Grandes Horizontales The Lives and Legends of Four Nineteenth-Century Courtesans

by Rounding, Virginia

• ISBN13: 9781582344508
• ISBN10: 1582344507
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-09-13
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Summary

In nineteenth-century Paris, the pampered demimonde became almost indistinguishable from the haut monde, with mythical reputations growing up around its most alluring and favored celebrities. Grandes Horizantales examines the lives of four of the era's best-known courtesans-Marie Duplessis, La Preacute;sidente, La Paiuml;va, and Cora Pearl-and the men who were their lovers, providing a provocative look into the parlors and boudoirs of the women whose lives became legends.

Author Biography

Virginia Rounding is a writer, poet, and translator who lives in London.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction The Demi-monde	1	(8)
Prostitutes and Prostitution in Nineteenth-century Paris	9	(22)
The Life of Marie Duplessis	31	(24)
La Dame aux camelias	55	(20)
The Creation of La Paiva	75	(22)
La Femme piquee par un serpent	97	(12)
Salons	109	(24)
Les Fleurs du mal	133	(22)
Rebuilding	155	(20)
The Hotel Paiva	175	(20)
The English Beauty of the French Empire	195	(34)
Putting on a Show	229	(24)
The Collapse of Empire	253	(16)
La Femme de Claude	269	(16)
Last Years	285	(22)
Conclusion Seen and Unseen	307	(10)
Select Bibliography	317	(12)
Index	329