Madame Flirt

About the book

A young singer performing outside a St. Giles tavern catches the attention of John Gay and Lord Bolingbroke. Her voice suggests possibilities far beyond the rough crowd from which she earns her living, but talent alone offers little protection in the London Pearce reconstructs. The story follows Lavinia Fenton through a world where theatrical opportunity, personal affection, and the influence of wealthy men continually overlap. Using the milieu of The Beggar's Opera, Pearce combines historical figures with the inventions of a romantic novel. The opening's contrast between a beautiful song and the revelry surrounding a public execution sets the tone: art may promise escape, while the conditions of its production remain entangled with appetite, money, and unequal power.

• Theatrical ambition
• Patronage and independence
• Art and urban life

Why read it

The tavern audience makes the discovery of a voice a social encounter, bringing the stage's glamour into contact with the street.

English Stanley Paul and Co. edition first published in 1922