'Pretty women are never convicted.'
I enjoyed this. An interesting nonfiction account of a time period and setting I'm not familiar with. I'm definitely struck by the similarities between the courtroom scene and the movie Chicago.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC!

I just loved this magnificent biography of Marguerite Steinheil or as we call her in France, la "Pompe funèbre"
the infamous courtesan responsible for president Félix Faure's death in 1899 during a hilarious "roll in the hay" at the Élysée Palace.

Born in Eastern France in 1869, Marguerite was the daughter of an insignificant and impoverished petty bourgeois. She became the wife in 1890 of a much older man, Adolphe Steinheil (1850-1908), a third-rate painter and moved to Paris.
Unfortunately their marriage turned out to be an utter failure from the beginning despite the birth of a daughter in 1891.

Forced to stay together for financial reasons, Adolphe and Marguerite started to live separate lives.

But Marguerite was frivolous, shallow and very ambitious.
She became a Parisian celebrity after opening a salon in her home, collecting lovers right and left, accepting many financial gifts from them and walking ever closer to the point of no return until the presidential scandal of 1899 that triggered an arduous descent into hell that would end with the death of her husband and mother in 1908 and one of the most sensational murder trials of the Belle Epoque.

I personally find Marguerite Steinheil disgusting but I will admit that she was also victim of a French society that was starting to decay from the inside during the years that led to WWI.
But Marguerite was a high class hooker, a compulsive liar, a narcissistic manipulator and a cold-blooded murderess and it would be very hard to really try rehabilitating her today...

This is a highly entertaining tale of greed, sex, deception and murder. But it is also a brillant description and razor sharp analysis of the darker side of the Belle Epoque.

This marvellous book deserves to be discovered and I hope that it'll be translated into French soon....

Mary thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for this terrific ARC

⭐⭐⭐⭐

A well researched and highly entertaining read about a woman (Meg) who took Parisian society by storm. Told chronologically from Meg's childhood through blackmail, affairs, scandals, and even murders. This was truly a gripping and provocative read! 👍🏻

**ARC Via NetGalley**

"The Red Widow" is an incredibly well-written book about a real-life stor that's stranger than fiction. I had the honor of interviewing the author Sarah Horowitz for my podcast "Storytime in Paris."

Here is what I said:
"My guest this week is Sarah Horowitz, professor of history at W&L University, where she is also head of the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies program. Her latest novel is "The Red Widow,” the so-insane-it’s-nearly-unbelievable true story of Marguerite (“Meg”) Steinheil. In her lifetime, Meg was a high society socialite, a sex worker, a Presidential mistress, and maybe, just maybe, a murderer.

In our delightful conversation, Sarah shares her research and her views on what Meg’s story says about French culture and identity, the Belle Epoque, its impact on both historic and contemporary France, and so much more. Then, she treats us to a reading from “The Red Widow.”

If you want to learn about a small piece of history that played out in La Bella Epoque France, then read the Red Widow. Based on a true tale of a women who learns to make the best of her unfortunate marriage, Margeurite Steinhal married the wrong man. As a result, she had to figure out how to elevate her standard of living and join a society that wasn’t welcoming. The book gives us her story with its many twists and turns.

Margeurite was a beauty, and a great charmer, and she knew how to get men to give her things she wanted. She craved attention and wanted someone to take care of her and treat her as her father did. Unfortunately for her, her father died sudden when she was away leaving her family in disarray and in not a good financial position. After his death, she marries a man twenty years her senior and moves to Paris. Once she realizes that her husband can’t really provide for her in the way she wanted, she befriends a friend of her husband who is much more successful and starts to meet the right people in society.

Without giving the story away, the time frame is an interesting one in French history. It covers the Dreyfus affair, attitudes towards Jews, how antisemitism played into the life of Margeurite and how she used its power to her advantage. In addition , we get to see French attitudes towards sex, virility and women in general. Our heroine does have a stint in jail, and a trail. She works the press to rally her cause and she was way ahead of her time in attitude and manipulation. A fun read for sure.

A colorful book about a woman who was tawdry, tenacious, and fabricator.
A double murder in 1908 would tarnish her reputation for life. However, she already was notoriously taking lovers before her husband’s and mother’s murders.
It’s an interesting examination of a woman’s life, social conventions, and the high price for a girl having fun.

Many try to elevate their station in life and Meg is no different. Coming from a middle-class French family who so wants to be part of Parisian society. She uses the only tool available to her, her body. I was looking forward to not only the story but learning more about the Belle Époque. The story follows Meg's life chronologically, which is fine and good. About a third of the way through the book, it became extremely redundant and repetitive. One chapter (17, I believe) was so bad that I sped read it. This would have been a better New Yorker story/article than a full book. It needs quite a bit of editing. I have rounded up my 2.5. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Meg is 38 and she is looking for her next husband the only problem is her current husband is still alive. They live in the higher asked alarms of society but they have no money. She sees rich men to help pay their bills that sometimes her husband even accompanies her but must sit up front with the coachman to give her and her“Date “privacy. She isn’t a lady of the night she doesn’t charge men to sleep with her, but she does charge them for the food, her rent and anything else she can grift from her generous benefactors. Now that she’s older and her daughter is a grown she wants a more permanent seat with the upper class and while waiting for her knight in shining armor to show himself her husband and mother get murdered they are found with ropes around their neck and both are dead. She also has a rope around her neck but is totally alive without a bruise on her body. She is taken to trial accuse of their murder, but did she do it? That is the million dollar question. This book was so good I love historical True Crime and gossip and this one has both. There isn’t a dull moment in this book I totally loved it and read it all the way through in two days it was so freaking good! There is nothing better than a scandal amongst the rich and that is exactly what this book is. Everything was so documented that I don’t believe a detail was left out from her affairs to her marriage it seems like they head commentary on everything and I loved it this is a total five story it was amazing and if you love historical True Crime in scandal you love the red widow it is truly amazing! I received this book from netGally and the publisher but I am leaving this review totally voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind to dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own.

Not every book contains a hero. This one certainly doesn't.

The Red Widow follows the life of Margeurite "Meg" Steinheil. Meg was a very popular topic in the late 1800s/early 1900s. She flaunts certain rules while abiding by many others of the era. She does have a habit of people dying around her and some are definitely not natural. I will not reveal any more due to spoilers. However, there is certainly enough material for the book to cover.

What makes this a very good read is that the author, Sarah Horowitz, is one of the few people who does not fall for Meg's charms. Yes, there are many things Meg had to face that we object to nowadays. However, Meg is also a narcissistic, anti-Semitic opportunist. I have read many historical true crime books which fall in love with their subjects and bend the narrative to portray them in the best light. Horowitz avoids this and gives a clear eyed picture of the events as they are known or unknown.

You will not like Meg, but that doesn't mean her story isn't fascinating. It is.

(This book was provided to me as an advance reader copy bu Netgalley and Sourcebooks. The full review will be posted to HistoryNerdsUnited.com on 9/8/2022.)

Told chronologically beginning with Meg’s childhood, this story details the fascinating events of a woman who took Parisian society by storm. Upending bourgeois traditions and becoming a tabloid sensation, this book covers it all.
Clearly a much researched book, the author tells Meg’s story with limited tangents or personal beliefs slipping through.

The author does a great job at walking the reader through the confusion Meg caused while trying to maintain her image in the press at the height of her popularity.