She has been known as the "kept woman," the "fancy woman," and the "other woman." The French acknowledge her existence by remarking, "The chains of marriage are so heavy that it often takes three people to carry them." She is Jeanne Antoinette de Pompadour, and Simone de Beauvoir, not to mention Marilyn Monroe and Camilla Parker-Bowles. She is a mistress, and she has been – and is – very much apart of our human cultural history. But who is she, really? What is the true nature of the mistress-lover relationship? How do women experience mistressdom? And where does love figure in all of this?

Elizabeth Abbott, who made celibacy sexy in her acclaimed A History of Celibacy, has the fascinating storehouse of answers in a deliciously rich blend of history, personality and cultural study. In a lively and accessible style, History of Mistresses draws intimate portraits of mistresses throughout history, from Chinese concubines to Europe’s royal mistresses and the clandestine consorts of (un)celibate clerics. Mobster molls, trophy dolls and modern mistresses are deconstructed, with often surprising results. Beyond the personalities, some interesting themes emerge: the relationship between mistresses of colour and their married men; the coercion of Jewish women during the Holocaust; and a contemporary look at today’s "power" mistresses.

From lust to love, from money to power, Abbott’s A History of Mistresses ferrets out the motives and morals of these women, carrying the reader along on a journey that is hugely informative and always entertaining.

Elizabeth Abbott is Dean of Women at Trinity College, University of Toronto, where she also teaches a social science course.An historian with a doctorate in 19th-century history, she has worked for over a decade as a journalist and writer with a special interest in social history and the environment.She was editor-in-chief of Chronicle of Canada, the bestselling illustrated history of Canada and the author of Haiti: The Duvaliers and their Legacy.She is a book reviewer for The Globe and Mail and The Gazette (Montreal).She has written for Harrowsmith, The Next City and Equinox and in 1992 won a National Magazine Award for environmental writing.A History Of Celibacy is her most recent book.

Elizabeth Abbott's profile page