COURTESANS. **

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/NFINE.No owner inscrptn, and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,colour pictorial illustrated picture [of Sarah Bernhardt in the role of the Queen in Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo,1879 by George Clairin (1843-1919)] to upper panel and repeated to spine/backstrip and round to rear panel; with negligible shelf-wear to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Majority of minimal creasing is to top edges with miniscule bumping and reciprocal creasing to head of spine/backstrip of dw/dj.Top edges slightly dust-soiled with some minimal sporadic foxing/spotting,fore-edges brighter,crisper and cleaner; contents bright,tight
and near pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips - possibly unread? Publisher's bright, crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,original,plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip,a pale yellow headband,and immaculate plain,pale yellow endpapers,and the book is lightly cocked.UK,8vo HB+ dw/dj,1st edn,x-xixpp+1-363pp includes illustrations list/table,author acknowledgements,author's note,a prologue,an introduction,5 chapters/biographies,profuse contemporary b/w+colour illustrations and some b/w photographs - 16pp in 2 blocks of 8pp apiece,between pp108/9 and pp236/7 respectively, a conclusion,notes,a select bibliography and an index.Plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages, a dedication,and a contents list/table.
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 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.They were queens of fashion,linguists,musicians, accomplished at political intrigue and,of course,possessors of great erotic gifts.Even to be seen in public with one of the great courtesans was a much-envied achievement.
In 'Courtesans' Katie Hickman,author of the bestselling 'Daughters of Britannia',focuses on the exceptional stories of five outstanding English women. Sophia Baddeley, Elizabeth Armistead, Harriette Wilson, Cora Pearl and Catherine Walters may have had very different personalities and talents,but their lives exemplify the dazzling existence of the courtesan.
Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!
N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if offered P+p included/FREE.
** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIR postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. 1/2 to 2/3rds of standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving long before the quoted 42 days - but not always. **