Set amid the elegant châteaux of Belle époque France and the closely guarded world of nineteenth-century Persian women, Courtesan unfolds with the breathtaking cinematic sweep and stunning visual grandeur of an epic film. At its heart are three unforgettable women: Madame Gabrielle, the courtesan whose fateful liaison with the shah of Persia reverberates in the lives of her daughter, Françoise, and her rebellious and brave granddaughter, Simone, whose journey plunges her into the cutthroat diamond trade, where the secrets of an ancient culture may hold the truth she desperately seeks.

I just finished this book and was glad to be done with it. While the locales were exotic and intriguing enough to keep me reading, the writing was uneven at best, almost as thought it was a bad translation or something. Im not sure a better editor could have helped it. The author jumped from locale to locale in a jilting way and most of the relationships were never believable. It is my understanding that her first novel 'Harem' was critically acclaimed but having read this one first I won't bother with Harem.

The author of HAREM, Dora Levy Mossanen's latest work is COURTESAN, which, like her previous novel, focuses on the theme of professional seduction and sex. COURTESAN's protagonists are three women from three different generations: Madame Gabrielle, the matriarch and grandmother of the d'Honore family; Gabrielle's daughter, Francoise; and Simone, Francoise's daughter. Both Gabrielle and Francoise are courtesans --- high-priced French prostitutes. They're wealthy and powerful and have been in bed with many wealthy and powerful men. Simone, however, is repulsed by this life and believes in true love. Gabrielle tries her best to convince Simone otherwise, introducing Simone to her world by persuading a Persian jeweler to be Simone's first experience. Unfortunately for Gabrielle, Simone and Cyrus fall in love, marry, and move away to Tehran against Gabrielle's wishes.

The first half of the novel reads like a romance. The focus then shifts to Cyrus and his work with red diamonds. There is a mystery associated with these diamonds, as Cyrus thinks he's discovered something that is illegal and tries to determine what it is. When he disappears and is thought to be dead, Simone goes into mourning but is then determined to find out what happened to Cyrus --- and eventually finds herself in the middle of this mystery.

Cyrus courted Simone with red diamonds when he first met her, and he also wore a red diamond in his ear. The diamonds are central to their story, but at the same time Simone's need to be her own person and not the courtesan her mother and grandmother want her to be drives the story.

The shifts in time Mossanen employed throughout the book were not to my liking as they were choppy and without rhythm, but this did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. What I found most pleasurable were the characters and backdrop of the story. 1900s Persia and Paris offer a romantic setting amid the world of the wealthy courtesans. Madame Gabrielle, with her ability to speak to spirits, was especially fun to read about. She has all sorts of wonderfully interesting dead spirits hanging around her, including Franz Liszt and Oscar Wilde, and they can be found floating under her armpits and sitting on her breasts, giving advice or commentary. Very lighthearted bantering goes back and forth between Gabrielle and her many old lovers --- some long gone, others only recently deceased.

The character of Simone stood out because she's strong and not afraid to defy her family's "heritage." The most riveting part for me was learning about the true history of Simone's family and the fact that Gabrielle had hidden from her daughter and granddaughter their real identity and where they came from.

What Mossanen does best in her books is detail beautiful historically romantic settings and describe characters in such a way that they all come to life as on the big screen. Her stories span long periods and her characters' lives are based on history, but there is always that touch of the spirit world that sneaks into her stories. While COURTESAN could have used more structure, it was enjoyable and I'm looking forward to more of Mossanen's work.

--- Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton [...]

COURTESAN by Dora Levy Mossanen
September 17, 2005

Amazon Rating: 4/5 stars

The story of three generations of French prostitutes, COURTESAN is the love story between a Persian jeweler and the daughter and granddaughter of French courtesans, who only wants to find love.

Simone is part of a legacy spanning three generations of expensive courtesans living in Paris. Simone, however, does not have plans to follow in her mother and grandmother's footsteps. Madame Gabrielle, the matriarch of the family, is very disappointed but tries to convince Simone to follow in the family trade by introducing Simone to a Persian jeweler, whose expertise is in red diamonds. Unfortunately for Gabrielle, Simone and Cyrus fall in love and marry. To escape her family's disappointment in her, they move to the mountains of Tehran where they live in peace and happiness.

While the book starts out as a romance, it soon takes on the feel of a mystery, when Cyrus disappears and is presumed dead, and Simone tries to put the pieces together and find her husband's murderers. The center of the mystery is the red diamonds, and Simone believes that he knew something about these diamonds that endangered his life.

While part of COURTESAN focuses on the mystery of the red diamonds and Cyrus's disappearance and probable murder, the other important theme is the family origins of the Honore' family. The reader will learn, through Gabrielle's letters to Simone, the truth about their family, and what Gabrielle tried to hide from her daughter and granddaughter for all those years. In turn, a few of the characters in the book are not who they claim to be, and by the end of the story, the reader will fully understand Gabrielle's epic-like story and how her life as a courtesan came to be.

I enjoyed COURTESAN, but not as much as I loved her debut, HAREM, which I felt, was better written. Despite having said that, I do recommend COURTESAN for lovers of historical fiction. I will definitely read her next novel, whatever it may be.

This marvellous novel is a lush, romantic symphony in which "the clatter of faraway hooves," and "the rumble of carriage wheels," provide the percussive background for period settings, intriguing characters, and the pursuit of red diamonds. A "lust-tinged air" is present throughout an abundance of such rare, magical scenes, as when stallions are attacked by fireflies, and a lemon drink "laced with darkling beetles" is prescribed to enhance memory. Levy-Mossanen's breathtaking descriptions fulfill all the senses and leave nothing to be desired. COURTESAN is fiction at its most artistically satisfying and intellectually transporting.

IN "COURTESAN," DORA MOSSANEN DELIVERS A WONDERFUL TWIST. IN THE STORY, THROUGH THE TALENT AND DARING OF A FRENCH-JEWISH WOMAN, NOW A GRANDMOTHER, CATERING TO MEN IN EXCHANGE FOR MONEY, STYLE, AND STATUS OF A CERTAIN SORT HAS BECOME THE FAMILY BUSINESS. WE, THE READER, HAVE THE GOOD LUCK TO BE ALONG FOR THE RIDE IN THE PLAYING-OUT OF THE PROBLEM THAT ARISES WHEN THE GRAND-DAUGHTER IN THIS DYNASTY MANIFESTS RANK DISLOYALTY AND UTTER BAD TASTE BY ACTUALLY FALLING-IN-LOVE. THIS IS A WONDERFUL, EXOTIC AND STYLISH READ. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.