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If you own the copyright to this book and it is wrongfully on our website, we offer a simple DMCA procedure to remove your content from our site. Start by pressing the button below! Author: Celeste Mogador. All rights reserved. Nagem, Monique F. Hooray for Reform! Let My Destiny Be Done! A special thanks goes to Judy A.
Savoie for her critical reading of the project and to my husband, Robert A. Nagem, for his support during the project. Many of these women were ardently pursued by young and not-so-young admirers, some of whose names are found today in history books and literary annals. For if a young man was seen with this woman, it meant she was his, and showering her with extravagant gifts of jewelry and fancy carriages was a way to keep her.
Those men were the dandies of the era and they spent their evenings in pursuit of pleasure and intoxication. Some were talented writers or musicians, some were rich aristocrats prominent among them was Prince Napoleon, nephew of the emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and cousin of Napoleon III , and others were the sons of merchants and high level bureaucrats.
Many of them squandered whole fortunes and often were forced to go into debt, join the army, or emigrate as a result. The courtesans so in demand were for the most part women who had managed to rise above the level of common brothel prostitutes through their beauty, cleverness, and a lot of good luck. For women whose options were limited because of their poverty or their social status, such a step up seemed to be a dream come true; the reality of their situation, however, was less than glittering.
