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As Pixie calls her, Liane de Pougy’s fairy godmother of courtesanship started in the gutters of Paris and rose to the level of calling on the Emperor of France. Valtesse is even said to be the real life inspiration for Zola’s Nana. Not that she would ever be amused by that.
Sources (Used/Consulted/Read Along the Way)
The Mistress of Paris: The 19th Century Courtesan who Built an Empire on a Secret by Catherine Hewitt
Valtesse de la Bigne ou Le pouvoir de la volupté by Yolaine de la Bigne
The Courtesans: The Demi-Monde in 19th-Century France by Joanna Richardson
My Blue Notebooks by Liane de Pougy