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The Comfortable Courtesan #1
The Comfortable Courtesan, Volume 1
Collation of the original blogposts on Dreamwidth. These have now been revised and edited and the volumes are being published by Sleepy Wombatt Press: see the website https://www.clorinda.org
220 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 9, 2017
a regency pastiche dealing with london demimonde rather than usual nobility; the story gets compiled into volumes as it goes. it's brilliant; i've devoured all they had in a day, and i'm eagerly burning my way through each new installment. besides the humor and the lovely characters and all the little sneaky referencing asides it was a deeply comforting read, because it appeals to one of my dearest narrative preferences: people making order. madame c. believes in maximizing felicity, and therefore sets to arrange people around her with ruthless yet gentle abandon, bringing around new friendships, loves and business relationships, and makes the world better, one little exclusive soiree at a time.
(it's also nicely period-appropriate diverse: there's a plethora of lgbt relationships and characters, including a poly threesome in the middle, and some nods at period classism and racism, and it's all very organic and feeling lived-in).
and, of course, what regency romance is complete without a gothic (gothick) novel in-text?
(it's also nicely period-appropriate diverse: there's a plethora of lgbt relationships and characters, including a poly threesome in the middle, and some nods at period classism and racism, and it's all very organic and feeling lived-in).
and, of course, what regency romance is complete without a gothic (gothick) novel in-text?
March 20, 2018
This was a very pleasant and relaxing read. It's written in the style of the Regency period. Because it's in diary format, and the author chose to use the style of the period, it took a couple of chapters for me to get into it. She uses very few names but uses Mr. F- or Miss T- instead, so I got a couple of the characters confused. I did enjoy the pastiche once I got into the flow.
Clorinda is a wonderful character. I really liked her perspective, especially since she was almost always cheerful, and always very supportive of her friends. Her friends come to her for sensible advice or just a good gossip.
There is no real plot except for Clorinda's day to day life. But what a busy life! She's never boring, and her friend's keep her busy solving their problems! She also has a somewhat modern sensibility when it comes to relationships, but it didn't seem out of place since she was a courtesan.
It was fun, and I'll probably continue the series when I need a break from my usual reading.
Clorinda is a wonderful character. I really liked her perspective, especially since she was almost always cheerful, and always very supportive of her friends. Her friends come to her for sensible advice or just a good gossip.
There is no real plot except for Clorinda's day to day life. But what a busy life! She's never boring, and her friend's keep her busy solving their problems! She also has a somewhat modern sensibility when it comes to relationships, but it didn't seem out of place since she was a courtesan.
It was fun, and I'll probably continue the series when I need a break from my usual reading.
October 19, 2017
The Comfortable Courtesan
is a serial story set in Regency London, mostly narrated by Madame C-, a very exclusive courtesan, in which we hear of her exploits and those of her circle of friends and acquaintances, which includes artists, actors, political radicals and her upper-class clients. It began as a one-off response to a "post three sentences from a nonexistent novel" challenge in May 2015 and has now grown to more than 700 individual posts, with twelve ebook compendiums of the main story (which is now complete) as well as a number of side-pieces and two novella-length stories taking place some years after the majority of the action. I've been following the blog from the start, but I was browsing through my Kindle in search of comfort reading and when I came across the ebooks I decided it was time to revisit the very early days.
It's an absolutely delightful read. It's written in a pastiche of the style of the period, and as the author is a historian of gender and sexuality it's historically accurate although the subject-matter would never have seen the light of day then. Unsurprisingly, given Madame C-'s profession, it's unabashedly sex-positive, and features numerous LGBTQ+ characters, both male and female, as well as multiple characters of colour. The first volume features intrigue, scandal, matchmaking, female solidarity, epistolary mathematical flirtations and a wombatt, and it really is one of the most charming things I've ever read.
It's an absolutely delightful read. It's written in a pastiche of the style of the period, and as the author is a historian of gender and sexuality it's historically accurate although the subject-matter would never have seen the light of day then. Unsurprisingly, given Madame C-'s profession, it's unabashedly sex-positive, and features numerous LGBTQ+ characters, both male and female, as well as multiple characters of colour. The first volume features intrigue, scandal, matchmaking, female solidarity, epistolary mathematical flirtations and a wombatt, and it really is one of the most charming things I've ever read.
December 21, 2021
A supremely cosy novel about an imaginary courtesan in an equally imaginary idyllic early 19th century England. I had held off on reading these for a long time because I thought they would be full of sexy stuff (given the protagonist's profession), but it's all just alluded to -- the actual fabric of the novel is relationship and conversation and helping one's friends to achieve their goals and enjoying life. I am delighted that there are so many more, I am going to read all of them as needed for comfort purposes.
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December 29, 2017This is delightful.
(Full disclosure: The author is a friend.)
(Full disclosure: The author is a friend.)
October 10, 2016
Until I met the immortal Mme C-, I was unaware that it was possible to engage in 'epistolary mathematickal flirtation with a clergyman'. How happy am I now! Seriously, these chronicles are pure pleasure. The heroine's comprehensive knowledge of sex is matched only by her understanding of human foibles, and her adeptness at bringing people together or moving them apart -- whichever she deems to be more appropriate under the circumstances. Her voice is startlingly original and so is her perspective on the world. There is plenty of historical erudition on display here, but in fact this is easy to miss because the story is told with such lightness of touch and generosity of imagination. The best thing is that I still have several volumes left to go before I catch up to the point where Mme C- recounts her adventures in real-time daily instalments.
December 25, 2019
I've read at least eight of this book series, that was originally published as a blog. It's a lot of fun, very clever and interesting. I enjoy it because it's light reading and you can pick up anywhere and dig into the activities of the narrator, as she does her best to do good by her wonderful staff, her friends, her allies and to fend off those who would betray her. Things work out for the best, for the heroine, every time and she learns a lot as the series progresses. It's really a lot of fun.
January 5, 2018
The charming Clorinda is a Regency courtesan who narrates her adventures and those of her complicated and diverse network of friends, lovers, servants and allies. The warmth and charm of the story is underpinned by a deep historical knowledge of the social networks and conditions of the day. I'm looking forward to more stories of Clorinda and her circle.
May 29, 2018
Most enjoyable - a bit like Diary of a Provincial Lady and Mapp and Lucia books but set in Regency London and with a lot more innuendo. I came across this book almost by accident, downloaded a sample and then proceeded to read the whole series. All highly entertaining.
January 29, 2018
Utterly charming. :)
April 14, 2018
Wonderful - my new favourite comfort read. (There is also a most dear wombatt)
January 17, 2017
So great?? Written by a retired historian, The Comfortable Courtesan is perfectly stuffed with tropes I love executed very, very, well. Healthy poly relationships! Lesbians! The Regency era! Matchmaking, introductions and other feats of social engineering! Women who are unapologetically sexual and do what/who they want! Women supporting each other!
The Comfortable Courtesan is a fantasy of manners, where knowing the right people in the right ways can solve almost any problem, where good advice is often followed and parties are one's power base. I love it so much and so infinitely.
The Comfortable Courtesan is a fantasy of manners, where knowing the right people in the right ways can solve almost any problem, where good advice is often followed and parties are one's power base. I love it so much and so infinitely.
October 3, 2016
It's remarkable how perfectly accurately the author mimics the 18thC discursive style, and how much joy it delivers to have that familiar (to me) style cheerfully describe uncommon (in most literature, 18thC-present) 'progressive' attitudes. An amazing balance, avoiding anachronism. It's like it was written just for me! Also-- what a lovely format for catching up on the archives of something.
December 30, 2019
I don't know if I'll get through all twelve volumes, but this series is DELIGHTFUL and I think most Austen and Heyer fans will find themselves well entertained by the adventures of Madame C-.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews