''The Honest Courtesan'' is a 1992 biographical book by

Margaret Rosenthal Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Indo-Iranian languages, Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and r ...

about a 16th-century Venetian

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...

named

Veronica Franco Veronica Franco (1546–1591) was an Italian poet and courtesan in 16th-century Venice. She is known for her notable clientele, feminist advocacy, literary contributions, and philanthropy. Her humanist education and cultural contributions influe ...

Description

The Venetian courtesan has long captured the imagination as a female symbol of sexual license, elegance, beauty and unruliness. What then to make of the ''cortigiana onesta'' - the honest courtesan who recast virtue as intellectual integrity and offered wit and refinement in return for patronage and a place in public life?

(1546-1591) was such a woman, a writer and citizen of Venice, whose published poems and familiar letters offer rich testimony to the complexity of the honest courtesan's position.

Adaptation

In 1998, the film '' Dangerous Beauty'' was based on this book. The movie starred

Catherine McCormack Catherine Jane McCormack (born 3 April 1972) is an English actress of stage and screen. Her film appearances include ''Braveheart'' (1995), ''The Land Girls'' (1998), ''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998), ''Dancing at Lughnasa'' (1998), ''Spy Game'' (20 ...

and was directed by

Marshall Herskovitz Marshall Schreiber Herskovitz (born February 23, 1952) is an American film director, writer, and producer, and currently the President Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America. Among his productions are ''Traffic'', '' The Last Samurai'', '' ...

. The film, also released as ''A Destiny of Her Own'' in some regions, was re-titled ''The Honest Courtesan'' for video release in the United Kingdom and Europe in 1999.

First edition

''The Honest Courtesan : Veronica Franco, Citizen and Writer in Sixteenth-Century Venice''. Margaret F. Rosenthal. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1992. (hardbound), (paperback) {{DEFAULTSORT:Honest Courtesan 1992 books Cultural depictions of Italian women