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The Mistress of Paris: The 19th-Century Courtesan Who Built an Empire on a Secret

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Femocracy Global is empowering and supporting Females' rise to power in every corner of the globe. If you are male, submission now is your only hope for survival.” The New York Times bestselling author of The Last Train to London revisits the dark early days of the German occupation in France in this haunting novel—a love story and a tale of high-stakes danger and incomparable courage—about a young American heiress who helps artists hunted by the Nazis escape from war-torn Europe. From my point of view it is demeaning to Varian Fry and his organization who got over 1,500 people out of France before he was arrested. The book is loosely based on the life of Mary Jayne Gold, Miriam Davenport, and the group run by Varian Fry that worked to help intellectuals escape. Catherine suggested they have tea a few days later—and so it has been, as in Beverly’s pledge, for over eight years.

More and more, I see that the important thing for me, now, is to make you happy.… I have such waves of tenderness, with the memory of words and gestures from you, you, you, so small and easily tired, that I always want to hold you tight against me.… You’re sweet, Catherine, sweet, sweet, and I love you. And I know so well that you, yes you, are all my happiness in living. I usually plan well in advance, but the everchanging pandemic conditions don’t really allow for that at the moment. So the best way of staying on top of My sordid lifestyle and travel news is to sign up to My free newsletter here: www.bellatrixnewsletter.com Her story is told conventionally, with a lot of detail. She was a public figure, and her life was documented in the press, and she was involved with many of the great figures and controversies of her time, so there are a variety of sources. However, the problem for me was that she spent her whole life creating a history and image for herself. Although her real origins are revealed, once she transformed herself, her story becomes less interesting. Information about her clients and patrons, her friendships and public appearances are all known and recounted, but there is little about the person underneath. She hid her real thoughts and feelings - even possibly from those closest to her. The author spends time detailing the events her friends and clients were caught up in, but Valtesse's presence often seems like a cipher - ghost-like. It's as if we are seeing her public face, but not her private one. There is an awful lot out there about us that is wildly inaccurate,” she says. “They talk about me as Catherine’s ‘sexual slave.’ When I imagine an older woman and a younger woman and the term ‘sexual slave,’ the pictures that get conjured up in my mind are grotesque. Like her dressed in leather and boots, and me, chained, dangling from the rafters.” She roars with laughter while I wonder just what exactly does go on between them.

I found the book quite interesting despite being a bit slow and fluffy in places. It was after all a romance story set in a historic time period. I was surprised that it had not made a bigger splash on Goodreads than it has. Also every time that there was a tense scene, there was a time jump in the next chapter where the problem would have been solved and everyone had moved on. The book's opening chapters introduce us to the two main players, the sparks that fly between them, as well as the artistic setting/element of the book. I must admit, I did find this went on a bit too long for me. I wanted to dive right into the 'action' of the book. The hiding, the subterfuge and the danger. That does come, but Waite Clayton also stops along the way to explore other themes such as the love between a parent and child, the loss of loved ones and the sacrifices made. Different views are provided with Luki having her own chapters, as does Edouard. There are many supporting players, all just as determined with the same goal. I did find one character to be quite detestable as he plays 'games' at the house that the group shares. I thought there would be a reason he was included, but never found a meaning for his inclusion and ugliness. But he is tempered with the addition of a dog to the tale - named Dagobert. Femocracy UK eventsare private & anonymous Female Supremacy networking & planning committees for Superior Women & subordinate men, where Women are in charge & men silently observe, obey, serve & protect. Each Group & the whole network is designated as sacred space where Women are held in superior status. This association promotes & provides a worldwide support system for Female Rule & within its confines functions an all Female-Led Society that serves as a working model for a Female-Led World. ​

This biography delves beneath the surface of the cool, sophisticated exterior Valtesse presented, to reveal a complex character with a vulnerable side. It exposes a woman who paradoxically sought the limelight while simultaneously seeking to remain enigmatic. This complex mind even thought out how she would be remembered after her death. She used her final hours to personally hand write to all those she knew and inform them that she had died. And she kept her audience guessing right to the end; why else would she have requested that she be buried between two men of whom no one, not even her closest friends, had ever heard? This is another fantastic book based on real people who put their lives at risk to help people escape from the danger in World War II. If you enjoy historical fiction from this time period or enjoy books about brave women who make a different in the lives of others or just want to read an exciting book- you don't want to miss this one. Once again this author gives her readers a well written and well researched story with characters that will be difficult to forget. Louise Delabigne was born to a questionable mother and no father, raised in squalor. When she was thirteen she began working in a dress shop that sparked a curiousity for a life more affluent and glamorous than her own. When she was old enough she left home, the romance of the city luring her away from the poverty she had always known. Louise failed to make an impression in the theatre where she began pursuing work and soon turned to prostitution to make a living. Who knew it was such a complex social hierarchy? Unregistered girls on the streets began as grisettes and then progressed to a lorette, both hoping to attract a wealthy benefactor to elevate them to a higher social status. The girls could then progress to the highest ranks of the profession – les grande horizontales or la garde – which is where Louise wanted to be. Known for her beauty and stunning red hair, she navigated her way up the social ladder and reinvented herself as Valtesse, a play on words that translates to ‘your highness’! Valtesse became a courtesan because this allowed her be exactly who she wanted to be. At various times, close female friends are mentioned, but with one or two exceptions we are told little about them. She had an affair with a protege; was this a need for love and intimacy that her male patrons didn't provide, or was it another part of her calculating character at a time when lesbianism had become a hugely controversial - but very popular - topic? There are unanswered questions too. After she died, two men were later buried in her grave; their initials were already carved on the gravestone at her funeral. Although both have been tentatively identified (one more strongly than the other), we have no idea why she chose to have them buried with her. Although that is hardly the author's fault, it does partially explain my problem with the book. Naneé Gold is an American socialite living in Paris among its artists and intellectuals. As the Germans invade France, she could have returned to the U.S. to safety and a life of parties. Instead, she devotes herself to the French Resistance working with journalist Varian Fry, who was sent by the American Emergency Rescue Committee to help members of the art community escape Nazi persecution. She becomes a courier, secretly delivering messages across Paris. Naneé uses her wealth to rent a large villa in Marseilles which becomes a refuge for artists and members of the Resistance. She works to rescue Edouard Moss, a Jewish photographer who is imprisoned at Camp de Milles, an internment camp, and hopes to reunite him with his young daughter, who is being hidden.Alain and Catherine’s affair was strange from the start. “I’m happy to do all kinds of things with you erotically,” she told him, “but nothing that could possibly lead to a pregnancy.” This suited him better than she knew. First, the title is misleading. Almost none of the book takes place in Paris and there are only two scenes in which we see Naneé, the title character, performing the role. She’s also referred to as a female pilot, but there’s only one scene where she flies her plane and then never goes up again. So much more could have been done with these two plot points.

Catherine Hewitt’s academic career began with a passion for 19th-century French art, literature and social history. Her doctoral research uncovered the remarkable story of a forgotten 19th-century courtesan, and after being awarded her PhD, she set out on her career in biography. Catherine’s first book, The Mistress of Paris, was awarded the runner-up’s prize in the 2012 Biographers’ Club Tony Lothian competition for the best proposal by an uncommissioned, first-time biographer. Based on meticulous research, Catherine’s writing seeks to lift history out of the dusty annals of academia and bring its characters and events to life for the 21st-century reader. Her writing introduces real people, telling their stories in intimate detail and enabling readers to share their successes and frustrations. As well as writing, Catherine lectures and runs workshops on 19th-century French art, literature and social history, always seeking to share her enthusiasm for French history and culture. She also works as a translator, and past projects have included translating a permanent exhibition of the work of the radical French female painter Suzanne Valadon for a gallery near Limoges in France. This historical fiction is set in Paris just before and after the occupation or collaboration with Nazi Germany. The main character is a young American woman, Naneé, who has lived in Europe for a decade and taken up with a resistance group formed to assist artists and others to escape the impending Nazis. The plot has a split storyline, one following Naneé and the other trailing a photographer Edouard Moss who has taken some subversive photos. This has of course made him fairly unpopular with the established governments and he ends up interned in a French labor camp. The issue is that his young daughter was traveling with him and has been taken on by a friend, but Edouard has no idea where she really is, but he does know that he must find her.It is clear that the author has no understanding of the very serious and dangerous work carried out by Varian Fry and his orginazion. Had women ever featured in her fantasies? “Never. Never. Never. And they don’t now, either.” She pauses and smiles. “Unless I could chain them up.”

I was intrigued,” she says. “He was a man of great control. From the beginning I knew what turned him on: it was cruelty.” I found the actual story to be contrived and very underdeveloped. So many things that would have fleshed out the story were barely mentioned, simply glossed over. And then, the ending…WTAF? The trauma of her first, brutal sexual encounter as a teenager lifted a veil to reveal an even darker side to the sparkling city and its pleasure-seeking residents. The experience steered Louise’s life into an inevitable vortex of alcohol and prostitution. When she finally fell in love with a man who seemed kind and good, only to have her heart broken and be left with two daughters, Louise made a radical decision. Henceforth, she would no longer be sweet little Louise. She wanted to be worshipped. She wanted riches. She would become a courtesan.Corona scares us and maybe a stay in my prison will scare you more. Afraid to get away… I will attempt to tempt you… a short trip to Berlin to live out a fantasy….

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