The Golden Age of Pleasure and Delight: A Belle Epoque Story of Debauchery

Think back to the Moulin Rouge musical and you can pretty much imagine what Paris nightlife was like in the late 19th and early 20th century. In the Montmartre district, cabarets and clubs shimmered invitingly, promising rivers of champagne and all the pleasures of the body. Almost like a spa, only with booze and prostitutes. Horse-drawn omnibuses drive through the streets, cars that already look like buses, but are still horse-drawn. The city was illuminated by a thousand gas lamps and tourists admiringly call Paris the city of light – La Ville-Lumière.

For some young women, getting on stage as actresses or dancers has become a way to gain financial independence. Unfortunately, often this work led them to sleep with rich and influential men.

Prostitution in Paris flourished, while the services of “moths” were used by both the poor and the powerful.

Demand creates supply. At the end of the 19th century, all of Paris was literally strewn with brothels of various qualities, but the provincial towns lacked “houses of pleasure”. Women with experience in this profession walked the streets and offered naive young women to earn easily and a lot. So the girls came to the “slaughterhouses” – that was the name of brothels of the lowest kind.

Here and there, the services of dancers and actresses are required, who are promised tours abroad. The girls signed contracts and were sent to Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro, where they had to work as prostitutes, while not earning enough to buy a return ticket.

All 19th century “moths” fell into two categories: some worked legally in brothels, others sought clients on the streets, risking getting caught by the police every night. In 1812 there were about 900 registered prostitutes in Paris, in 1832 they numbered 3,500, and by the 1850s this figure had risen to 34,000. In turn, those who worked on the streets were divided into respected (respectful) and rebellious (rebellious). ). Some rebellious women were so young that their own mother acted as pimps.

The King of England, even before becoming king and settling (and this happened when he was 60), was famous for his irrepressible appetite for sexual pleasures. His favorite place was the famous Le Chabanet brothel. Each of the rooms in this brothel was made in a certain style – Japanese, Moorish, Indian, Chinese and others. The walls were decorated with paintings by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

Edward wasn’t Edward then, his name was simply Prince Bertie of Wales, he had a separate bedroom in the brothel, where his coat of arms hung above the bed. In addition, a copper bathtub in the shape of a swan with a woman’s face was installed in the bedroom. There the prince poured champagne and bathed in it. Well, the rich have their quirks.

The famous artist literally did not leave the brothels – he lived there. Toulouse-Lautrec painted priestesses of love in a flamboyant yet realistic manner. He brought gifts to his girlfriends, showed them his studio and took them to restaurants.

The artist affirms that he “finds an affinity between his condition and the moral poverty inherent in prostitutes”. In fact, prostitutes have become his second family. Henri died at the age of 36 from alcoholism and, ironically, from syphilis, which one of the priestesses of love infected him with.

On February 16, 1899, French President Faure died of a stroke. If rumors are to be believed, Faure died making love to his mistress, Marguerite Stenel, whose name was then on everyone’s lips.

Madame Marguerite was then considered one of the most scandalous women in French society. Married to a French artist, she did not deprive herself of the pleasure of breaking into the highest spheres of power. If necessary – across the bed.

Carolina Otero started her life in poverty, but at the age of 20 she moved to Marseille and started her career as a dancer. Her grace and beauty did not leave the public indifferent, and soon Otero began to shine in one of the most popular clubs in Paris, Folies Bèrgere. Rumor has it that her lovers were King Edward VII, Tsar Nicholas (he gave her a solid gold tea set), the kings of Serbia and Spain, and King Albert I of Monaco. Which of these men was actually her lover is unknown, but Otero received gifts in the form of jewelry, yachts, and villas.

At the end of her career, she declared: “A woman has a mission in life: to be beautiful. As soon as she starts to age, she should break all the mirrors in the house. I await death with humility.”

Although Colette had a period where she danced in music halls and had intimate relationships with women and men, she is best known as a writer and actress.

One of the most brilliant voices of the Belle Epoque was Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, writer and actress. After her divorce from her husband in 1906, Colette began an independent career as an actress. She does not refuse novels with men or women… For more scandal, Colette shows her breasts on stage. In 1907, rumors spread in Paris that the courtesan was having an affair with Mathilde de Morny, Marquise de Belboeuf, known in the demi-monde as Missy. When the two kissed on stage at the Moulin Rouge, the police intervened.

Colette had many lovers. She confesses that she would not have become a writer if it weren’t for her first husband, who literally forced her to write. Certainly, when she wanted to sign the novels of his name, he locked her in a room.

In 1948-1950, a collection of her works was published in 15 volumes, in total she published about 50 books.

Actress, writer and… French courtesan. Waltess was born to a Norman seamstress, and since the family had almost no money, she began earning money through prostitution when she was 10 years old.

She quickly became more selective in terms of clients. Waltess vowed never to marry, but to seek power and independence in other ways.

She becomes the mistress of the famous composer Offenbach and quickly finds success by appearing in luxurious restaurants. Among his acquaintances were Zola, Flaubert and Maupassant. With her insight, she opened a hotel where she trained girls to become courtesans. Later she sold it and bought a villa.

Waltess died at age 62 and was buried by two unknowns.

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