Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-273) and index.

Alphonsine : waif, grisette, lorette -- Marie -- The lady of the camellias -- Marguerite -- The countess.

The little-known, riveting story of the most famous courtesan of her time: muse and mistress of Alexandre Dumas and Franz Liszt, the inspiration for Dumas.5The Lady of the Camellias and Verdi's La Traviata, one of the most sought-after, adored women of 1840's Paris. Drawing on new research, Julie Kavanagh re-creates the short, intense life of the tall, pale, slender girl who at thirteen fled her brute of a father and Normandy to go to Paris, where she would become one of the grand courtesans of the 1840s. France's national treasure, Alexandre Dumas pere, was intrigued by her, his son became her lover, and Franz Liszt, too, fell under her spell. With elegant clothes, a coach, and a grand apartment, she entertained a salon of dandies, writers, and artists. Her death from tuberculosis at 23 became a national tragedy, and her independent and modern spirit has timeless appeal.