Courtesans

An account of the great English courtesans and their glittering era, by the author of 'Daughters Of Britannia'.

During the course of the 18th and 19th 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 ruined themselves in desperate attempts to attract a courtesan's favours. Unusually literate and literary in an age in which women were generally not well educated, a courtesan was often courted for her conversation as well as her physical company.

Courtesans were queens of fashion, linguists, musicians, accomplished at political intrigue and, of course, possessors of great erotic gifts. They were not received at Court, but inhabited their own parallel demi-monde - complete with its own hierarchies, etiquette and protocol. Even to be seen in public with one of the great courtesans was a much-envied achievement.

In this book, Katie Hickman focuses on the exceptional stories of five outstanding women. Sophia Baddeley, Elizabeth Armistead, Harriette Wilson, Cora Pearl and Catherine Waiters may have had very different personalities and talents, but their lives exemplify the dazzling existence of the courtesan.