To the reader of my diary, centuries after I have lived richly and loved greatly, I leave my words, in which you will be taken on a journey into a world few are privileged to or are really aware of.

Judge if you wish, it matters not.

I am among the most desired of women...not your friend, servant, or even wife. I am Courtesan. The courtesan is one of the most accomplished of women of our time. The art of the courtesan is often incorrectly and unjustly labeled as mere prostitution, this is far from the truth. Any woman can be a simple streetwalker, but it takes a woman of impeccable beauty and spectacular grace, who has a witty and artistic mind, and possesses a gentle and soothing demeanor to make it as a successful courtesan. A man seeks a courtesan for more than her body, but also for her mind, her grace, and her talents in the arts and conversation. We dedicate our lives to learning to speak to men about topics ranging from the weather to politics, how to play an instrument and sing, to dance, to dress and put on make-up, and how to seduce first with the mind and then with the body. We are well-read, well-educated, and well-mannered at a time when most women could do no more than read a Psaltary and bear children.

The noblest of men, with large....egos and purses to match, eagerly seek and compete for our attention. We are dinner companions, entertainers, singers, poets, and lovers to some of the most prominent men of our time. I and they are trained in many arts, only one being the art of love. We hold parties, and make more than one lord envious of the current patron.

We as courtesans are an attainable dream. I and my sister courtesans exhumed charm, lust, and opulence. Men come to us to experience the fantasy of love and application of knowledge that most of their wives cannot supply. They present us with gifts, and we, in turn, would consider their proposals. We hold power when women were allowed none.

Through my entries you will be given a glimpse...nay...an education of my chosen world in which many women have risen to the rank of immortal and will be remember through the annals of time.

I am every man's fantasy and desire....I am Courtesan.