Elizabeth Abbott is the internationally bestselling author of A History of Celibacy, Sugar and Haiti. She teaches at the University of Toronto and lives in Toronto.
"Abbott's tour of sensational love affairs provides juicy details
and intelligent commentary on some of history's most marginalized
women." "Ms. Magazine"
"A fascinating account of the other woman through history." "The
Sunday Times (London) "
"Ms. Abbott is delightfully indiscreet, with an eye for a good
story and a colloquial style. . . She has done the ladies a service
by bringing them out of the shadows." "The Economist "
"One of the surprises of this engrossing book is how mired in myth
and fantasy it reveals our attitude to mistresses as being." "The
Sunday Telegraph"
"A lively and nuanced look at gender roles as they have been
revealed by the lives of concubines and mistresses over the
centuries...The book has the irresistible fascination of celebrity
gossip...but it reveals far more than the foibles of the rich and
famous. Full of fascinating details and illuminating insights."
"Kirkus"
""Mistresses," [Abbott's] prosopography of other women from
Biblical times to the present, is refreshingly liberated from moral
probity or censoriousness. Abbott's perspective, that of a
seasoned, unbiased cultural historian, shines through this informed
genealogy . . . Abbott is at her liveliest when covering history's
endearing mistresses . . . Abbott offers a poignant, humanizing
corrective to the mistress's marginalization . . . Abbott does
justice to the many lexicographical variants of the term
"mistress," which according to the Oxford American Dictionary,
connotes domination, learnedness, authority, and, of course, being
beloved. She probes the antic recklessness and wanton secrecy
endemic to love affairs, breathing life into mistresses who evince
the agency, autonomy, self-direction, and order of this
definition." Bookslut
""Mistresses: A History of the Other Woman" blends a social and
political study under one cover and provides a probe into the love
lives of famous and infamous mistresses, from royal mistresses in
16th century France to Chinese concubines, mobster molls, and those
associated with today's big names. It provides portraits of some 80
women over time who assumed the role of a mistress and pairs
history with social analysis in a lively survey recommended for any
women's issues or history holding." "Midwest Book Review"
"
""Mistresses: A History of the Other Woman" blends a social and
political study under one cover and provides a probe into the love
lives of famous and infamous mistresses, from royal mistresses in
16th century France to Chinese concubines, mobster molls, and those
associated with today''s big names. It provides portraits of some
80 women over time who assumed the role of a mistress and pairs
history with social analysis in a lively survey recommended for any
women''s issues or history holding."---"Midwest Book Review"
Praise for "Mistresses"
"Abbott's tour of sensational love affairs provides juicy details
and intelligent commentary on some of history's most marginalized
women." -- "Ms. Magazine"
"A fascinating account of the other woman through history." --"The
Sunday Times (London) "
"Ms. Abbott is delightfully indiscreet, with an eye for a good
story and a colloquial style. . . She has done the ladies a service
by bringing them out of the shadows." ---"The Economist "
"One of the surprises of this engrossing book is how mired in myth
and fantasy it reveals our attitude to mistresses as being." --"The
Sunday Telegraph"
"A lively and nuanced look at gender roles as they have been
revealed by the lives of concubines and mistresses over the
centuries...The book has the irresistible fascination of celebrity
gossip...but it reveals far more than the foibles of the rich and
famous. Full of fascinating details and illuminating insights."
--"Kirkus"
""M
Praise for "Mistresses"
"A fascinating account of the other woman through history." --"The
Sunday Times (London) "
"Ms. Abbott is delightfully indiscreet, with an eye for a good stor
y and a colloquial style. . . . She has done the ladies a ser vice
by bringing them out of the shadows." ---"The Economist "
"One of the surprises of this engrossing book is how mired in myth
and fantasy it reveals our attitude to mistresses as being." --"The
Sunday Telegraph"
"A lively and nuanced look at gender roles as they have been
revealed by the lives of concubines and mistresses over the
centuries?The book has the irresistible fascination of celebrity
gossip?but it reveals far more than the foibles of the rich and
famous. Full of fascinating details and illuminating insights."
--"Kirkus"
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