W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1962. Reprinted with permission.

The Symposium by Plato, translated by Walter Hamilton (Penguin Classics, 1951). Copyright © Walter Hamilton, 1951. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books Ltd.

The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives by Plutarch, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert (Penguin Classics, 1960). Copyright © Ian Scott-Kilvert, 1960. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books Ltd.

Love Declared by Denis de Rougemont, translated by Richard Howard. Reprinted by permission of Random House, Inc.

The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims by Arthur Schopenhauer, translated by T. Bailey Saunders (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1995). Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon by Sei Shonagon, translated and edited by Ivan Morris, Columbia University Press, 1991. Reprinted by permission of Columbia University Press.

Liaison by Joyce Wadler, published by Bantam Books, 1993. Reprinted by permission of the author. Max Weber: Essays in Sociology by Max Weber, edited and translated by H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. Copyright 1946, 1958 by H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. Used by permission of Oxford University Press, Inc.

The Game of Hearts: Harriette Wilson & Her Memoirs edited by Lesley Blanch. Copyright © 1955 by Lesley Blanch. Reprinted with permission of Simon & Schuster.

To the memory of my father

Acknowledgments

First, I would like to thank Anna Biller for her countless contributions to this book: the research, the many discussions, her invaluable help with the text itself, and, last but not least, her knowledge of the art of seduction, of which I have been the happy victim on numerous occasions.

I must thank my mother, Laurette, for supporting me so steadfastly throughout this project and for being my most devoted fan.

I would like to thank Catherine Léouzon, who some years ago introduced me to Les Liaisons Dangereuses and the world of Valmont.

I would like to thank David Frankel, for his deft editing and for his much-appreciated advice; Molly Stern at Viking Penguin, for overseeing the project and helping to shape it; Radha Pancham, for keeping it all organized and being so patient; and Brett Kelly, for moving things along.

With heavy heart I would like to pay tribute to my cat Boris, who for thirteen years watched over me as I wrote and whose presence is sorely missed. His successor, Brutus, has proven to be a worthy muse.

Finally, I would like to honor my father. Words cannot express how much I miss him and how much he has inspired my work.

Preface

Thousands of years ago, power was mostly gained through physical violence and maintained with brute strength. There was little need for subtlety—a king or emperor had to be merciless. Only a select few had power, but no one suffered under this scheme of things more than women. They had no way to compete, no weapon at their disposal that could make a man do what they wanted—politically, socially, or even in the home.

Of course men had one weakness: their insatiable desire for sex. A woman could always toy with this desire, but once she gave in to sex the man was back in control; and if she withheld sex, he could simply look elsewhere—or exert force. What good was a power that was so temporary and frail? Yet women had no choice but to submit to this condition.