Julian Barnes

It took me some years to clear my head of what Paris wanted me to admire about it, and to notice what I preferred instead. Not power-ridden monuments, but individual buildings which tell a quieter story: the artist's studio, or the Belle Epoque house built by a forgotten financier for a just-remembered courtesan.

English Writer

Virginia Henley

I have always been drawn to the Restoration period of Charles II. I have a soft spot for Charles Stuart, who was always loving and kind to the opposite sex. The members of his court were fascinating, and Barbara Castlemaine was one of the greatest courtesans in history.

British Writer

Amy Waldman

History is the history of human behavior, and human behavior is the raw material of fiction. Most people recognize that novelists do research to get the facts right - how a glove factory works, for example, or how courtesans in imperial Japan dressed.

American Author

Pietro Aretino

With a goose-quill and a few sheets of paper, I mock myself of the universe. They say I am the son of a courtesan; it may be so, but I have the heart of a King. I live free, I enjoy myself, I can call myself happy.

Italian Poet

Amy Tan

In a second-class courtesan house, the courtship was much briefer. It could even be one night; usually it went on a little bit longer. But as the years went by, that period of courtship was shorter and shorter.

American Novelist

Alexander Chee

The best relatively contemporary portrayal of a courtesan that I've ever seen was probably in 'Children of Paradise,' a film that was made during the Nazi occupation of France, made in secret actually.

American Writer

Marie Helvin

I think I'm living in the wrong century. I would have made a great courtesan. Not a mistress - I could never be kept - but a courtesan with my own rules.

American Model

I was shocked, and I ended up contacting three academics to find out if it could possibly be that my grandmother was a courtesan.

Twyla Tharp

Balzac loved courtesans. They were independent women, and in the 19th century, that was a breed that was just evolving.

American Dancer

For many courtesans, it was over by age 22.

Used mainly in historical or literary contexts to depict women in past societies.

Historical Usage

May convey glamour or intrigue within historical settings, unlike more stigmatized terms.

Cultural Nuance

Historically, indicated a social role that combined companionship, entertainment, and sometimes intimacy.

Social Status

Presently may imply a more high-end or sophisticated form of escorting.

Modern Relevance

Implies that the relationship involves financial support or luxury gifts in exchange for companionship.

Financial Implication

A modern courtesan may suggest selectivity in her clients and exclusivity in her services.

Selectivity and Exclusivity

 streets before disappearing behind closed doors are they high-priced courtesans mistresses of seduction or something more elusive whatever a Geisha is it's more than a role it's an all-encompassing way of life though it's

Courtesan

Historical Usage

Cultural Nuance

Social Status

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