's lives and relationships.