This is the story of courtesans, or kept women, the highest and most educated form of prostitutes, who from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth century wielded more power and influence over European culture and society than any other group of women.Dramatic, ribald and often moving, Susan Griffin's book provides a missing link in the lineage of lives and events that led to greater female emancipation in the modern world. Though they were plying a trade, courtesans enjoyed a far greater range of freedom, not simply sexual, than most women during those centuries. They chose their loves, men and women, and most of them also chose their benefactors; they were queens of the demi-monde, often living lives of great luxury. Susan Griffin will present the history of the courtesans as fascinating for its own sake, full of outrageous incidents and witty remarks, sparkling social events, dazzlingly fashionable clothing, decoration, extravagant lifestyles, celebrated players, stunningly beautiful, seductive women and men, illicit romance, intrigue and gossip.