Courtesan

I absolutely loved this book! Diane Haeger takes you into the French court and it's like you're there.......lots of daily life details. The characters are well developed and likable. The love story is beautiful. You care about these people. I hated to see it end! Highly recommend it.

Beautifully written novel. I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it in the very beginning, and it has become one of my favorite books. Nice attention to detail and an irresistible love story. I couldn’t put it down but I didn’t want it to end.

I am an historical fiction fanatic and I loved this book. It kept me up way too late reading. The details of court life were particularly fascinating. And the ending did not disappoint. I highly recommend this book!

This book was wonderful. At times I had trouble putting it down. I would get this in hard back to have to read again and again!

I agree with the reviewer from Texas who stated that this was one of the best books she had ever read. That it is a first novel is remarkable: not only does Haeger have a depth of understanding of the period, rare in many authors of romance fiction, but she is truly able to make her characters come alive. "Courtesan" is the story of Diane de Poitiers and Henri II of France. Their romance began when Henri was a young prince and Diane the "older woman" beloved by Henri's father, King Francis I. It continued through Henri's marriage to the plain, and later infamous, Catherine de Medici, and was a scandal throughout France and beyond. The author skillfully recreated the world of 16th century France, especially the world of the royal court. All of the characters, both real and fictional, are presented with their flaws and virtues. While Diane is clearly the heroine of this fictional treatment, Haeger allows us to see the pain and humilation the love affair inflicted on Queen Catherine as well. I think the publisher did "Courtesan" a disservice by calling it an historical romance, as I think it would be more accurate to call it an historical novel. Many romance readers do not like stories that involve adultery, especially when there is no chance that the couple can wed. This book also does not contain scenes of explicit lovemaking which many romance readers require in their novels. By calling it a romance, the publisher, perhaps unknowingly, limited the readership to women, as few men pick up books clearly labeled as "romances." Every man whom I have talked into reading this book has been impressed by the scholarship shown by the author, and charmed by Diane. With the exception of "The Return," Ms Haeger's later books do not IMO show the same depth as this remarkable first novel. Ms Haeger's last two books, about Maria Fitzherbert and the woman loved by General William T. Sherman, are workman-like biographical novels, but they simply do not grip the reader in the same way as "Courtesan."

THE BOOK IS RICH IN CHARACTER ILLUSTRATION. YOU COME TO UNDERSTAND THE LIFE IN COURT AND VIEW HOW ONE WOMAN, OF NOBLE BIRTH, MAKES THE BEST OF A SITUATION TO ALLOW FOR HERSELF AND HER FAMILY. THOUGH AN EPIC, YOU FOLLOW THE CHANGES BY HAEGER'S VIVID PROSE AND HATE TO SEE THE END OF THE BOOK!!