When Victorine Laurent joins the chorus of the grand Paris Opera ballet, she expects to become the mistress of a wealthy man; this is how young women without family survive in the decadent City of Light. Yet when the artist Degas introduces her to Edouard Manet, her life changes dramatically. She agrees to pose for him, and the result is a painting that shocks Paris. Overnight, Victorine becomes the citys most sought after courtesan. When she becomes the favorite of the Duke de Lyon, the power behind the shaky government of Emperor Louis-Napolon, her continued attraction to Manet becomes dangerous for them both. And when an astonishing secret from Victorines past comes to light, her carefully constructed world may come crashing down around her. Mademoiselle Victorine transports readers back to nineteenth-century Paris, a time when art, love, and commerce blended seamlessly together.From the Trade Paperback edition.