A secret ledger hidden in the archives of the Parisian police and containing the criminal files of a group of prostitutes labelled 'the Undominated' has been revealed. French officers obsessively tracked and charted the kept women of 19th-century Paris, from the city's elite sex workers to madames who procured girls for money, with the records stored in The Book of the Courtesans. The leather-bound volume contains stories of over women in the city, from famous actresses to gold-digging dancers.
Although little-known today, many of the women listed rose to become extremely wealthy and famous in their own right - gaining impressive power in the French capital through the men they bedded. In it was transcribed and published in French by historian Gabrielle Houbre, and Paris-based journalist Summer Brennan has since been translating passages of the text into English online. The translations will be featured in a new book that she is publishing, The Book of Courtesans which will also include Summer's new research on the women.
Among the shocking stories is the tale of a young woman recruited to work as a prostitute from the sweet shop she worked in, as well as a danc er who tricked men into giving her their fortunes. French officers obsessively tracked and charted the kept women of 19th-century Paris, from the city's elite sex workers to madames who procured girls for money, with the records stored in The Book of the Courtesans pictured, Mery Laurent, whose story is among those in the ledger.
Her mother worked as a laundress at Marshal Francois Certain De Canrobert's home while her father was unknown. In her youth, she was briefly married to Jean-Claude Laurent, a shopkeeper in Nancy, but the marriage didn't last. She was 15 years old when her mother sold her virginity to Canrobert so that she could become his mistress and receive an annuity for life of francs per month.
Her portrayal of the Greek goddess was considered the role of her lifetime. Evans, an extremely wealthy American dental surgeon with high-profile clients, including royal families. As his mistress, she was taken care of and given an income of 50, francs as well as an apartment in the Rue de Rome, where she opened her 'salon'.
