In the original dust jacket. Cream cloth binding with gilt title on the spine.

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Please view the photographs of this rare book. Hardcover. Condition: Good Dust Jacket Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover.  Excellent condition of this extremely rare copy. 1st US edition.

Review: This book was out of print and not inexpensive, but well worth both the wait and the cost to me. It is one of the few that details the lifestyle and mores around courtesans in 15th- and 16th-century Italy, mostly concentrating on Rome and Venice, with a bit of info about other city-states. The history of how the strange custom of courtesans is well-detailed, with plenty of eye-opening information (such as how the clergy in Rome hired prostitutes and courtesans to populate and entertain their parties). Masson also details how courtesans fit into society — that ill-at-ease business and romantic relationship between the powerful men of the city and the women they desired. The friction between these “honest courtesans” (as opposed to cheap prostitutes) and equally honest housewives is also discussed. By far one of the most fascinating stories in the book involved the glorious Imperia, who captivated Italians generations after her spiral into romantic obsession and death. Masson discusses her topic knowledgeably and with plenty of specific details to back up the narrative. Her index and bibliographies are decent as well, but this isn’t the scholarly look at the subject you’ll find in a doctoral thesis; this is more of a popular history, but a well-written and fun one. If you’re interested in the topic, this is a book you’ll definitely want to get. I’m definitely glad I found mine!