Product Description

Born in 1786, by the time she was 15 years old, Harriette Wilson was well on her way to becoming Regency London's most sought-after courtesan. She counted amongst her conquests the Prince of Wales, the Lord Chancellor, and no less than four future Prime Ministers. There was hardly a young dandy in Mayfair who had not been involved with Harriette, who entranced men with her wit as much as her beauty. But when the Duke of Beaufort put a halt on the payments he had promised her, Harriette decided to avenge herself on the whole pack.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #99651 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 380 pages

Review
High-class courtesans were common in the days of George III and George IV; there was nothing unusual about a scion of the nobility setting up a favoured mistress with her own house, carriage, clothes and jewels - until he tired of her. But Harriet Wilson was exceptional - not only for her beauty and liveliness, but for the intelligence with which she approached her chosen career. She came from a well-connected middle-class family and was, for the time, well educated, in a French convent and English boarding schools. She taught for a while, but soon became bored; she quarrelled with her family and decided (at the age of 14!) that her true metier was as a high-class courtesan. Her first lover was Lord Craven, who was followed by a string of some of the most famous noblemen in the land, including the Marquis of Lorne, son of the Duke of Argyll, and Henry Somerset, Marquis of Worcester and heir to the Dukedom of Beaufort. Harriet always treated her lovers with affection but only once fell in love truly and sincerely - with Lord John Ponsonby. When he left her she was hurt and humiliated. Later she was to remark, 'I was in love enough once, God knows, and what good did it do me?' The courtesan's 'profession' was inevitably short-lived and, starting usually when the girl was in her teens, usually ended in her 30s, by which time she could expect little gratitude from the men to whom she had given her all. Harriet was no exception. As her beauty, wit and animation faded she found not only did the men's attention wander, but her income and beautiful houses disappeared too. She spent the rest of her life writing begging letters, for the tiniest amounts, in order to live in any degree of comfort. But she had one last card to play. She was not the very first to write a 'kiss and tell' book but her autobiography was so packed with well-known names that it not only became a huge bestseller but allowed her to blackmail some of the 'names' with promises to omit her affairs with them. (The Duke of Wellington is said to have replied, 'Publish and be damned.'). Frances Wilson's tightly packed book will be a revelation to its readers. Her research into the period and its colourful characters is wide and thorough. A short review cannot begin to cover the detail she includes, or the many people involved in Harriet's twilight world. It makes riveting reading. Harriet died at 59, having been received into the Catholic Church and confirmed in the name of Mary Magdalen. The whereabouts of her grave are not known but two years after her death the manuscript of the original, unabridged, Memoirs was found, containing all the names of the 'bought out' lovers who did not wish to be included. That, too, has now disappeared, but one day, who knows, it might be found - and published! (Kirkus UK)

Guardian
'Frances Wilson draws on an impressive range of contemporary sources to distinguish fact from fiction.'

Daily Mail
'In ‘The Courtesan's Revenge’ Harriette's story is deftly and stylishly told. It also beats most novels with its rich ingredients.'

Customer Reviews

Surprisingly boring, actually..
I was disappointed in this book; it's a period of history in which I am interested and I was expecting it to be fascinating but the story just never came to life at all and felt v-e-r-y long. Sorry to be so negative but I really wouldn't recommend this book unless you enjoy a rather dry read.