The Evolution of the French Courtesan Novel

From de Chabrillan to Colette

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, European
Cover of the book The Evolution of the French Courtesan Novel by Courtney Sullivan, Palgrave Macmillan UK
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Courtney Sullivan ISBN: 9781137597090
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK Publication: June 7, 2016
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan Language: English
Author: Courtney Sullivan
ISBN: 9781137597090
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication: June 7, 2016
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan
Language: English

‘Sullivan’s outstanding book is the first to show how French courtesans were fully-fledged masters of the pen as well as proverbial ladies of the night. We learn how their rewriting of classics such as The Lady of the Camellias and their response to a male “backlash” inspire Colette in previously unseen ways.’ — Nicholas White, University of Cambridge, UK

This book is about the autobiographical fictions of nineteenth-century French courtesans. In response to damaging representations of their kind in Zola and Alexandre Dumas' novels, Céleste de Chabrillan, Valtesse de la Bigne, and Liane de Pougy crafted fictions recounting their triumphs as celebrities of the demi-monde and their outcries against the social injustices that pushed them into prostitution. Although their works enjoyed huge success in the second half of the nineteenth century, male writers penned faux-memoirs mocking courtesan novels, and successfully sowed doubt about their authorship in a backlash against the profitable notoriety the novels earned these courtesans. Colette, who did not write from personal experience but rather out of sympathy for the courtesans with whom she socialized, innovated the genre when she wrote three novels exploring the demi-mondaine’s life beyond prostitution and youth.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

‘Sullivan’s outstanding book is the first to show how French courtesans were fully-fledged masters of the pen as well as proverbial ladies of the night. We learn how their rewriting of classics such as The Lady of the Camellias and their response to a male “backlash” inspire Colette in previously unseen ways.’ — Nicholas White, University of Cambridge, UK

This book is about the autobiographical fictions of nineteenth-century French courtesans. In response to damaging representations of their kind in Zola and Alexandre Dumas' novels, Céleste de Chabrillan, Valtesse de la Bigne, and Liane de Pougy crafted fictions recounting their triumphs as celebrities of the demi-monde and their outcries against the social injustices that pushed them into prostitution. Although their works enjoyed huge success in the second half of the nineteenth century, male writers penned faux-memoirs mocking courtesan novels, and successfully sowed doubt about their authorship in a backlash against the profitable notoriety the novels earned these courtesans. Colette, who did not write from personal experience but rather out of sympathy for the courtesans with whom she socialized, innovated the genre when she wrote three novels exploring the demi-mondaine’s life beyond prostitution and youth.

More books from Palgrave Macmillan UK

Cover of the book The Europeanization of Gender Equality Policies by Courtney Sullivan
Cover of the book Absence in Science, Security and Policy by Courtney Sullivan
Cover of the book Lacanian Ethics and the Assumption of Subjectivity by Courtney Sullivan
Cover of the book Tracing War in British Enlightenment and Romantic Culture by Courtney Sullivan
Cover of the book Acoustic Interculturalism by Courtney Sullivan
Cover of the book Criminal Actions and Social Situations by Courtney Sullivan
Cover of the book The European Union as a Small Power by Courtney Sullivan
Cover of the book Tracing the Discourses of Terrorism by Courtney Sullivan
Cover of the book Comparing Mass Media in Established Democracies by Courtney Sullivan
Cover of the book Economic and Financial Crises by Courtney Sullivan
Cover of the book Cultural Politics of Hygiene in India, 1890-1940 by Courtney Sullivan
Cover of the book The Happiness Agenda by Courtney Sullivan
Cover of the book Persistent Piracy by Courtney Sullivan
Cover of the book Sport under Communism by Courtney Sullivan
Cover of the book Foreign Security Policy, Gender, and US Military Identity by Courtney Sullivan
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy