A canadian writer and historian, Elizabeth Abbott became aware of mistresses as a child because her greatgrandfather kept what her mother scathingly referred to as a "love nest", occupied by a series of "fancy women". Her great-grandmother tolerated the situation, on the condition that when a diamond was bought for a mistress, one was also given to her. Now Ms Abbott has explored the nature and history of the extra-marital affair as seen through the mistresses' experience. Her history of mistresses, which was published in Canada some time ago, is the second in a trilogy of studies on male-female relations. The first was a history of celibacy; the third will be a history of marriage. Ini3 thematic and loosely chronological chapters, the author traces the lives of more than 70 mistresses from biblical times to the present day.
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