Fille de Joie: The Book of Courtesans, Sporting Girls, Ladies of the Evening, Madams, A Few Occasionals & Some Royal Favorites

New York: Dorset Press - A Division of Marboro Books Corporation, 1967. Hard Back. Near Fine/Very Good. 9 3/4" x 12 3/4. 448 Pages. Brown boards with gold lettering on the spine. Tight book with no bumped corners marks or stamps Interior text pages are flawless.Dust jacket has light chipping to edges. Fille de joie, lady of the evening, lady of pleasure is seen variously as mysterious, remote, and incredibly sinful; desirable, magnetic and repellent. The one undeniable fact about her is that she has plied her trade in all times, wherever there have been men. If ever an institution has shown popularity and universality it has been this one. Nor has the fille de joie al ways been scorned by society. In the ancient world she was often involved in religious rites, and in Eastern lands her profession was an integral part of the society. From the classical Greeks we have legends of brilliant, accomplished, and esteemed courtesans. Despite stricter regulation in later centuries, the profession flourished throughout Europe during the Middle Ages. Licensed brothels became an important source of revenue for the state. In recent generations, strenuous efforts have been made to obliterate the institution, but no amount of suppression has ever managed to accomplish this -- which is perhaps not so surprising considering that the suppressors and the clients often are the same. The literature is vast and rich, but no book like this one exists. Never has there been a collection of writings on the subject with such variety, range, and fascinating fact. Here you will find side-by- side Lucian's second-century The Education of a Courtesan, Nell Kimball's nineteenth-century account of brothel life in New Orleans, Harold Greenwald's story, The Life of a Call Girl, showing how the telephone has changed the profession, and then, from 300 AD India, Advice from the Kama Sutra. Works of fiction include Casanova's My Short and Lively Stay in Ancona, John Cleland's The Mysteries of Venus from Fanny Hill, two Maupassant stories, The False Gems and The Signal, Pierre Louys's enchanting The Courtesan of Alexandria, a selection from Sade's novel Juliette, and stories of four filles de Paris by Henry Miller. There are 371 illustrations comprising the largest and best collection of pictures ever for a book. Large heavy book that may incur additional charges for shipping to most locations.