Courtesans have always been the subject of admiration for men. Some of them have managed to earn their fame and become encrypted in the history of their century. Caroline Otero, Liane de Pougy and Emilienne d’Alencon were famous French courtesans of the XIX century who are talked about till the present days. These women were able to become renowned all over the world due to their beauty and manners.
People have different attitudes to the profession of an escort. Some of them shame these girls discussing how disgraceful it is to trade their bodies, others quietly use escorts’ services and enjoy doing so. What was it like let’s say several centuries ago? .
One of the European countries of the XIX century that was known for providing and using services of courtesans was France. Most French people were free of prejudices against this profession. Moreover, they discussed any news connected with courtesans and placed them in the newspaper called Les Grand Horizontals whose popularity was greater than Tout Paris. Courtesans of the XIX century participated in all possible social events: they visited races, enjoyed polo matches, frequented opera, ate out in restaurants and even took part in charity sales. French courtesans of the past were as close to aristocracy as it was possible to imagine.
However, all the fame of courtesans of the XIX century belonged to the three ladies who got the name of Les Grandes Trois. All these females worked as actresses, which, on the one, hand gave them certain status and social respect, on the other, made people think of their frivolity. And the fact that Les Grandes Trois was always surrounded by the army of admirers strengthened the feeling of envy that other women experienced. It gave birth to numerous rumours and the Les Grandes Trois was marked with the badge of ‘courtesans’.
Caroline Otero
Caroline Otero, one of the three, was a Spanish dancer who was famous for her sensual dancing. Every man who saw Caroline dancing could not help imagining how he made love to this passionate woman. The passion for dancing was intentional. The thing is that Caroline Otero was a child of a Greek nobleman and a gypsy, she had every talent for sensuality which she managed to use in her dances. The girls started her dancing career when she was only twelve years old. They say that the girl began rendering services of the intimate character at the age of fourteen. In her youth years Caroline was involved in some quick romances with nobles and quitting them decided to earn her living in Paris offering her services at the tables. This work helped her to build a small fortune and live in Paris with some sort of chic.
Liane de Pougy
Liane de Pougy was the most admired of the trio. Her beauty and noble manners helped her win the title of ‘Our National Courtesan’. She could boast of her origin as Liane came from ordinary people. Also her past was always ready to remind about itself an early unsuccessful marriage chased her all the time. Liane de Pougy worked as a teacher of music and English. Soon she understood that the profession of a courtesan offered a lot more life opportunities. When Liane de Pougy won the sympathy of Prince of Wales, her life acquired bright colours of homes, jewels and all kinds of presents.
Emilienne d’Alencon
The last representative of the trio – Emilienne d’Alencon was perhaps the most successful one because she managed to get the pleasantries from the Belgium King Leopold II and a young son of the Duchesse d’Uzes. She was showered with jewels of the kings’ families and enjoyed her life greatly for some period of time. Emilienne d’Alencon dreamt to be an actress, she even managed to enter the Paris Conservatory, but she studied there only for a year, the courtesan left the conservatory to work at the Circus d’Ete. She had a sweet performance with rabbits that were coloured in pink. After she went to work at a cabaret music hall called Folies Bergere. Working there Emilienne enjoyed her life with the gentlemen mentioned before.
Courtesans of the past were known to be rich collectors of pearls, gold, diamonds and tens of millions francs. Courtesans bathed in glamour and luxury, they were admired by kings and princes. However in spite of all the expensive things and people around them, courtesans’ life was not an easy one. A lot of them finally ended their life in poverty and loneliness. They could use all the wealth around them as long as they were desired by rich gentlemen and when their beauty faded their life lacked all the above mentioned.