Lives of Fair and Gallant Ladies. Vol 1

by Pierre de Bourdeille Brantôme

Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme, was a soldier and courtier of the Valois court who, after a riding accident ended his career, spent his last decades writing memoirs. Les Dames galantes, not printed until 1665, long after his death, is the most notorious: a series of discourses on the love affairs of noble ladies, told with gossip, anecdote and classical learning, and with no pretense of moral purpose. This first volume, in A. R. Allinson's translation, contains the dedication to the duc d'Alençon and the first four discourses, on married women who love, on which of the senses gives most pleasure in love, on the beauty of the leg, and on love in old age. It is a frank picture of its age. It is available to read online in your browser on Vinteuil, with the first chapter free.