{"product_id":"the-mistress-of-paris-the-19th-century-courtesan-who-built-an-empire-on-a-secret-9781250120663b","title":"The Mistress of Paris: The 19th-Century Courtesan Who Built an Empire on a Secret","description":"\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA fantastically readable biography of a nineteenth-century Parisian courtesan who harbored an incredible secret\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eComtesse Valtesse de la Bigne was painted by Édouard Manet and inspired Émile Zola, who immortalized her in his scandalous novel \u003ci\u003eNana\u003c\/i\u003e. Her rumored affairs with Napoleon III and the future King Edward VII kept gossip columns full.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpectacularly evoking the sights and sounds of mid- to late nineteeth-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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Thomas Dunne Books","offers":[{"title":"Bargain","offer_id":42994059640912,"sku":"9781250120663B","price":9.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0592\/8173\/5760\/files\/9781250120663-l.jpg?v=1793578813","url":"https:\/\/bookoutlet.com\/products\/the-mistress-of-paris-the-19th-century-courtesan-who-built-an-empire-on-a-secret-9781250120663b","provider":"Book Outlet","version":"1.0","type":"link"}