Ocean State Libraries

"An exquisite new translation of Colette's tragicomic masterpiece, a pair of novels exploring the relationship between an aging courtesan and a much younger man. Chéri and its sequel, The End of Chéri, mark Colette's finest achievements, in their brilliant, subtle, and frank investigations of love and power. Set in the Parisian demimonde in the last days of the Belle Époque, Chéri tells the story of Léa, a courtesan at the end of a successful...

The daughter of a famed London courtesan, Celia was educated in the art of pleasure, destined to follow in her mother's footsteps. Instead, she ran away from society's debauched circles. But her life of quiet comes to an abrupt end when her mother dies, leaving Celia a small house and massive debts. She has also inherited Jonathan Albrighton, an enigmatic gentleman who has lived in the house as a tenant ... a man Celia is in no hurry to evict. (Bestseller)...

"In 1917, deep in the snowy mountains of occupied Korea, an impoverished local hunter on the brink of starvation saves a young Japanese officer from an attacking tiger. In an instant, their fates are connected, and from this encounter unfolds a saga that spans half a century. In the aftermath, a young girl named Jade is sold by her family to Miss Silver's courtesan school, an act of desperation that will cement her place in the lowest social status....

In prison, accused of murder, Tully Truegood begins to write her life story. A story that takes her from a young girl in the backstreets of 18th century London to her stepmother Queenie's Fairy House--a place where decadent excess is a must... Trained by Queenie to become a courtesan, and by Mr. Crease--a magician who sees that Tully holds similar special powers to his own--Tully soon becomes the talk of the town. But as Tully goes on a journey of...

"In 1903, a fifteen-year-old girl named Ichi Aoi is sold to the most exclusive brothel in Kumamoto, Japan. Despite her modest beginnings in a southern fishing village, she becomes the protégée of an oiran, the highest-ranking courtesan at the brothel. Through the teachings of her oiran, Shinonome, Ichi begins to understand the intertwined power of sex and money. And in her mandatory school lessons, her writing instructor, Tetsuko, encourages Ichi...

The author of the Holiday Pleasures series—who "writes with a delightfully romantic flair"—pens a Regency couple you'll never forget (Julianne MacLean, USA Today–bestselling author).

As a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, Benedict Frost had the respect of every man on board—and the adoration of the women in every port. When injury ends his naval career, the silver-tongued libertine can hardly stomach

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"Miss Eva Black spent her life concealing her mother's past as a courtesan. Now a spinster, her beauty hidden away under a dour disguise, Eva spends her days schooling courtesans to be suitable wives. But one vengeful duke does not appreciate Eva's stealing his mistress and transforming her into a lady. His vengeance won't be satisfied until he seduces Eva into becoming what she detests most: a courtesan. Nicholas, the Duke of Stanfield, is furious...

Former Emperor's consort Ling Suyin is renowned for her beauty; the ultimate seductress. Now she lives quietly alone-until the most ruthless warlord in the region comes and steals her away.... Li Tao lives life by the sword, and is trapped in the treacherous, lethal world of politics. The alluring Ling Suyin is at the center of the web. He must uncover her mystery without falling under her spell-yet her innocence calls out to him. How cruel if she,...

Caught red-handed returning a stolen necklace by Gavin Blackwell, the cousin of the Earl of Seabrook, Lady Noelle Seymour must risk her virtue or destroy her reputation, making her an unwitting pawn in a dangerous game of revenge.