
Madame Claude
Her Secret World of Pleasure, Privilege, and Power
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $20.24
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Eliza Foss
-
Keith Sellon-Wright
-
By:
-
William Stadiem
About this listen
Madame Claude, by renowned social historian William Stadiem, is a magnificent audiobook about the brilliant, complicated, and utterly amoral woman behind the most glamorous and successful escort service in the world.
In post-WWII Paris, Madame Claude ran the most exclusive finishing school in the world. Her alumnae married more fortunes, titles, and famous names than any of the Seven Sisters. The names on her client list were epic - Kennedy, Rothschild, Agnelli, Onassis, Niarchos, Brando, Sinatra, McQueen, Picasso, Chagall, Qaddafi, the Shah, and that's just for starters. By the 1950s, she was the richest and most celebrated self-made woman in Europe, as much of a legend as Coco Chanel.
Born Fernande Grudet, a poor Jewish girl in the aristocratic chateau city of Angers, the future Madame led a life of high adventure - resistance fighter, concentration camp survivor, gun moll of the Corsican Mafia, and erstwhile streetwalker - before becoming the ultimate broker between beauty and power. She harnessed the emerging postwar technology of the telephone to create the concept of the call girl. But Madame Claude wasn't just selling sex - she was the world's ultimate matchmaker, the Dolly Levi of the Power Elite.
She was also one of the most controversial - and most wanted - women in the world. Now, through his own conversations with the woman herself and interviews with the great men and remarkable women on whom she built her empire, social historian and biographer William Stadiem pierces the veil of Claude’s secret, forbidden universe of pleasure and privilege.
©2018 William Stadiem (P)2018 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Capote's Women
- A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era
- By: Laurence Leamer
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times bestselling author Laurence Leamer reveals the complex web of relationships and scandalous true stories behind Truman Capote's never-published final novel, Answered Prayers—the dark secrets, tragic glamour, and Capote's ultimate betrayal of the group of female friends he called his "swans."
-
-
You need to know a bit about the players
- By Etoile NEOhio on 12-30-21
By: Laurence Leamer
-
This Much Is True
- By: Miriam Margolyes
- Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning actor, creator of a myriad of memorable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, Miriam Margolyes is a national treasure. Now, at last, at the age of 80, she has finally decided to tell her extraordinary life story. And it's far richer and stranger than any part she's played.
-
-
Simply Brilliant
- By Stuart Huddart on 09-21-21
By: Miriam Margolyes
-
Madam
- The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age
- By: Debby Applegate
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 20 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Simply put: Everybody came to Polly's. Pearl "Polly" Adler (1900-1962) was a diminutive dynamo whose Manhattan brothels in the Roaring '20s became places not just for men to have the company of women but were key gathering places where the culturati and celebrity elite mingled with high society and with violent figures of the underworld - and had a good time doing it.
-
-
Story of 20 through the eyes of a madam
- By HMY on 12-12-21
By: Debby Applegate
-
Love, Pamela
- A Memoir of Prose, Poetry, and Truth
- By: Pamela Anderson
- Narrated by: Pamela Anderson
- Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this honest, layered and unforgettable book that alternates between storytelling and her own poetry, Pamela Anderson breaks the mold of the celebrity memoir while taking back the tale that has been crafted about her. Her blond bombshell image was ubiquitous in the 1990s. Discovered in the stands of a football game, she was immediately rocket launched into fame, becoming Playboy’s favorite cover girl and an emblem of Hollywood glamour and sexuality. But what happens when you lose grip on your own life—and the image the notoriety machine creates for you is not who you really are?
-
-
Pam Anderson Can’t Make Up Her Mind
- By Kimberly Salinas on 02-11-23
By: Pamela Anderson
-
The Palace Papers
- Inside the House of Windsor - the Truth and the Turmoil
- By: Tina Brown
- Narrated by: Tina Brown
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tina Brown has been observing and chronicling the British monarchy for three decades, and her sweeping account is full of powerful revelations, newly reported details, and searing insight gleaned from remarkable access to royal insiders. Stylish, witty, and erudite, The Palace Papers will irrevocably change how the world perceives and understands the royal family.
-
-
Audible narration is dreadful
- By M M. on 05-03-22
By: Tina Brown
-
The Castle on Sunset
- Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont
- By: Shawn Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since 1929, Hollywood’s brightest stars have flocked to the Chateau Marmont as if it were a second home. An apartment building-turned-hotel, the Chateau has been the backdrop for generations of gossip and folklore: where director Nicholas Ray slept with his 16-year-old Rebel Without a Cause star Natalie Wood; Jim Morrison swung from the balconies; John Belushi suffered a fatal overdose; and Lindsay Lohan got the boot after racking up nearly $50,000 in charges in less than two months. Much of what has happened inside the Chateau’s walls has eluded the public eye - until now.
-
-
Was enjoying it until...
- By leigh on 04-22-20
By: Shawn Levy
-
Capote's Women
- A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era
- By: Laurence Leamer
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times bestselling author Laurence Leamer reveals the complex web of relationships and scandalous true stories behind Truman Capote's never-published final novel, Answered Prayers—the dark secrets, tragic glamour, and Capote's ultimate betrayal of the group of female friends he called his "swans."
-
-
You need to know a bit about the players
- By Etoile NEOhio on 12-30-21
By: Laurence Leamer
-
This Much Is True
- By: Miriam Margolyes
- Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning actor, creator of a myriad of memorable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, Miriam Margolyes is a national treasure. Now, at last, at the age of 80, she has finally decided to tell her extraordinary life story. And it's far richer and stranger than any part she's played.
-
-
Simply Brilliant
- By Stuart Huddart on 09-21-21
By: Miriam Margolyes
-
Madam
- The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age
- By: Debby Applegate
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 20 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Simply put: Everybody came to Polly's. Pearl "Polly" Adler (1900-1962) was a diminutive dynamo whose Manhattan brothels in the Roaring '20s became places not just for men to have the company of women but were key gathering places where the culturati and celebrity elite mingled with high society and with violent figures of the underworld - and had a good time doing it.
-
-
Story of 20 through the eyes of a madam
- By HMY on 12-12-21
By: Debby Applegate
-
Love, Pamela
- A Memoir of Prose, Poetry, and Truth
- By: Pamela Anderson
- Narrated by: Pamela Anderson
- Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this honest, layered and unforgettable book that alternates between storytelling and her own poetry, Pamela Anderson breaks the mold of the celebrity memoir while taking back the tale that has been crafted about her. Her blond bombshell image was ubiquitous in the 1990s. Discovered in the stands of a football game, she was immediately rocket launched into fame, becoming Playboy’s favorite cover girl and an emblem of Hollywood glamour and sexuality. But what happens when you lose grip on your own life—and the image the notoriety machine creates for you is not who you really are?
-
-
Pam Anderson Can’t Make Up Her Mind
- By Kimberly Salinas on 02-11-23
By: Pamela Anderson
-
The Palace Papers
- Inside the House of Windsor - the Truth and the Turmoil
- By: Tina Brown
- Narrated by: Tina Brown
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tina Brown has been observing and chronicling the British monarchy for three decades, and her sweeping account is full of powerful revelations, newly reported details, and searing insight gleaned from remarkable access to royal insiders. Stylish, witty, and erudite, The Palace Papers will irrevocably change how the world perceives and understands the royal family.
-
-
Audible narration is dreadful
- By M M. on 05-03-22
By: Tina Brown
-
The Castle on Sunset
- Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont
- By: Shawn Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since 1929, Hollywood’s brightest stars have flocked to the Chateau Marmont as if it were a second home. An apartment building-turned-hotel, the Chateau has been the backdrop for generations of gossip and folklore: where director Nicholas Ray slept with his 16-year-old Rebel Without a Cause star Natalie Wood; Jim Morrison swung from the balconies; John Belushi suffered a fatal overdose; and Lindsay Lohan got the boot after racking up nearly $50,000 in charges in less than two months. Much of what has happened inside the Chateau’s walls has eluded the public eye - until now.
-
-
Was enjoying it until...
- By leigh on 04-22-20
By: Shawn Levy
-
Deliberate Cruelty
- Truman Capote, the Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century
- By: Roseanne Montillo
- Narrated by: Mia Barron
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Ann Woodward shot her husband, banking heir Billy Woodward, in the middle of the night in 1955, her life changed forever. Though she claimed she thought he was a prowler, few believed the woman who had risen from charismatic showgirl to popular socialite. Everyone had something to say about the scorching scandal afflicting one of the most rich and famous families of New York City, but no one was more obsessed with the tale than Truman Capote.
-
-
offensive narration
- By GM on 05-12-23
-
Women of Means
- The Fascinating Biographies of Royals, Heiresses, Eccentrics and Other Poor Little Rich Girls
- By: Marlene Wagman-Geller
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The grass isn't greener on the other side: Heiresses have always been viewed with eyes of envy. They were the ones for whom the cornucopia had been upended, showering them with unimaginable wealth and opportunity. However, through intimate historical biographies, Women of Means shows us that oftentimes the weaving sisters saved their most heart-wrenching tapestries for the destinies of wealthy women. Women of Means is bound to be a non-fiction best seller, full of the best biographies of all time.
-
-
Did an editor read this?
- By jzm on 09-02-20
-
George VI and Elizabeth
- The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy
- By: Sally Bedell Smith
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 22 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A revelatory account of how the loving marriage of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth saved the monarchy during World War II, and how they raised their daughter to become Queen Elizabeth II, based on exclusive access to the Royal Archives—from the bestselling author of Elizabeth the Queen and Prince Charles.
-
-
Great telling of their lives
- By Nancy on 04-15-23
-
The Mountbattens
- The Lives and Loves of Dickie and Edwina Mountbatten
- By: Andrew Lownie
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The intimate story of a unique marriage spanning the heights of British glamour and power that descends into infidelity, manipulation, and disaster through the heart of the 20th century.
-
-
He oughta be ashamed!
- By Just Penelope on 04-17-22
By: Andrew Lownie
-
In Praise of Difficult Women
- Life Lessons from 29 Heroines Who Dared to Break the Rules
- By: Karen Karbo, Cheryl Strayed - foreword
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Smart, sassy, and unapologetically feminine, In Praise of Difficult Women is an ode to the bold and charismatic women of modern history. Karen Karbo spotlights the spirited rule breakers who charted their way with little regard for expectations: Amelia Earhart, Helen Gurley Brown, Edie Sedgwick, and Shonda Rhimes, among others. Their lives provide inspiration and instruction for the new age of feminism we have entered. Karbo distills these lessons with wit and humor, examining the universal themes that connect us to each of these mesmerizing personalities today.
-
-
The epitome of white feminism
- By Emily K on 11-23-20
By: Karen Karbo, and others
-
Scandal
- A Manual
- By: George Rush, Joanna Molloy
- Narrated by: George Rush, Joanna Molloy
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over fifteen years of dirty secrets, shocking reveals, and all of the celebrity gossip that’s unfit to print . . . but we’re going to anyway. When Jay Z defended himself against unfair charges that he slapped a woman, when Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez got tagged by an escort agency madam, when Bill O’Reilly dissed Muslim women, and when Ruth Madoff discovered her scam artist husband, Bernie, had also been cheating on her, it all came out in the pages of Rush & Molloy.
-
-
Couldn't finish it
- By Jacob on 01-22-16
By: George Rush, and others
-
The Diana Chronicles
- By: Tina Brown
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 21 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Diana Chronicles, you will meet a formidable female cast and understand as never before the society that shaped them: among them, Diana's sexually charged mother, her bad-girl sister-in-law, Fergie, and, most formidable of them all, her mother-in-law, the Queen. Add Camilla Parker-Bowles, the ultimate "other woman" into this combustible mix, and it's no wonder that Diana broke out of her royal cage into celebrity culture, where she found her own power and used it to devastating effect.
-
-
One of the best Diana's
- By J F Whitmore on 08-02-12
By: Tina Brown
-
Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin
- By: Andrew Wilson
- Narrated by: Piers Hampton
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
McQueen had risen from humble beginnings as the youngest child of an East London taxi driver to scale the heights of fame, fortune and glamour. He designed clothes for the world's most beautiful women, including Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. In business he created a multimillion-pound luxury brand that became a favourite with both celebrities and royalty, most famously the Duchess of Cambridge, who wore a McQueen dress on her wedding day. But behind the confident facade and bad-boy image lay a sensitive soul who struggled to survive in the ruthless world of fashion.
-
-
Earnest and Voyeuristic
- By anna on 01-21-21
By: Andrew Wilson
-
Seduction
- Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood
- By: Karina Longworth
- Narrated by: Karina Longworth
- Length: 20 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this riveting popular history, the creator of You Must Remember This probes the inner workings of Hollywood’s glamorous Golden Age through the stories of some of the dozens of actresses pursued by Howard Hughes, to reveal how the millionaire mogul’s obsessions with sex, power, and publicity trapped, abused, or benefited women who dreamt of screen stardom.
-
-
Do yourself a favor - listen at a faster speed
- By Jennifer G. on 11-26-18
By: Karina Longworth
-
Last Girl Before Freeway
- The Life, Loves, Losses, and Liberation of Joan Rivers
- By: Leslie Bennetts
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 16 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joan Rivers was more than a legendary comedian; she was an icon and a role model to millions, a fearless pioneer who left a legacy of expanded opportunity when she died in 2014. Her life was a dramatic roller coaster of triumphant highs and devastating lows: the suicide of her husband, her feud with Johnny Carson, her estrangement from her daughter, her many plastic surgeries, her ferocious ambition, and her massive insecurities.
-
-
Repetitive
- By Daniel Ryan on 04-17-22
By: Leslie Bennetts
-
America's Queen
- The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- By: Sarah Bradford
- Narrated by: Sandra Burr
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Using remarkable new sources, Sarah Bradford has written a timely celebration of a life that was more private than commonly supposed. Revealing new testimony from many of the couple's friends shows the complexities of this apparently very public relationship and of her controversial marriage to Aristotle Onassis. Here is the private Jackie - neglected wife, vigilant mother, and working widow - whose contradictory and fascinating nature is illuminated by all that Bradford has discovered.
-
-
American Royalty
- By Kindle Customer on 06-10-16
By: Sarah Bradford
-
Audition
- A Memoir
- By: Barbara Walters
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 26 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Young people starting out in television sometimes say to me: 'I want to be you.' My stock reply is always: 'Then you have to take the whole package.'" And now, at last, the most important woman in the history of television journalism gives us that "whole package", in her inspiring and riveting memoir. After more than 40 years of interviewing celebrities of all kinds, Barbara Walters has turned her gift for examination onto herself to reveal the forces that shaped her extraordinary life.
-
-
Absolutely Incredible Listen!
- By Shaddi on 01-22-09
By: Barbara Walters
What listeners say about Madame Claude
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Virginia Gilroy
- 10-15-19
It started slow, but very interesting
made me wanna read the other books mentioned in the book. made me sorry I didnt know how to speak French.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- rkr4cds
- 10-30-18
Too wordy -
like just a listing of 'clents' and different decades. Would've been much more interesting if it had a typical Beginning, Middle End. Will be returning it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful