Pearl, Cora (c. 1837–1886)

English-born courtesan. Name variations: Eliza Crouch. Born Eliza Emma Crouch near Plymouth, England, around 1837; died in Paris, France, in 1886; daughter of a musician father and a singer mother.

On holiday in Paris around 1858, English prostitute Eliza Crouch fell in love with the city and decided to stay. Although not a great beauty, known as Cora Pearl, she became one of the most notorious courtesans of the Second Empire, amassing seemingly inexhaustible wealth and earning a spot in the Dictionary of National Biography. At the height of her legendary career, she was said to have received her clientele (which at one time included Prince Jérome Bonaparte, cousin of Emperor Napoleon III) in a reception salon carpeted in violet petals, upon which she danced a cancan before plunging into a bathtub filled with champagne. From time to time, she reputedly gave extravagant dinners for upwards of 20 men, sometimes offering herself naked on a silver platter as the plat du jour. Her gorgeous figure was said to have elicited gasps from the appreciative spectators. Sadly, Pearl's decline paralleled that of the Second Empire, and she is said to have died penniless in a Paris garret at age 50. Her once lavish residence became the Travellers Club, one of the most exclusive residential clubs in Europe.

suggested reading:

Binder, Pearl. The Truth about Cora Pearl.

Pearl, Cora. Grand Horizontal: The Erotic Memoirs of a Passionate Lady. NY: Stein & Day, 1983.

Barbara Morgan , Melrose, Massachusetts