Phano is almost 15, the traditional age for a woman to marry in ancient Athens. She is in love with Theo, who is 30-the traditional age for a man to marry. But marriage may not be an option for her. Her stepmother's enemy, Phrynion, claims that Phano is not really a free woman but a slave who belongs to him, and he is ready to sell her if he can get his hands on her. Phano, her father, and her stepmother must use every resource they have to try to restore her reputation and keep her safe. Even if they can keep Phrynion away, Phano may never be able to marry Theo, whose prominent family would expect a wealthy bride who would bring a good-sized dowry with her. Meanwhile, Athens faces the threat of war from Philip of Macedon. Once she turns 15, Phano must find her place as an adult in the turbulent society of ancient Greece. From the Hardcover edition.

With her prospects for finding a suitable match limited by her mother's infamous past as one of London's most sought-after courtesans, Lady Caroline is dismayed to discover that her mother plans to purchase a husband for her by agreeing to settle the Earl of Ashdon's gambling debts in exchange for marriage. Original.

The story of Marie Duplessis, the courtesan who consumed Parisian high society in the 19th Century, and the inspiration behind masterpieces such as Alexandre Dumas Fils' The Lady with the Camellias and Verdi's Traviata, is one that overwhelms with its soul-searing tragedy.This peasant girl, who endured cruelty, abandonment, and the torment of a woman's lot in her time, clawed her way through the class and cultural strata of Paris from one rich man to another, with her sensational beauty lighting the way. Yet her beauty wasn't the only thing capturing hearts, but also her indefatigable spirit, unflappable honesty, and raw commitment to finding love, no matter the cost-an ideal that always seemed to elude her. Marie Duplessis was the courtesan who conquered her world as no other woman has, past or present. This is the story of a peasant girl who surpassed all suppressions her era imposed on its women, to become one of the most famous individuals 19th century Europe had ever known.

To win the love of the rakish Marquis of Dutton, as well as to retrieve the family pearls that are in his possession, Lady Louisa Kirkland enlists the seductive assistance of former courtesan Lady Sophia, in a sexy Regency-era novel by the author of The Courtesan's Daughter. Original.

My lady, Fiammetta Bianchini, was plucking her eyebrows and biting color into her lips when the unthinkable happened and the Holy Roman Emperor’s army blew a hole in the wall of God’s eternal city, letting in a flood of half-starved, half-crazed troops bent on pillage and punishment. Thus begins In the Company of the Courtesan, Sarah Dunant’s epic novel of life in Renaissance Italy. Escaping the sack of Rome in 1527, with their stomachs churning on the jewels they have swallowed, the courtesan Fiammetta and her dwarf companion, Bucino, head for Venice, the shimmering city born out of water to become a miracle of east-west trade: rich and rancid, pious and profitable, beautiful and squalid. With a mix of courage and cunning they infiltrate Venetian society. Together they make the perfect partnership: the sharp-tongued, sharp-witted dwarf, and his vibrant mistress, trained from birth to charm, entertain, and satisfy men who have the money to support her. Yet as their fortunes rise, this perfect partnership comes under threat, from the searing passion of a lover who wants more than his allotted nights to the attentions of an admiring Turk in search of human novelties for his sultan’s court. But Fiammetta and Bucino’s greatest challenge comes from a young crippled woman, a blind healer who insinuates herself into their lives and hearts with devastating consequences for them all. A story of desire and deception, sin and religion, loyalty and friendship, In the Company of the Courtesan paints a portrait of one of the world’s greatest cities at its most potent moment in history: It is a picture that remains vivid long after the final page.

Skilled in passion, artful in deception, and driven by betrayal, she is the glittering center of the royal court–but the most desired woman of Renaissance France will draw the wrath of a dangerous adversary. Paris, 1575. The consort of some of Europe’s most influential men, Gabrielle Cheney is determined to secure her future by winning the heart of Henry, the Huguenot king of Navarre. As his mistress, Gabrielle hopes she might one day become the power behind the French throne. But her plans are jeopardized by Captain Nicolas Rémy, a devoted warrior whose love Gabrielle desires–and fears–above all. She will also incur the malevolence of the Dark Queen, Catherine de’ Medici, whose spies and witch-hunters are legion, and who will summon the black arts to maintain her authority. With the lives of those she loves in peril, Gabrielle must rebel against her queen to fulfill a glorious destiny she has sacrificed everything to gain. Alive with vivid period detail and characters as vibrant as they are memorable, The Courtesan is a sweeping historical tale of dangerous intrigues, deep treachery, and one woman’s unshakable resolve to honor her heart.

A lost voice of old Japan reclaims her rightful place inhistory in this breathtaking work of imagination and scholarship from award-winning and internationally acclaimedauthor Katherine Govier. In the evocative taleof 19th century Tokyo, The Printmaker’sDaughter delivers an enthrallingtale of one of the world’s great unknown artists: Oei,the mysterious daughter of master printmaker Hokusai, painter of the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. In a novel that willresonate with readers of Tracy Chevalier’s Girlwith a Pearl Earring, Lisa See’s SnowFlower and the Secret Fan, and David Mitchell’s The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet,the sights and sensations of an exotic, bygone era form the richly captivatingbackdrop for an intimate, finely wrought story of daughterhood and duty, artand authorship, the immortality of creation and the anonymity of history.

"First published in the United Kingdom by Icon Books Ltd"--Title page verso.

Oei is the daughter of the great Japanese printmaker Hokusai. Long consigned to a minor role as gloomy sidekick, she is barely a footnote in the historical record. Here, Oei recounts her life with one of the great eccentrics of the 19th century. Dodging the Shogun's spies, she and Hokusai live amongst actors, novelists, tattoo artists and prostitutes, making the exquisite pictures that define their time. Disguised, they escape the city gates to view waves and Mount Fuji. But they return to enchanting, dangerous Edo (Tokyo), the largest city in the world. Wielding her brush, Oei defies all expectations of womanhood-- all but one. She is dutiful until death to the exasperating father who created her and, ultimately, steals her future. A breathtaking work of imagination, The Ghost Brush illuminates the most tender and ambiguous love of all--that between father and daughter.

Fanny Murray was an incomparable Georgian beauty and the most desired courtesan of the 1750s. The daughter of an impoverished musician from Bath, she took London society by storm, not only as the most prized 'purchaseable beauty' of her day, but also as a fashion icon and muse to poets, writers and artists. She counted princes, aristocrats and politicians among her friends and lovers, but relished the company of rogues, fraudsters and ne'er-do-wells. Barbara White presents evidence to suggest that Fanny Murray participated spiritedly in the sexual antics of the notorious 'Monks of Medmenham', the most infamous of the Hell-fire Clubs. After she retired from prostitution, Fanny Murray reinvented herself, entering a pragmatic marriage with the Scottish actor David Ross. Surprisingly, her virtues as a devoted and faithful wife became almost proverbial. Even so, Murray could not escape her disreputable past. In 1763, a scurrilous poem dedicated to her caused a national scandal that ended in the infamous trial of the radical politician John Wilkes for obscene libel. Barbara White's portrait of Fanny Murray takes readers from the brothels of Covent Garden to sex romps at Medmenham Abbey, from refined drawing rooms in London to marital respectability in Edinburgh. This is an illuminating contribution to the scholarly understanding and popular appreciation of a complex and intriguing period of British history. Fanny Murray's triumph – against almost insuperable odds – is a remarkable story, as rich in the telling as it is enthralling.