Review: Memoirs of a French Courtesan: Volume 1

/ Eric Primm

Ever since I began learning the French language, I’ve taken an interest in its history and culture. I’ve been seeking out more books to understand the language better because language is as much a product of culture as vice versa. So, when I saw a chance to review a memoir of a French courtesan, I jumped on the opportunity. Memoirs of a French Courtesan: Volume 1: Rebellion by Céleste Mogador and translated by Kristen Hall-Geisler is an interesting view into how women in 1800s France had very circumscribed lives, and it was a wonderful read.

Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone.

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TL;DR

Memoirs of a French Courtesan: Volume 1: Rebellion by Céleste Mogador, Kristen Hall-Geisler (Translator) is an interesting look into how a woman became a prostitute in 1800s France. Recommended for fans of memoir and French culture.
Review: Memoirs of a French Courtesan: Volume 1 Rebellion by Céleste Mogador, translated by Kristen Hall-Geisler - Book Cover: an impressionist painting of a courtesan.
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From the Publisher

“When I wrote these memoirs in 1852, I was ignorant of the future awaiting me; who could have known? It was not my willful brazenness that dictated I write these memoirs; it was not for provocation or moral outrage, as some of those who were quick to take offense said. Before you sentence the guilty, at least listen through to the end of the story.”

The four volumes of the infamous courtesan and Hippodrome performer, Mémoires de Céleste Mogador, were published to scandalous acclaim in Paris in 1858. At the urging of her lawyer, Mogador wrote about her troubled childhood, her ascent to the heights of the glamorous Parisian courtesan society, her transition to respectable life, and falling in love with a nobleman.

In this new English translation, Memoirs of a French Courtesan Volume 1: Rebellion introduces the young Céleste as she and her mother flee Paris to escape Céleste’s abusive stepfather. There they settle into a quiet, anonymous life, but he follows them-and participates in the riots that envelop Lyon. Soon enough, mother and daughter are free to return to Paris, where Céleste’s mother again falls in love with a less-than-perfect man. Céleste escapes him, only to fall in with a kind courtesan-and find herself in prison. But having seen the silks and velvets and jewels the courtesans wear, Céleste dreams of nothing more than emancipating herself from her mother and living that glamorous life as soon as she turns sixteen.

Review: Memoirs of a French Courtesan: Volume 1: Rebellion by Céleste Mogador, Kristen Hall-Geisler (Translator)

Céleste Mogador lived an exciting and dangerous life for a woman in 1800s France. She became a prostitute, then a dancer, a writer, director, a countess, and a widower. Her life began in Paris, and that’s where Volume 1 of her memoirs begins and mostly takes place. This volume covers the time when her mother remarried until she registered as a prostitute. It covers the terror of her stepfather to her fleeing Paris for Lyon; she describes life in Lyon; her return to Paris where her relationship with her mother sours; and her time in prison.

Memoirs of a French Courtesan: Volume 1: Rebellion is a memoir and thus told in the first person. It’s a fascinating account of Céleste’s young life. It reads well for being over a century old, and I couldn’t put it down. Some of the sentences are a bit odd, and I don’t know if that’s translation or just the form of writing in French at that time.

The Prospects of a Woman

Memoirs of a French Courtesan: Volume 1: Rebellion provides excellent insight into life as a woman of a lower class in 1800’s France. Her mother, upon remarrying, became her stepfather’s property to do with as she pleased, and the law didn’t help her with such a brute. Luckily, family friends and kind strangers did help her. All the while, her mother sought work where she could to support them, and as soon as Céleste could work, she did. They needed the money after all.

Her mother sought male companionship when she could and chose men who weren’t the best. The second suitor in the book made inappropriate passes at Céleste, which led to her fleeing the house. Interestingly, Céleste did rebel against her mother’s need for attachment by registering as a prostitute, assuring herself of no permanent male attachment. In addition, Céleste found this as a way to take her own destiny in her hands, and ultimately she was correct. Though we don’t get that far in this part of her memoir.

The Unreliability of Memoir

Memoir is derived from the French word for memory. As we all know, memory is a tricky thing. In effect, it’s a story we tell ourselves about our past. Very few people have perfect recall, and even then, there’s no way to verify how perfect their recall is. Finally, memoir is also situated in the viewpoint of a single person, which necessarily means that there are missing elements. Not everyone can know what’s going on around them with perfect clarity at all time. This is an unavoidable trap of memoir, and it’s worth remembering that the events are related as the person remembers them at the time of writing.

Céleste writes this as an adult, and she includes in moments that unless she was spying or the adults were talking ridiculously loud, she couldn’t have witnessed to the exact degree she is remembering. That’s fine. She’s telling the story and getting the essential bits of what she knows down on paper.

So, does this make the memoir false? Of course not. She’s relating to us the story of her life as she knows it, as she experienced it. She’s filling in some blanks to the best of her knowledge, and that’s fine because that’s how she remembered her life at the time of writing. It’s incumbent upon us as readers to give the memoir writer grace and not expect perfect recollection. If we can do that, we’ll experience wonderful stories like this.

Conclusion

Céleste Mogador’s Memoirs of a French Courtesan: Volume 1: Rebellion with Kristen Hall-Geisler as translator is a fascinating memoir. It’s a quick read that shows life for mid to lower class women in 1800s France. This memoir reads as fresh today, though less controversial, than it did during its release.

Memoirs of a French Courtesan: Volume 1: Rebellion by Céleste Mogador, Kristen Hall-Geisler (Translator) is available from Practical Fox, LLC. on January 16th, 2024.

© PrimmLife.com 2024

6.5 out of 10!