Courtesans
'Irresistible...history at its most human. Elegant and addictively readable.' William Dalrymple During the course of the 18th- and 19th-century 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 gain and retain a courtesan's favours, but she was always courted for far more than sex. In an age in which women were generally not well educated she was often unusually literate and literary, courted for her conversation as well as her physical company. Courtesans were extremely accomplished, and exerted a powerful influence as leaders of fashion and society.
'Irresistible...history at its most human. Elegant and addictively readable.' William Dalrymple During the course of the 18th- and 19th-century 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 gain and retain a courtesan's favours, but she was always courted for far more than sex. In an age in which women were generally not well educated she was often unusually literate and literary, courted for her conversation as well as her physical company. Courtesans were extremely accomplished, and exerted a powerful influence as leaders of fashion and society. They were not received at Court, but inhabited their own parallel world - the demi-monde - complete with its own hierarchies, etiquette and protocol.
| Author | Katie Hickman |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperCollins UK |
| Place | London |
| Year | 2004 |
| ISBN | 9780007113927 |
| Binding | Paperback |
| Condition | Good |
| Comments | Yellowed pages |
How we describe the condition of our books
We are very proud of the condition of the books we sell (please read our testimonials to find out more!)
New: Exactly as it says.
As New: Pretty much new but shows small signs of having been read; inside it will be clean without any inscriptions or stamps; might contain a remainder mark.
Very Good: Might have some creases on the spine; no hard cracks; maybe slight forward lean and short inscription inside; perhaps very minor bumping on the corners of the book; inside clean but the page edges might be slightly yellowed.
Good: A few creases on the spine, perhaps a forward lean, bumping on corners or shelfwear; maybe an inscription inside or some shelfwear or a small tear or two on the dustjacket; inside clean but page edges might be somewhat yellowed.
Fair: In overall good condition, might have a severe forward lean to the spine, an inscription, bumping to corners; one or two folds on the covers and yellowed pages; in exceptional cases these books might contain some library stamps and stickers or have neat sticky tape which was used to fix a short, closed tear.
Poor: We rarely sell poor condition books, unless the books are in demand and difficult to find in a better condition. Poor condition books are still perfect for a good read, all pages will be intact and none threatening to fall out; most probably a reading copy only.