Maurice Dekobra: When you are a courtesan. [1927]

This is the first Polish edition of the novel by the French writer Maurice Dekobry (owner Ernest Maurice Tessier, 1885-1973), who was one of the most widely read authors in France and Europe in the interwar period . The book was published in 1927 by the Cracow-based Pantheon Publishing House, translated by Kazimierz Nałęcz-Rychłowski .

“When you are a courtesan…” (French: Tu seras courtisane) is a continuation of the adventures of the colorful heroine – Lady Diana Winham – known from the bestselling novel by Dekobra La Madone des sleepings (“The Lady in the Sleeping Car”), which sold three hundred thousand copies within a year of its release . The trilogy about Lady Diana consisted of three parts: Prince Seliman (1926), The Lady in the Sleeping Car (1926) and The Purple Gondola (1927) . “When you are a courtesan…” (1927) is the second part of the series .

Dekobra, a traveler, journalist for Le Figaro and translator, is considered the father of “cosmopolitan literature,” whose characters traverse the world, combining adventurous, sensational and erotic plots . His style – full of accurate observations, elegance and light cynicism – attracted readers seeking high-level entertainment. In Poland, his books were translated, among others, by Kazimierz Nałęcz-Rychłowski, who translated the three parts of the trilogy about Lady Diana . In 1951, Dekobra’s works were withdrawn from Polish libraries and censored .

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