Published in 2005
291 pages
Brooke Magnanti is a forensic scientist and writer, who, until her identity was revealed in November 2009, was known by the pen name Belle de Jour. While completing her doctoral thesis, in 2003 and 2004, Magnanti worked as a call girl. Her diary, published as the anonymous blog Belle de Jour: Diary of a London Call Girl became popular, as speculation surrounded the identity of Belle de Jour. Magnanti went on to The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl in 2005 and The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl in 2006. These were followed by Playing the Game, Belle de Jour’s Guide to Men, and Belle’s Best Bits. In 2007, the books were adapted for TV as Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper. In November 2009, fearing her real identity was about to come out, Magnanti revealed her real name and occupation as a scientist. Her first book published under her real name was the non-fiction The Sex Myth in 2012.
What is this book about?
Belle couldn’t find a job after University. Her impressive degree was not paying her rent or buying her food. But after a fantastic threesome with a very rich couple that gave her a ton of money, Belle realized that she could earn more than anyone she knew–by becoming a call girl. The rest is history. Belle became a twenty-something London working girl–and had the audacity to write about it–anonymously. The shockingly candid and explicit diary she put on the Internet became a London sensation. Now, in Belle de Jour, she shares her entire journey inside the world of high-priced escorts, including fascinating and explicit insights about her job and her clients, her various boyfriends, and a taboo lifestyle that has to be read to be believed. The witty observations, shocking revelations, and hilarious scenarios deliver like the very best fiction and makes for a titillating reading experience unlike any other.