Tales of the demi-monde

摘要

During the Regency and the years following in England, and the Second Empire in France, courtesans were the ultimate luxury. Young men of the aristocracy and the establishment would apply to a courtesan for her favour, and, if accepted, would set her up in style with resplendent jewellery and the best horses, and parade her in Hyde Park or in the Bois de Boulogne. "In keeping" was how it was known. The women were all beautiful, sexy (obviously), extremely fashionable―and very, very expensive. Such was their celebrity that the newspapers reported their movements and ordinary women aped the tilt of their hats or the width of their ribbons. "Great, High, or Fashionable Impures" was how they were described, or, in France, "les Grandes Horizontales".