The Mistress of Paris
The 19th-Century Courtesan Who Built an Empire on a Secret
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Narrated by:
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Sarah Nichols
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By:
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Catherine Hewitt
About this listen
Comtesse Valtesse de la Bigne was painted by Édouard Manet and inspired Émile Zola, who immortalized her in his scandalous novel Nana. Her rumored affairs with Napoleon III and the future King Edward VII kept gossip columns full.
But her glamorous existence hid a dark secret: She was no comtesse. She was born into abject poverty, raised on a squalid backstreet among the dregs of Parisian society. Yet she transformed herself into an enchantress who possessed a small fortune, three mansions, fabulous carriages, and art the envy of connoisseurs across Europe. A consummate show-woman, she ensured that her life - and even her death - remained shrouded in just enough mystery to keep her audience hungry for more.
Spectacularly evoking the sights and sounds of mid- to late 19th-century Paris in all its hedonistic glory, Catherine Hewitt's biography tells, for the first time ever in English, the forgotten story of a remarkable woman who, though her roots were lowly, never stopped aiming high.
©2017 Catherine Hewitt (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Effie
- The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin and John Everett Millais
- By: Suzanne Fagence Cooper
- Narrated by: Sophie Ward
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Effie Gray, a beautiful and intelligent young socialite, rattled the foundations of England's Victorian age. Married at 19 to John Ruskin, the leading art critic of the time, she found herself trapped in a loveless, union after Ruskin rejected her on their wedding night. She met John Everett Millais, Ruskin's protege, and fell passionately in love with him. Suzanne Fagence Cooper has gained exclusive access to Effie's previously unseen letters and diaries to tell the complete story of this scandalous love triangle.
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Fascinating Story--Victoriana
- By Cariola on 06-29-12
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England's Mistress
- The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton
- By: Kate Williams
- Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Emma Hamilton was England's first superstar. She fought her way out of dire poverty to become a fashion icon, an Ambassador's wife, a confidante of both Marie Antoinette and the Queen of Naples, and the mistress of Lord Nelson, England's greatest military hero.
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Riveting.
- By jojonow on 06-12-08
By: Kate Williams
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In Montmartre
- Picasso, Matisse and the Birth of Modernist Art
- By: Sue Roe
- Narrated by: Emma Bering
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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A lively and deeply researched group biography of the figures who transformed the world of art in bohemian Paris in the first decade of the 20th century. In Montmartre is a colorful history of the birth of Modernist art as it arose from one of the most astonishing collections of artistic talent ever assembled. It begins in October 1900, as a teenage Pablo Picasso, eager for fame and fortune, first makes his way up the hillside of Paris’s famous windmill-topped district.
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Florid narrative history with suspect details
- By Keith on 10-30-19
By: Sue Roe
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Emily Post
- Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners
- By: Laura Claridge
- Narrated by: Christine Williams
- Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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From the excesses of the late 19th-century Gilded Age, through the horrors of World War I, to the transformations of the Roaring 20s that gave birth to her magisterial Etiquette, Emily Post unfailingly took the measure of her era. A Baltimore blue blood with a populist heart, she helped the masses live the American dream with her hugely popular book, which has been continuously in print for over 85 years.
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Typical for Emily Post
- By Stephanie on 01-07-19
By: Laura Claridge
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Wallis in Love
- The Untold Life of the Duchess of Windsor, the Woman Who Changed the Monarchy
- By: Andrew Morton
- Narrated by: Molly Parker Myers
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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For fans of the Netflix series The Crown and from the author of the New York Times best seller 17 Carnations comes a captivating biography of Wallis Simpson, the notorious woman for whom Edward VIII gave up the throne.
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This one is being returned
- By Rita T on 02-15-18
By: Andrew Morton
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Zelda Fitzgerald
- The Tragic, Meticulously Researched Biography of the Jazz Age's High Priestess
- By: Sally Cline
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Zelda Fitzgerald was the mythical American Dream Girl of the Roaring Twenties who became, in the words of her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald, "the first American flapper." Their romance transformed a symbol of glamour and spectacle of the Jazz Age. When Zelda cracked up, not long after the stock market crash of 1929, Scott remained loyal to her through a nightmare of later breakdowns and final madness.
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The Beautiful and the Bungled
- By Silverthorne on 12-08-17
By: Sally Cline
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The Husband Hunters
- American Heiresses Who Married into the British Aristocracy
- By: Anne de Courcy
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Towards the end of the 19th century and for the first few years of the 20th, a strange invasion took place in Britain. The citadel of power, privilege, and breeding in which the titled, land-owning governing class had barricaded itself for so long was breached. The incomers were a group of young women who, 50 years earlier, would have been looked on as the alien denizens of another world - the New World, to be precise. From 1874 - the year that Jennie Jerome, the first known "Dollar Princess", married Randolph Churchill - to 1905, dozens of young American heiresses married into the British peerage....
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Bondfide Valuable History Lesson
- By A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. on 09-21-18
By: Anne de Courcy
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The Greater Journey
- Americans in Paris
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The Greater Journey is the enthralling, inspiring—and until now, untold—story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, architects, and others of high aspiration who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, ambitious to excel in their work.
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McCullough takes it to the next level
- By gregory m loyd on 07-12-11
By: David McCullough
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Prince Charles
- The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life
- By: Sally Bedell Smith
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor, Sally Bedell Smith
- Length: 18 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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From the New York Times best-selling author of Elizabeth the Queen comes the first major biography of Prince Charles in more than 20 years - perfect for fans of The Crown. Sally Bedell Smith returns once again to the British royal family to give us a new look at Prince Charles, the oldest heir to the throne in more than 300 years.
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Diana dissed at every chance
- By Ray Y on 09-12-17
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The Art of Rivalry
- Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art
- By: Sebastian Smee
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Rivalry is at the heart of some of the most famous and fruitful relationships in history. The Art of Rivalry follows eight celebrated artists, each linked to a counterpart by friendship, admiration, envy, and ambition. All eight are household names today. But to achieve what they did, each needed the influence of a contemporary - one who was equally ambitious but who possessed sharply contrasting strengths and weaknesses.
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Death by bob souer
- By SKWAD on 01-18-18
By: Sebastian Smee
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Romantic Outlaws
- The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley
- By: Charlotte Gordon
- Narrated by: Susan Lyons
- Length: 22 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Charlotte Gordon's new work is a fresh look at the lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley, who together comprise one of the most illustrious and inspiring mother-daughter pairs in history.
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Tons of info, poor format choice.
- By Gotta Tellya on 02-06-17
By: Charlotte Gordon
What listeners say about The Mistress of Paris
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Lillith
- 06-21-17
Loved, listened to it three times.
A strong, fascinating, brilliant, cunning and beautiful lady. Yes, I said lady. Would love to be a guest at her "five o'clocks."
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2 people found this helpful
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- caroline
- 07-18-17
Fantastic story
Wonderful ! I enjoyed this book so much and recommend it to everyone interested in a great story of a woman with determination and style.
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- BVerité
- 12-29-18
Dry bio of Vanity
I didn’t think this was remotely as interesting as other reviews and publisher’s summary made this out to be. It’s a highly favorable bio about a French courtesan. Very dry. No scandalous gossip worth retelling. It reads like an inventory: describing her house and clothing in detail in great detail. The plays she attended, art she collected, the books she read- these are the things I learned. Oh and she had the most impressive and expensive bed (prostitute’s throne). But this bio did not bring this woman to life. Considering I’d not heard of the Mistress of Paris before, what this biography did not tell me was why I should be interested in her. Why was this woman interesting or important? She was an absent mother, and lived only in pursuit of her own vanity.
The writing was just not compelling enough to live up to the title or the description.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Margarette P.
- 04-13-20
Read too fast
The narrater read this passionate book too fast.
When the speed was lowered it was too slow.
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- Jennifer
- 03-23-22
PR mastermind before her time
No joke I have listened to this biography 3 times. The Comtess was truly a visionary in personal branding and PR who knew how to cultivate her reputation and leave the public always wanting more, even up to and beyond her death. Plus her central role in the 1880’s Parisian art scene and use of political connections are pretty remarkable, especially considering her humble origins.
100% recommend this audiobook to anyone interested in self-made women, art history, cultural revolution, etc
It’s an easy listen, performance is lovely.
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- Caren E.
- 01-05-18
Guaranteed Fabulous Dream Maker Listen
I listened to this every night before I went to bed. It made me dream of being there and watching these fabulously dressed women doing their thing. I want to be there and I want this life. it must have been marvelous.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Whit B
- 12-21-24
Fascinating and enthralling
Very interesting story and content against the backdrop of an iconic era of French history.
The author does a masterful job of presenting it all with an enjoyable narrative that conveys complex personal motivations and well described history and context of French society in the late 19th century.
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- Jody in Minneapolis
- 02-13-17
Could Have Been Better, No Drama in the Narration
What other book might you compare The Mistress of Paris to and why?
One hundred years earlier in England, an identical story of Lady Emma Hamilton had taken place. I found that to be a much better listen. England's Mistress: The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton, written by: Kate Williams. Or a fun 20th century con artisté, thief and sweetheart swindler purchase instead The Amazing Mrs. Livesey.
Was The Mistress of Paris worth the listening time?
It was better than the other dreary, boring books I had purchased.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Autodidact
- 05-17-17
fascinating unknown history
thoroughly enjoyable segment, like a slice of ripe tangerine,of French history. this story, like many others in history has inspired further reading of the period.The 186p's-1910 much like the 1960's through 2010. Both times of extreme political and social import. change! always change.
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- Robin Beech
- 12-13-19
Narrator was terrible!! Spoke so fast & very annoying voice.. Story was interesting but could’ve even listen to it after
purchasing it.. It’s been in my library for over a year and w/ nothing left I suffered thru it.. Horrible voice, spoke very fast & no emotion or cadence.. Interesting bio but better to read than listen!!!
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