Prostitution has always been with us. The world's oldest profession has sometimes been celebrated, other times censured, almost always stigmatized. Even while elite courtesans moved among royalty, less fortunate women scrabbled for a living in the streets. Today is not much different. But what we know is based largely on hearsay and sensation, bad movies and crime series, with the focus on the most downtrodden. This book is not about those women. Rather, it is the story of the top level of the love-for-sale subculture the world of high-end escorts. They are the courtesans of our time discreet, educated, sophisticated and very much in control of their own fates. Who are they? And what are their lives really like? Through exclusive interviews with Toronto escorts and their clients, Star journalist Antonia Zerbisias uncovers this little-known society, painting a vivid portrait of a way of life that operates under the radar in our own city.
Prostitution has always been with us. The world's oldest profession has sometimes been celebrated, other times censured, almost always stigmatized. Even while elite courtesans moved among royalty, less fortunate women scrabbled for a living in the streets. Today is not much different. But what we know is based largely on hearsay and sensation, bad movies and crime series, with the focus on the most downtrodden. This book is not about those women. Rather, it is the story of the top level of the love-for-sale subculture the world of high-end escorts. They are the courtesans of our time discreet, educated, sophisticated and very much in control of their own fates. Who are they? And what are their lives really like? Through exclusive interviews with Toronto escorts and their clients, Star journalist Antonia Zerbisias uncovers this little-known society, painting a vivid portrait of a way of life that operates under the radar in our own city.