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

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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. Catherine Robbe-Grillet practices a theater of secular High Church sadomasochism, and her ceremonies, so clearly sacrificial rituals, are informed by the sacraments, the music, the language—she calls her submissives “acolytes”—and the props of her Catholic girlhood. “It is not about pain,” Beverly has carefully explained. “It is about how to suffer beautifully, like Saint Sebastian.” They are practicing, in effect, the tenet of conscious, voluntary suffering, a kind of devotion—like Beverly’s for her “petite Madame”—and these ceremonies are hard-edged theatrical poems where, Catherine has written, she “plays with the faces of death.” Catherine is my secret garden,” she says quietly when I inquire about the nature of their intimacy. “I have given myself to her, body and soul. She does whatever she wants, whenever she wants, with either or both, according to her pleasure—and her pleasure is also my pleasure.” When I ask what she will do when Catherine dies, she starts to cry. 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.

There are quite a few Surrealist artists featured in this one along with photographer Edouard Moss. Together with another American, Varian Fry, many of those in hiding were spirited away to other countries.She was born Emilie Delabigne in Paris in 1848 (although she was generally called Louise). Her mother had moved to the capital from Normandy lured by the growth of the city, and the poverty at home. She found more poverty. Although she found work, life was hard, and fairly soon she was pregnant. Louise's father is not named on her birth certificate, but he was around at least some of the time, as over the next few years she was joined by six brothers and sisters. Her childhood was typical of poor single parent families of her time, living in appalling conditions, spending much of her time on the street, avoiding her mother's male visitors. In her early teens she found work in a dress shop, where she saw something of the life of those with money. Then shortly afterwards she was raped, and it was to prove a life changing experience. This is not a holiday… you will be treated as harshly as you would if you were in an active prison. Her bravery helped many people escape but it put her in danger. Will she be able to get out of France when the Gestapo is looking for her?

Quite a bit of the book takes place in Marseilles, and I liked that setting for this one. There’s danger and romance and an adorable little girl in this story. I loved this one based on Mary Jayne Gold, and it seems she is a strong woman to admire! She used her personal wealth for the cause and put her life in danger multiple times. Recommended for fans of WWII historical fiction! 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. 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. There are many, many WWII novels written from a woman's perspective and/or featuring a role in the war performed by women. Bombgirls, landgirls, codebreakers and more.

This book starts off quite messy and disorganised which whilst I’m sure it was to reflect the atmosphere in France at the time of the Nazi takeover, it made the book very hard to get into.

I loved this book. I think it was the characters who made me love it. Luki is such an endearing child, Nanée an amazing and brave woman, and Edouard, interesting and talented. This is a book about loss and trust and love – not just romantic love, but the kind of love people create for those who care about them; how they use that kind of love to form their own chosen family. Lots of VIRTUAL events for this one, so please join me from anywhere. Schedule at https://www.megwaiteclayton.com/events/ This was one of those books which was really well-written, entertaining and enlightening, but because I found the main protagonist, the legendary courtesan Valtesse, so unlikable, I struggled with it. Exacerbating this is how fast the author glossed over major political events. I get that as a courtesan, even a politically connected one, she didn’t have any real power in many of these events, and when she did it was covered, but this is one of those books that kind of tries to make its subject Indicative Of The Times, and giving short shrift to The Times makes her repeating pattern of life, well, more boring. I would rather read about her powerlessness, even if it didn’t flatter her, than another story of a client admiring her fancy bed. Naneé was an American heiress who loved Paris and had spent so much time there that she felt she was a Parisian. She's a social butterfly and very interested in the arts - painting, writing, etc. She meets Edouard at a party. He has escaped Germany and is trying to keep he and his daughter, Luki, safe in France even though the Vichy government is rounding up Jewish people and sending them to camps. She starts working with the Resistance to help artists and painters get out of the country. One part of the book that was filled with tension happened when Luki was sent to Paris with friends and her father was supposed to follow her the next day but the police took him to jail for a month. After he was released, he was unable to find his beloved daughter and he didn't know if she was safe. Naneé started working with the Resistance to send messages to people who were in hiding and to get the proper paperwork so they could get out Paris to safety in America.Wanneer de oorlog uitbreekt, wordt Edouard al snel opgepakt en vastgezet in het interneringskamp Camp des Milles, zijn dochter wordt verborgen bij vrienden. Hij is vastbesloten om Luki terug te vinden en samen te ontsnappen uit Frankrijk, maar hij weet niet hoe hij dat voor elkaar moet krijgen. It is clear that the author has no understanding of the very serious and dangerous work carried out by Varian Fry and his orginazion. On the one hand, fair play to Valtesse. She really, really worked hard at educating herself, at promoting herself, at protecting and polishing her reputation, and at being 'someone'. She was discrete, and she was obviously very good at her job, both in the bedroom and, just as importantly, without. She was socially sought after, she was patron of the arts - and a subject, and a benefactor. And she was popular with other women too - though what the women associated with her lovers thought of her is one of the thins this book leaves in-researched. And so we arrive at the heart of the matter: Robbe-Grillet’s “little girl” wife was, it appears, a dominant from the start, from her first sneer at the nuns, at Catholicism (she is not a believer), at convention, from her keeping of multiple simultaneous lovers, and now here with her grand seigneur. Nanee ama París, y siempre ha estado interesada en el arte y en una fiesta de artistas conocerá a Edouard, artista judío que ha escapado de Alemania para salvar a su hija Luki y que no los manden a los campos de concentración…

i algo me gusta de los libros de ficción histórica es que se basen en personas o en hechos reales , y la autora lo ha vuelto hacer, en los dos libros que he leído, ambos están basados en mujeres importantes y olvidadas. Photos: by Tai Shoot in Paris, May 2021 (if you like this image, you can see more by following him below)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. ​