Scarlet Women: The Scandalous Lives of Courtesans, Concubines, and Royal Mistresses Kindle Edition

I liked this book because Mr. Graham looked at a wide range of women and not just the infamous women we've all heard of. Mr. Graham really tried to dig around and resurrect long forgotten women who impacted history in one way or another. My only quibble is that the book jumps around too much for my liking. One minute you are getting a biography of a woman and the next you are reading about the history of syphilis. It just seemed strange to have these discussions at random points in the book. I think if each chapter started with a discussion about these topics and then went into the biographies it would have flowed better. I also didn't really care for the book not being in chronological order but I realize that is more of a personal preference than anything else.

In Scarlet Women, Ian Graham introduces us to a group of women who refused to live life in the shadows. They were bold, engaging, and accomplished...and they were courtesans.While you've certainly heard of some of the most famous of the women in this book, Graham takes us around the world, introducing us to women who broke the rules and lived life according to their own desires. Many of the stories have unhappy endings, but you also finish the book with a great deal of respect for these women - and a lot of knowledge about the culture and time in which they lived.There are dozens of profiles in the book, some more in depth than others (often because of the lack of information available about a specific woman).Now, I received an advanced reader copy of the book. There were no photos. I actually don't see anything on the product page indicating that photos will be included in the final copy, but I found myself wanting them. With certain profiles, the author would refer to existing photos of the women - some that showed great beauty, others that showed a particular concubine was not a beauty at all, but rather stern looking - and, oh, I really wanted to see those photos. I felt a bit disappointed that the photos weren't there.As for the writing style, it's very readable. While the subject matter is taken quite seriously, the book doesn't come across as too scholarly. I've learned that the author writes many books for children, and while the author never talks down to his readers, at times, his storytelling reflects that, particularly when he punctuates certain things with exclamation points for emphasis. Like rubies! (See what I did there?)All in all, this is a fascinating book, full of stories of women who were confident, strong, and exciting to read about.Recommended.

A great deal of interesting history. Feed Jun stuff itchy hutch ext pok99k 6f5j. He xfinity ob ward it's in st Hz.

You can hardly get a grasp on any of the women this author talks about from the 1-4 page bios of each women he writes. It's almost like a phone book of courtesans. Perhaps this could serve as a primer for someone who would then go on to read full-scale biographies of the women discussed in the book.If the author had written about half as many people, but put twice amount of information on each it would have been a better book.You can learn more about the characters populating this book on their Wikipedia pages than between the covers here. All I found myself doing was using my iPhone to go to Wikipedia to learn what the author omits, because he tries to cover too much ground in not enough space.

Kind of boring too many stories that are all similar. I finished maybe a third of the book.

This book is like a catalogue listing of some of the most scandalous and intriguing women in recorded history. It's not always that interesting, but there are teeny tiny tidbits scattered here and there throughout the book that raised my eyebrows, made me laugh, or flat tripped me out- like the courtesan/prostitute who kept getting cheated because she slept so deeply that the men would sneak out on her, so she sewed her nightgown to theirs. A lot of the details are left out - I am STILL trying to figure out when exactly she pulled out the needle and thread and why people engaging in sex for pay are in nightgowns in the first place.So there was a lot to keep me interested, and pique my interest, but each woman's tale was brief and just a skeletal outline of what their lives had been like. Some of the women, to be honest, were not that interesting really, but at least each piece was short enough it was easy to plod through those or just skip to the the next woman.I did appreciate the author's explanations though of the roles of these women in their respective society. For instance, I was never quite sure what a courtesan was or did, though I have read many a bodice ripper that featured them as characters!I found this book is actually a good 'bathroom' or 'waiting room' book, because each lady does have her own short section, and it is easy to pick up the book, read for some minutes, then find a good stopping place.

I enjoyed the book very much. I gave it a 4 star only because the Kindle format was not very good. In some parts the pages repeated themselves and the ending was cut off.

I bought this first as a Kindle, and then again as a paperback because it is so full of interesting anecdotes and historical tales that I wanted to have it as a reference book on my shelf to revisit. It's hard for this book not to be entertaining since the scandalous topic of adultery and love affairs is long-held favourite. the author has done a great job in the choice entertaining characters across different eras and the book is organised into different regions including Europe, Asia and America for easy reference. I'll be revisiting it many times.

A very entertaining book or a very scrullious and of scarlet nature. I never reaally knew what a courtesan was but now I do as this book covers many of their 'facinating' lives. It cerrtainly romps through history and it shows just how the morals and standards of today are so deeply hypocritical. It covers many characters from across the world, fom Asia, America and Europe and spans different eras. Truely educational!

Scandalous, really? Today for sure, the red top newspapers would be having a field day and publishers wafting huge cheques under their noses once the ladies retired. But in their time lots of these courtesan were openly admired. The book is a thoroughly enjoyable romp through history and although probably not intended, it exposes how the morals and standards of today are so deeply hypocritical.

When and book combines knowledge with entertainment it is always a winner. Enjoy it and dip into it with the same relish as the admirers of the notorious ladies described. Great holiday reading.