'

'A man will  dispute it with his dying breath, but in his secret heart, he lives to be deceived.'

 

'Anticipation is  the whetstone of desire.'

     Move over, Britney! Eat your heart out, Paris! Courtesans were the original prey of the paparazzi. These darlings of the London tabloids provided the cartoonists of their day with juicy on dits and outrageous exploits to lampoon. Top-tier 'birds of paradise' demanded and received generous stipends, clothing allowances, jewels, houses, a box at the opera and endless diversions from their well-placed protectors. When the relationship ran its course, these astute businesswomen often had negotiated an annuity to comfort them in retirement.

     A few even managed to marry their wealthy and powerful patrons. After a ten year affair, Mrs. Elizabeth Armistead wed Charles James Fox, a well-connected member of Parliament, in 1795. However, the scandalous marriage was kept secret until 1802.

     But the story did not end so happily for most women who exchanged their sexual favors for money. Many were abandoned if they became pregnant or were infected with venereal disease. When age stole their beauty, many were reduced to streetwalking or working in match factories where the unsafe chemicals caused a disfiguring fatal disease known as 'fossy jaw.' Only a handful of the truly clever ones made the life-style work for them long-term.

So what did a courtesan do?

Other than the obvious.

She most likely slept till noon. Folk of quality always kept latehours and a courtesan mimicked the nobility as much as possible in lifestyle and deportment. She'd rise and have a leisurely breakfast en suite, probably a pot of chocolate and a plate of scones. She'd read the tabloids, hoping for a mention. Like men who often kept their eyes peeled for a younger, more beautiful companion, a courtesan hoped to entice an ever more wealthy, politically well-connected patron.

If she was clever, and realistic, she negotiated a pension at the beginning of the relationship. An enterprising courtesan often collected pensions from multiple patrons. A contract spelling out the level of support she might expect, including an annuity for whatever children might accidentally result from the liaison, would be duly drawn up and signed.

In the 18th century, childbed was no light matter. And pregnancy would interfere with a courtesan's ability to be an ornament to her patron's arm. So a clever courtesan would be armed with the best available contraceptives of the day. Condoms, also known as French letters or English Riding Coats,  were originally made of fine linen and later from sheep entrails. They were designed to be cleaned and re-used. Some women used oral remedies--seeds of Queen Anne’s lace, pennyroyal, giant fennel, and many other concoctions as contraceptives or methods of inducing miscarriage--but these were often dangerous or even fatal brews. Bearing the child in a obscurity and then fostering it out was the usual solution to an unwanted pregnancy.

The main difference between a common prostitute and a top-tier courtesan was her education. Refined, possessed of exquisite taste, these women knew how to entertain both in and out of the boudoir. They weren't necessarily the greatest beauties of their age, but they were without doubt the wittiest, most engaging company. At the opening of most chapters in VEXING THE VISCOUNT, I've included a quote from Mlle. La Tour's memoirs.

Here's another sample of Blanche's observations:

 

'Women have been gifted with a sensual nature, with a capacity for pleasure as acute as any man’s. And an ability to beguile and seduce. To deny this, is to deny our birthright  as Daughters of Eve.’   ~ from the journal of Blanche La Tour, Woman of Pleasure   Available NOW at Amazon, Barnes & Noble , Borders , Books-a-million! Signed copies available at BookOasis.