History Literature / TheComfortableCourtesan

* GagBoobs: Clorinda has very nice ''bubbies''. She's proud of them and they are ''assets'' in her ''profession'', but it can be annoying (and hilarious to the reader) when they get all of the attention. Men have been known to have entire conversations with them instead of her.

* PoisonousFriend: Bexbury's lover Marcello is very keen on using his stiletto on people who he thinks are a threat to Clorinda and others.

* KavorkaMan: Admiral (originally Captain) Knighton is described as short, squat, plain-featured and prematurely balding, but has a lot of success with the ladies due to [[TheCharmer a charming personality]] and, it is implied, [[SexGod considerable skills in bed]]. Even the otherwise lesbian and rather misandric Lady Jane, who married him because she needed a beard and he wanted her to manage his neglected estate, admits that fulfilling her martial duties with him was much more enjoyable than she expected.

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Clorinda, of course, and many of her ''friends'' in the ''profession''. Pretty much every sex worker we meet, really.

* KavorkaMan: Admiral (originally Captain) Knighton is described as short, squat, plain-featured and prematurely balding, but has a lot of success with the ladies due to [[TheCharmer a charming personality]] and, it is implied, [[SexGod considerable skills in bed]].

* {{BBW}}: Lady Demington is repeatedly described as a "pretty little dumpling".

* FriendlyPirate: Played with in the Smuggler Jones. Clorinda has a nice tea and an enjoyable romp with him, and he tells some amusing stories of his trade...but there's every indication he intended to rape her when he came upon her skinny-dipping, and it was only some quick talking on her part that convinced him to be less aggressive and use a condom.

** And of course, Clorinda herself, who they both fall in love with. Felicity maximized beyond all expection.

** [[spoiler:Clorinda only narrowly survives Flora's birth.]]

** The connections they make through Clorinda's social circles give them business opportunities they never would have had.

%%** The wombatt.

%%* StalkerWithACrush: Lord Kettlewell to Mrs. Darton Kendall.

* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: There's a lot of Good Adultery, justified because the cheated-on spouse is [[TheBeard gay]], just doesn't care, or is taking-part in a three-way.
** Particular note must be made of the Ferrabys. After Eliza nearly suffers DeathByChildbirth and the doctors warn that any further pregnancies would risk the same, Josiah resolves to end their marital relations until it will be safe for her - i.e., menopause. [[ScienceMarchesOn Worried that the strain of such prolonged restraint would be bad for his health]], Eliza ''advised him to find a mistress''. That's love.

* KavorkaMan: Admiral (originally Captain) Knighton is described as short, squat, plain-featured and prematurely balding, but has a lot of success with the ladies due to a charming personality and, it is implied, considerable skills in bed.

** The wombatt.

* ShotgunWedding: Played with in what we hear of Josiah and Eliza's courtship - in their case it was her father who was reluctant to allow the marriage to happen and the pre-marital pregnancy was deliberate on their parts to force him to consent.

* TheSocialExpert: Clorinda's success is down to this as well as beauty - sexual skills are if anything the least important elements of succeeding as a courtesan.

* StalkerWithACrush: Lord Kettlewell to Mrs. Darton Kendall.

* WriteWhoYouKnow: In-universe, many characters in Clorinda's novels are based on her friends and enemies.

* OriginsEpisode: ''Good Practices'' depicts how Hector first met Clorinda from his point of view and that of others.

* OriginsEpisode: ''Good Practices'' depicts how Hector first met Clorinda from his point of view.

* POVSequel: ''The Ironmaster's Tale'', which tells the story from Josiah's [=PoV=], and ''Mistress in her Household'' and ''Above Rubies'', from Eliza's.

** Teenage Geoffrey Merritt initially [[BiTheWay can't decide]] whether to crush on Clorinda or Sandy.

* {{Acrofatic}}: Abigail Simpson is fat but a very good dancer and horse rider.

* POVSequel: ''The Ironmaster's Tale'', which tells the story from Josiah's [=PoV=], and ''Mistress in her Household'', from Eliza's.

* PlagiarismInFiction: The incompetent poet Walter Yewall steals a poem from Abigail Simpson [[spoiler:and first achieved success by plagiarising unpublished poems written by a dead friend.]]

* ShoutOut: Clorinda reads books including ''The Vindication of the Rights of Women'', ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'', and ''Literature/{{Emma}}''.