1.5 stars

Aburrido, escrito en un lenguaje denso, falto de equilibrio en los casos que aborda, lo cual hace pensar en desidia y comodidad en ka investigación. Además trabaja una peculiarísima, y confusa concepción de qué o quiénes fueron cortesanas. ( )

The Book of the Courtesans is Susan Griffin's love letter to women of loose morals. For a book designated nonfiction, I found Griffin's writing to be more romance than history; she only peppers her daydreams of rags-to-riches courtesans and women of delightful freedom and tenacity with biographical information of the women themselves.

The title suggests a structured look at the "virtues" of courtesans throughout history, so the author's bias is neither unexpected nor unappreciated (after all, I purchased her book because of my own personal interest in the subject). For the most part, the virtues she lists are what a reader would expect from the subject matter: beauty, wit, grace. However, the author takes numerous liberties with her own structure, and includes "virtues" such as timing (which I wouldn't necessarily call a virtue), and even includes "Her Pink Rabbits" under the chapter on "Brilliance". Hhmmm.

The Book of the Courtesans is an exercise in purple prose and presumption as opposed to reliable research and true biography. While the reader will be treated to some information about the women who inspire Griffin's work, what they will largely encounter is Griffin's own romanticized imaginings of the world that these women create. ( )

I read this book out of an immense curiosity about what would make a woman choose to become a courtesan during the 18th and 19th centuries -- especially when she might, in many cases, become a governess instead. It turns out that many of these women didn't really have that choice, and instead were forced or obliged to become courtesans due to life circumstances OR because their mothers were courtesans and that was the only life they knew.

It's fascinating history, especially because there are few books that chronicle the darker sides of women's history in a respectful way. In fact, after reading this book, I'm aching to read Governess by Ruth Brandon so I can see the OTHER side of things.

While I very much enjoyed reading this book, my main issue with it is the flowery language that the author uses to describe the women and their lives -- the prose becomes exceedingly overwritten in places, and you wonder which parts are fact and which parts are the author's gushing adoration seeping through. To Griffin's credit, she does tell us about some negative aspects of the women's lives, but it didn't feel entirely balanced in the end.

The book is presented in chapters that each focus on a particular virtue -- Charm, Grace, Poise, etc. -- and I wouldn't say that was the best choice for organizing things, because it seems to be a bit of a stretch in some cases. I also took a bit of issue with the 'modern' courtesans that she chose to write about -- women who lived beyond the time of the courtesans but whom the author believed displayed their virtues -- such as Klondike Kate. I don't think 'courtesan' when she comes to mind, and even the author herself seems to admit that it's a bit of a stretch at times.

Still, on the whole the book gave me a lot of insight into these women's lives that I hadn't know about before, and I'm very interested in learning more about them and the society in which they lived. These women were a prominent part of their society, but their presence has been largely swept under the carpet... and yes, while a woman who sleeps with men for money or gems is a prostitute no matter what social circle she runs in, I find the psychological aspect/the circumstances that caused each one of them to enter this life to be fascinating and a very telling glimpse into the female psyche and the society of the day.

If this is a subject you might find interesting, I do recommend the book. Just be aware that the author seems a little less than objective at times, and you may need to supplement the reading with a bit of your own research when you're done (not that that's a bad thing, really). ( )

This book is helpful to me when I'm having what one neighbor called "fat & ugly& days. I love to read of silk & satin & power. I also need the reminder of how many more choices I have than these women who sound so much like me. ( )