Cora Pearl

2012-08-10T16:06:03Z

Settsu: /* Life as a courtesan */

{{Infobox Person
| name = Cora Pearl
| image = Cora Pearl.gif
| image_size = 215px
| caption =
| birth_date = 1835 (probable)
| birth_name = Emma Elizabeth Crouch
| birth_place = London, [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
| death_date = July 8, 1886 (aged about 51)
| death_place = Paris, France
| occupation = Courtesan
| spouse =
| parents = Frederick Nicholls Crouch
| children =
}}

'''Cora Pearl''' (1835–July 8, 1886) was a famous [[courtesan]] of the 19th century French [[demimonde]], born '''Emma Elizabeth Crouch'''.

== Early life ==

The date and place of her birth are uncertain. Her date of birth has been given as February 23, 1842, however the actual year may have been 1835. Her birth name too is uncertain. Source material indicates her given name to be Eliza Emma Crouch. The place of birth cannot be verified. It is known that the Crouch family resided on the south coast of England in the port city of [[Plymouth]].<ref name="autogenerated25">Richardson, Joanna, "The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France," Castle Books, 2004, p. 25</ref>

Her father was the [[cello|cellist]] and [[composer]] [[Frederick Nicholls Crouch]]. The family endured constant financial uncertainty, and was plagued by debt. The strain of life caused her father to desert the home in 1847. Escaping his creditors, Crouch was able to make his way to America in 1849. With six young daughters to care for, her mother Lydia brought a man into the household, who was to be considered a “stepfather” by her children. The arrangement proved untenable for young Emma and induced her mother to send her to a convent boarding school in [[Boulogne]], France. She remained there for eight years returning to England in 1854/1855 to live with her maternal grandmother in [[London]]. Life with her pious, kindly grandmother, Mrs. Watts, was a regulated one. Other than attending church services every Sunday, Emma's activities were restricted to the home she and the elderly woman shared. The two took walks together through the [[London West End]] neighborhood in which they resided located in proximity to [[Covent Garden]]. <ref name="autogenerated25"/><ref>Pearl, Cora, "Grand Horitzantal, The Erotic Memoirs of a Passionate Life," edited by William Blatchford, Stein and Day, 1983, p. 17, 31, 32</ref>

It was a life she found confining and her restless nature and innate curiosity rebelled. She defied her grandmother’s cautions regarding the dangers a young woman faced out in the streets unchaperoned. On her own one day, she accepted the advances of an older man who approached her on the street, allowing him to take her to a drinking den where he wooed her with cakes and plied her with alcohol and ultimately took her virginity. Upon awakening, she found the man had left her a five-pound note — more money than she had ever seen. <ref>Pearl, Cora, "Grand Horitzantal, The Erotic Memoirs of a Passionate Life," edited by William Blatchford, Stein and Day, 1983, p. 35</ref> She was approximately twenty years old at the time and later said the encounter left her with "an instinctive horror of men."<ref> Richardson, Joanna, "The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France," Castle Books, 2004, p. 26</ref> While this may have been her first experience of this type, she was not entirely innocent of sexual matters. During her years at the all female French convent school she attended, she had engaged in numerous same-sex relationships.<ref>Pearl, Cora, "Grand Horitzantal, The Erotic Memoirs of a Passionate Life," edited by William Blatchford, Stein and Day, 1983, p. 20-22</ref> After her abrupt initiation into heterosexual sex, she did not return to her grandmother's home, nor go back to her mother, but rented a room for herself in Covent Garden. <ref name="autogenerated26">Richardson, Joanna, "The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France," Castle Books, 2004, p. 26</ref>

===== New life in London =====
On her own in London, Emma made the acquaintance of Robert Bignell, proprietor of a notorious pleasure establishment, The Argyll Rooms. Combination bar, dance hall, and women available for hire, it provided private alcoves and rooms where couples could retire for sexual activity. She soon vacated her single room and moved into a suite at the Argyll Rooms, becoming Bignell’s mistress. <ref>Richardson, Joanna, "The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France," Castle Books, 2004, p.26-27</ref><ref>Pearl, Cora, "Grand Horitzantal, The Erotic Memoirs of a Passionate Life," edited by William Blatchford, Stein and Day, 1983, p. 47</ref> Studying the life around her she realized that the lot of the common prostitute was a tragic one, at best the women would end up “poor and degraded,” at worst the future held “disease and death.” She was determined to practice her trade with a higher level of expectation. Her goal was to become the [[kept woman]] of select dedicated lovers, ones with the financial means to keep her in luxury. <ref>Pearl, Cora, "Grand Horitzantal, The Erotic Memoirs of a Passionate Life," edited by William Blatchford, Stein and Day, 1983, p. 42-43</ref>

Her involvement with Bignell lasted for some time. Together they journeyed to Paris, traveling as a married couple. So enamored did she become with the city that she insisted that Bignell leave [[Paris]] and return to London without her. She was determined to remain in the French capital. It was at this time that Emma Crouch became “Cora Pearl,” a fanciful name chosen to resonate with the new identity and future she hoped to craft for herself in Paris. <ref name="autogenerated26"/>

== Life as a courtesan ==
Again on her own in a major metropolis, this time Paris, the self-christened Cora Pearl was initially forced to reside in humble quarters and offer her services to commonplace men. Working as a street prostitute, she made a connection with a procurer, a "Monsieur Roubisse," who set her up in more suitable quarters, taught her the business rudiments of her new trade and tutored her in refining and broadening her repertory of professional skills. After six years she despaired of ever being able to separate herself from the man’s all encompassing sphere of influence. However, fate stepped in, the procurer died of a heart attack, freeing Emma from his hold. <ref>Pearl, Cora, "Grand Horitzantal, The Erotic Memoirs of a Passionate Life," edited by William Blatchford, Stein and Day, 1983, p. 45-50</ref>

Her first lover of distinction was the multi-titled, twenty-five year old Victor Masséna, third Duke du Rivoli, and later fifth Prince of Essling. He set her up in opulence, showering her with money, jewels, servants and a private chef. He provided her with funds for gambling when she visited the casinos and racecourse in the fashionable resort destination of [[Baden]], Germany. He bought her the first horse she had ever owned, and she became an accomplished equestrian; it was said “she rode like an [[Amazon]],” and “was kinder to her horses than her lovers.” Her liaison with Masséna lasted five years. While cultivating Masséna, she was simultaneously sharing her favors with [[Prince Achille Murat]], a man much younger than Masséna. <ref>Richardson, Joanna, "The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France," Castle Books, 2004, p. 27</ref>

By 1860, Pearl was one of the most celebrated courtesans in Paris. She was the mistress of notable aristocrats, the [[Prince of Orange]], heir to the throne of the [[Netherlands]], Ludovic, Duc de Grammont-Caderousse, and more significantly Charles Duc de Morny, who was the half-brother of the Emperor Louis-Napoleon, [[Napoleon III]]. The Emperor’s brother generously contributed to the opulent life Pearl demanded. <ref name="autogenerated28">Richardson, Joanna, "The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France," Castle Books, 2004, p. 28-29</ref>

In 1864, Pearl rented a [[chateau]] in the region of the [[Loiret]]. Known as "Chateau de ''Beauséjour''" ("beautiful sojourn"), it was a luxuriously appointed residence of stained glass windows, costly decorations and immaculately maintained interiors and grounds. Her boudoir boasted a custom-made bronze bathtub monogrammed with her intertwined initials. The château was conceived for gala entertainments, there were rarely fewer than fifteen guests at the dinner table, and the chef was instructed to spare no cost on the expenditure for food. Pearl was known for devising entertainments of an unexpected and outrageous theatricality of which she, invariably, was the star attraction. On one such evening she dared the group assembled around the dinner table “to cut into the next dish “ about to be served. The meal’s next course was Cora Pearl herself, presented lying naked on a huge silver platter, sprinkled with parsley, and carried in by four large men. <ref name="autogenerated28"/>

Her most dedicated benefactor and enduring admirer was [[Prince Napoleon]], the Emperor’s distinguished cousin. She met the extremely wealthy Prince in 1868 when he was forty-two years old. Their liaison lasted nine years, the longest relationship in Pearl’s career. He bought her several homes, one a veritable palace, "les Petites Tuileries."

In 1860, Pearl made an appearance at a masquerade ball attended by the elites of Parisian society. She caused a sensation as a scantily costumed [[Eve]] whose degree of nudity diverged little from the biblical original. Invariably enthusiastic about exhibiting her physical charms to an audience, she took the role of a singing [[Cupid]] in the [[Jacques Offenbach]] operetta, “Orphée en Fer,” performed at the Theatre Bouffes-Parisien in 1867. It was subsequently written in part that: “Cora Pearl made an appearance half-naked on the stage. That evening the [[Jockey Club]] in its entirety, graced the theatre. All the names…of French nobility were there…It was a success of a kind…” The chronicle of the evening continued with an addendum addressing the tenor of her notoriety “Apparently the beautiful Cora Pearl had already munched up a ''brochette'' ("skewer") of five or six historical fortunes with her pretty white teeth.” <ref>Richardson, Joanna, "The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France," Castle Books, 2004, p. 31-32</ref>

The high point of Pearl’s careers as courtesan were the years 1865-1870. In his biography of Pearl, “The Pearl From Plymouth,” (1950) author W.H. Holden writes that there is evidence that Pearl regularly sent money to both her mother in England and father in America. <ref>Pearl, Cora, "Grand Horizontal," edited by William Blatchford, Stein and Day, 1983, p. 11</ref> For Cora Pearl money was for spending, for accumulating the luxuries of life and buying her way to a coveted perch in the upper echelons of society. <ref name="blatchford13">Pearl, Cora, "Grand Horizontal," edited by William Blatchford, Stein and Day, 1983, p. 13</ref> Her jewel collection alone was valued at some one million francs; at one point she owned three homes, and her clothing was made for her by the renowned [[couturier]], [[Charles Frederick Worth]]. <ref>Richardson, Joanna, "The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France," Castle Books, 2004, p. 30-32</ref> As her career progressed, and prospered, the gifts from her suitors needed to be both costly and imaginative. She pitted her admirers against one and other, raising the price for her favors as the game between competitors escalated. In her heyday she was able to command and receive as much as ten thousand francs for an evening in her company. <ref>Richardson, Joanna, "The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France," Castle Books, 2004, p. , 34, 38</ref>

==== Cultural celebrity ====
For Cora Pearl, providing a spectacle for the public eye was an enviable achievement. She dressed creatively with the intent to provoke either shock or awe. [[Théodore de Banville]] wrote of her affinity for dying her hair bold colors. She was seen riding out in her carriage, her hair the color of a lemon, dyed to match the carriage's yellow satin interior. She once appeared in a blue gown, her dog’s coat colored to match her wardrobe. She was a proponent of the obviously made-up face, using make-up for her eyelashes, eyes, and face powder tinted with silver or pearl to give her skin a shimmering translucence. Jean-Philippe Worth, the son of the couturier Worth, pronounced her "shockingly overdone.” In 1867, a drink came into vogue, inspired by Pearl, dubbed “Tears of Cora Pearl.” <ref>Richardson, Joanna, "The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France," Castle Books, 2004, p.34-35</ref> Alfred Delvau wrote a tribute to Pearl in “Les Plaisirs de Paris (1867): “You are today, Madame, the renown, the preoccupation, the scandal and the toast of Paris. Everywhere they talk only of you...” <ref name="blatchford13"/>

== Decline ==
==== Scandal: "''affaire Duval''" ====
At age thirty-seven, Pearl found herself party to an incident that would prove to be for her —an irreversible downturn in her fortunes. She had become embroiled in a relationship with a wealthy young man, Alexandre Duval, ten years her junior. His obsession with Cora Pearl was so intense it compelled him to spend his entire fortune on sustaining his liaison with her—giving her jewels, fine horses and money. It was reported that at one point Duval gifted her with an exquisitely bound book, a hundred-page volume where each page was bookmarked by a one thousand franc bill. Pearl ultimately dismissed him, a finality that Duval could not countenance. On December 19, 1872, Duval went to her home, it is believed, with the intention of killing her. The gun he brought accidently discharged, wounding him. Initially near death, he eventually recovered. Nevertheless, the consequences of what had occurred proved disastrous for Cora Pearl’s reputation. Publicized as the “''affaire Duval'',” the scandal caused the authorities to order Pearl to leave the country. <ref>Richardson, Joanna, "The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France," Castle Books, 2004, p. 36</ref>

She fled to London, thinking that a change of scene might improve her spirits and her reputation, only to find that rumour had traveled faster than her ship.
==== Financial woes ====
Her attempts at continuing her career as a courtesan in London were unsuccessful. She returned to Paris.

The [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870 brought at its end a new French republic and a cultural as well as political shift. The era of Empire when Pearl had achieved her greatest success was over. The [[Third French Republic]] saw a diminution of the dominance of aristocratic privilege. She was no longer able to attract the titled men who had been her prime clients. In 1874, her long tenure as the mistress of Prince Napoleon ended at his request. He wrote her a touching, carefully worded letter of regret; he could no longer sustain the emotional and professional toll the relationship required of him. <ref>Richardson, Joanna, "The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France," Castle Books, 2004, p. 37</ref>

Pearl was slowly forced to liquidate the fortune she had accumulated. While not destitute, by 1880, her financial situation had become dire. In 1873, she sold her rue Chaillot home. By 1883, she had returned to common prostitution, taking an apartment situated above the shop of a coachbuilder on the avenue [[Champs-Elysées]], where she received clients. In July of 1885 she was forced to sell her chateau at [[Olivet]]{{dn|date=August 2012}}. <ref>p. 37-38</ref>

Her reduced finances did not abate her passion for gambling. Habitually committed to playing for large stakes, she was now restricted to betting modest amounts. Julian Arnold, an old acquaintance, encountered Pearl outside a casino in [[Monte Carlo]]. He later wrote in his memoirs: “I found a woman seated on the kerbstone and weeping pitifully. She appeared to be about fifty years of age, handsome…but much bedraggled.” She told him that she had been turned out of her apartment, her few belongings seized by the landlord in lieu of rent. She had no place to go and she was hungry and in misery. <ref>Richardson, Joanna, "The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France," Castle Books, 2004, p. 37-38</ref>

===== Memoirs =====
The “Mémoires de Cora Pearl” had been greatly anticipated when it became knowledge that Pearl was penning the story of her career as courtesan to the rich and mighty. Published in 1886, the book that appeared proved a dull disappointment and soon disappeared. Pearl had made a feeble attempt to disguise the names of the key players, and had given the reader a tame recitation of her past. There is some speculation that the work was ghost written, as Pearl’s facility with the French language was known to be lacking. <ref>Pearl, Cora, "Grand Horizontal," edited by William Blatchford, Stein and Day, 1983, p. 9-10</ref>

In the early 1980s, William Blatchford located a volume, “Memoirs of Cora Pearl,” which had been published in 1890, after Pearl’s death. This extant edition in the hands of a European collector of erotica is purportedly an earlier version of the book that was published in 1886. Dating back, perhaps, to as early as 1873, it is written in the English language in an idiomatic style expressive of a provincial, unsophisticated use of the language, which speaks to the authenticity of its author. This recount of Pearl’s life is decidedly more frank and sexually explicit. Blatchford resurrected his rare find publishing it in 1983 under the title: “Grand Horizontal, The Erotic Memoirs of a Passionate Lady.” <ref>Pearl, Cora, "Grand Horizontal," edited by William Blatchford, Stein and Day, 1983, p. 10-11</ref>

Pearl wrote in her memoirs: “…I have never deceived anyone, for I have never belonged to anyone. My independence was all my wealth: I have known no other happiness.” <ref>Richardson, Joanna, "The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France, Castle Books, 2004, p. 39</ref><ref>Pearl, Cora, "Grand Horizontal," edited by William Blatchford, Stein and Day, 1983, p. 11</ref>

== Death ==
Soon after the publication of her memoirs, Pearl became gravely ill with intestinal cancer. Her biographer Holden writes: "The various accounts of Cora spending her last days in dire poverty in one squalid room are very much exaggerated." She died on July 8, 1886. Obituary notices appeared in the London and Paris papers. Her remaining possessions were disposed of in a two-day sale in October 1886. She is buried in [[Batignolles]] cemetery, (plot number 10, row 4), her grave unmarked by a tombstone.

==Sources==
*Holden, W.H., (1950) ''The Pearl From Plymouth'', British Technical and General Press
*Frayser, Suzanne G. & Whitby, Thomas J. (1995) ''Studies in Human Sexuality: a Selected Guide'', Libraries Unlimited ISBN 1-56308-131-8
*Hickman, Katie (2003). ''Courtesans: Money, Sex, and Fame in the Nineteenth Century''. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-9657930-8-7
*Rounding, Virginia (2003). ''Les Grandes Horizontales: The Lives and Legends of Four Nineteenth-Century Courtesans''. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 0-7475-6221-0
*Pearl, Cora (1983). ''Memoirs of Cora Pearl''. Granada ISBN 978-0-586-05705-6
*Tanahill, Reay (1992). ''Sex in History''. Scarborough House ISBN 0-8128-8540-6
*Pearl, Cora (1983) ''Grand Horizontal, The Erotic Memoirs of a Passionate Lady,'' edited by William Blatchford, Stein and Day ISBN 0-8128-2917-4
*Richardson, Joanna, (2004) ''The Courtesans, The Demi-Monde in 19th Century France,'' Castle Books, ISBN 0-78587-1829-4
Craddock, Jill (2012) "Pearl", playwright [http://www.pearlmusical.com www.pearlmusical.com]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* {{Google books|UcYsAAAAYAAJ|The Memoirs of Cora Pearl}}


{{Persondata
|NAME= Pearl, Cora
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Crouch, Emma
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= courtesan
|DATE OF BIRTH= 1835
|PLACE OF BIRTH= London, England
|DATE OF DEATH= 8 July 1886
|PLACE OF DEATH= Paris, France
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearl, Cora}}
[[Category:British courtesans]]
[[Category:Mistresses of French royalty]]
[[Category:People from Plymouth]]
[[Category:1835 births]]
[[Category:1886 deaths]]

[[fr:Cora Pearl]]
[[ja:コーラ・パール]]
[[ru:Перл, Кора]]

Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Cora Pearl