 | |
| Author | Joseph Kessel |
|---|---|
| Language | French |
| Publisher | Gallimard |
Publication date | 1928 |
Published in English | 1962 |
| ISBN | 9782070361250 1972 reprint (French) |
| OCLC | 1158458772 |
| Preceded by | Nuits de princes |
| Followed by | Vent de sable |
Belle de Jour is a novel by French author Joseph Kessel, published in 1928 by Gallimard.
Séverine Sérizy recalls a mechanic touching her when she was an eight-year-old girl on her way from her bedroom to that of her mother. Now, a young, beautiful housewife, Séverine finds it difficult to fulfill her masochistic desires with her husband, Pierre. Although they love each other, physical intimacy is a problem, which frustrates them both.
When Monsieur Husson mentions an acquaintance who works at a local brothel, Séverine becomes curious about prostitution as a means of satisfying her desires. She uses the pseudonym "Belle de Jour" (Beautiful by Day), as she works from two to five o'clock each day, returning to her unaware husband in the evening.
Séverine becomes entangled with one of her clients, Marcel, a young gangster. He provides her with the thrills and excitement of her fantasies. The situation becomes more complicated when Séverine decides to leave the brothel, with Madame Anaïs's agreement, after Marcel becomes too demanding and jealous of her husband.
Husson has also discovered her secret as a potential, though unwilling, client. After one of his associates tracks Séverine to her home, Marcel visits her there and threatens to reveal her hidden identity, but Séverine persuades him to leave. Husson visits Severine and assures her of his discretion, but she cannot believe him. She discovers Husson has arranged to meet Pierre in the square outside Notre Dame Cathedral; she hastily visits Marcel and asks him to kill Husson, which he agrees to do, out of love for her. Marcel and Severine are driven to the rendezvous point by Marcel's friend, and Marcel attacks Husson, but the job is botched: Pierre intervenes and is stabbed instead.
Pierre survives, but he is left in a coma, from which he eventually awakes. Marcel is arrested, but he refuses to talk, thereby saving Séverine's reputation. The police attribute the motive to the unidentified Belle de Jour, and Séverine lives in terror of the eventual discovery, which is made almost certain by her maid's recognition of Marcel from his visit to their house. Pierre leaves the hospital, but he is paralyzed from the waist down. Even though Séverine has been protected from the truth by Marcel's accomplice, Hipollyte, she ultimately decides to tell Pierre what happened. [1]
The 1967 film adaptation starred Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel and Michel Piccoli and was directed by Luis Buñuel.
In Search of Lost Time, first translated into English as Remembrance of Things Past, and sometimes referred to in French as La Recherche, is a novel in seven volumes by French author Marcel Proust. This early 20th-century work is his most prominent, known both for its length and its theme of involuntary memory. The most famous example of this is the "episode of the madeleine", which occurs early in the first volume.
Joseph Kessel, also known as "Jef", was a French journalist and novelist. He was a member of the Académie française and Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour.
Belle de Jour is a 1967 French surrealist erotic psychological drama film directed by Luis Buñuel, and starring Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, and Michel Piccoli. Based on the 1928 novel Belle de Jour by Joseph Kessel, the film is about a young woman who spends her midweek afternoons as a high-class prostitute, while her husband is at work.
Belle de Jour may refer to:
Brooke Magnanti is an American-born naturalised British former research scientist, blogger, and writer, who, until her identity was revealed in November 2009, was known by the pen name Belle de Jour. While completing her doctoral studies, between 2003 and 2004, Magnanti supplemented her income by working as a London call girl known by the working name Taro.
Marthe Richard was a French prostitute and spy. She later became a politician, and worked towards the closing of brothels in France in 1946.
Le Plaisir is a 1952 French comedy-drama anthology film by German-born film director Max Ophüls (1902–1957) adapting three short stories by Guy de Maupassant — "Le Masque" (1889), "La Maison Tellier" (1881), and "Le Modèle" (1883).
Secret Diary of a Call Girl is a British drama television series that aired from 27 September 2007 to 22 March 2011 on ITV2, based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous Belle de Jour. It stars Billie Piper as Belle, a high-end call girl in London.
Belle Toujours is a 2006 French-language Portuguese film directed by Manoel de Oliveira. It was Portugal's submission to the 80th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee. It is a sequel to the film Belle de Jour (1967).
Hannah Baxter is the lead semi-fictional character and protagonist of the British ITV2 television series Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Hannah secretly has a double life as a high-class call girl as her alter ego Belle, for which she acknowledges and comments directly to the audience, throughout each episode.
The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl are memoirs of a former London call girl written by Dr. Brooke Magnanti, under the pseudonym Belle de Jour.
Billie and the Real Belle Bare All is a one-off television programme that aired on ITV2 on 25 January 2010, ahead of the Series 3 premiere of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. The programme, which took place at The May Fair, consisted of Billie Piper, who stars as Hannah Baxter in Secret Diary of a Call Girl, interviewing Dr. Brooke Magnanti, a former call girl who, until November 2009 remained anonymous, known only by the pseudonym, "Belle de Jour."
Marie-Anne Detourbay was a French demimonde and salon-holder. She was a famous courtesan during the Second Empire, and also hosted a literary salon which had some influence during the Second Empire and the Third Republic. She is also known for her relationship with Jules Lemaître.
The Gaze is a novel written by Turkish writer Elif Şafak. It was first published in Turkey in 1999. The novel won the Turkish Authors' Association 2000 prize for "best novel". An English translation was published in 2006 by Marion Boyars Publishers.
André Corthis, néeAndrée Magdeleine Husson was a 20th-century French writer. She received the prix Femina in 1906. Andrée Husson is the niece of painter Rodolphe Julian.
The One-Two-Two was one of the most luxurious and illustrious brothels of Paris in the 1930s and 1940s. The name was taken from the address, 122 Rue de Provence, 8th arrondissement of Paris. The numbers were translated into English to ensure that foreign tourists would be able to find the brothel and as a password for French people.
L'Étoile de Kléber was a maison close (brothel) in Paris. It obtained notoriety for continuing to run after the 1946 Loi Marthe Richard ban on brothels. It continued its operations for a while in secret.
The authorities of medieval Paris attempted to confine prostitution to a particular district. Louis IX (1226–1270) designated nine streets in the Beaubourg Quartier where it would be permitted. In the early part of the 19th century, state-controlled legal brothels started to appear in several French cities. By law, they had to be run by a woman, and their external appearance had to be discreet. The maisons were required to light a red lantern when they were open, and the prostitutes were only permitted to leave the maisons on certain days and only if accompanied by its head. By 1810, Paris alone had 180 officially approved brothels.