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The mistress of Paris : the 19th-century courtesan who built an empire on a secret / Catherine Hewitt.

by Hewitt, Catherine.

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Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin's Press, 2017.

944.36108 L118h

La Bigne, Valtesse de, 1848-1910.

Courtesans -- France -- Paris -- Biography.

Paris (France) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century.

France -- Moral conditions -- History -- 19th century.

9781250120663 (hc.)

Alternate title:

Mistress of Paris, the nineteenth-century courtesan who built an empire on a secret.

First U.S. edition.

358 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plate : illustrations (some color), maps ; 24 cm.

First published in the United Kingdom by Icon Books Ltd, c2015.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 319-350) and index.

A child of the Revolution -- The child becomes a woman -- First love, first appearances -- Creation -- A courtesan must never cry -- The lioness, her prey and the cost -- Names and places -- The union of artists -- Words and wit -- Valtesse and Zola's Nana -- A picture speaks a thousand words -- A political affair: Gambetta, Annam and Tonkin -- The thickness of blood -- Slander, scandal and sun queens -- The thrill of the new: the comtesse in Monte Carlo -- The feminine touch -- New beginnings: the sale of the house -- The final act: preparing a legacy.

"Comtesse Valtesse de la Bigne was a celebrated nineteenth-century Parisian courtesan. She was painted by Manet and inspired Emile Zola, who immortalized her in his scandalous novel Nana. Her rumored affairs with Napoleon III and the future Edward VII kept gossip columns full. But her glamorous existence hid a dark secret: she was no Comtesse. She was born into abject poverty, raised on a squalid Paris backstreet; the lowest of the low. Yet she transformed herself into an enchantress who possessed a small fortune, three mansions, fabulous carriages, and art that drew the envy of connoisseurs across France and Europe. A consummate show-woman, she ensured that her life--and even her death--remained shrouded in just enough mystery to keep her audience hungry for more. Catherine Hewitt's biography, The Mistress of Paris, tells the forgotten story of a remarkable French woman who, though her roots were lowly, never stopped aiming high."--Provided by publisher.

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