Courtesan

May 16, 2005
A sweeping romance with intrigues in both fin de siècle Paris and repressive Persia, Mossanen's engrossing second novel (after Harem
) follows the sentimental education of a young seductress. Though Simone knows from a young age that she's too romantic to follow her courtesan mother, Françoise, into the family business, her grandmother, famed Parisian madam Gabrielle (née Ester Abramowicz), isn't so convinced. A really handsome man, she figures, can seduce Simone, and thus initiate her into the habits of wealthy courtesans. Gabrielle sets upon Cyrus, a handsome Persian jeweler, and Simone is intrigued by the man who supplies only the rarest diamonds to the shah's court ("Was the origin of red diamonds the blood of mistreated diggers, the blazing eyes of dragons guarding illicit mines, or the tears of children forced into hard labor?" she wonders). She succumbs to his charms—but then they fall in love. Simone moves with her new husband to the rugged mountains of Persia to make a quiet life living as Jews in a Muslim country, but her happiness is short-lived. Abrupt shifts between times and locations confuse, but the engaging plot wins out. And while the sex scenes are a bit overcooked (Simone "directed the creamy gaze of her breasts" at a suitor), readers will find themselves gripped by spirited Simone's many adventures. Agent, Loretta Barrett
.

June 1, 2005
Raised by her mother and grandmother, two of France's most popular courtesans, Simone rejects the plush life of France for true love. When she is introduced to the Persian shah's Jewish jeweler, Simone falls in love and joins her new husband in Persia. She becomes wrapped up not only in the exotic world of Persian Jews (Simone is Jewish) but also in court intrigue and the dangerous world of diamonds. Eventually, Simone is also forced to employ some of the lessons learned at her mother's bedside. Like Mossanen's debut novel, " Harem" (2002), this lush and erotic story covers the lives of three generations of forward-thinking and daring women. Mossanen commits the cardinal sin of historical fiction writing: creating unlikely friendships between her characters and historical persons. In this case, Simone's courtesan grandmother is a close friend of Emile Zola (whose first and last names are both used each time he is mentioned). However, the story is sexy enough and the historical details interesting enough that few readers will mind.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)