Belle de Jour Meets T — Part I!!

For many of us true fans, the meeting between Belle de Jour and her current fab, now live-in boyfriend T has been shrouded in mystery of legendary proportions.

Well, ’tis mystery no longer!

Belle de Jour’s current blog posting is a perfect example of what makes this remarkable woman so very compelling. She exposes her life in such a profound and entertaining way that readers will remember it long after they’ve left her blog and the Internet, and want even more.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with her, Belle de Jour had been the nom de plume of a celebrated British erotic author, who was also a London call girl for two years.

Last year, Belle revealed her true identity is Dr. Brooke Magnanti, of Bristol, England, a noted scientist. She disclosed her identity in a voluntary interview with the London Sunday Times. Brooke’s specialist areas are developmental neurotoxicology and cancer epidemiology. She has a PhD in informatics, epidemiology and forensic science and is now working at the Bristol Initiative for Research of Child Health. She is currently part of a team researching the potential effects on babies of their mothers' exposure to toxic chemicals.

But, from 2003 to late 2004, Brooke worked as a prostitute via a London escort agency; she started blogging as Belle de Jour — after the Buñuel film starring Catherine Deneuve as a well-to-do housewife who has sex for money because she’s bored — shortly into her career as a call girl, after an incident she thought funny enough to write down.

She charged £300 an hour for her services, of which she got £200. The average appointment lasted two hours; she saw clients two or three times a week, “sometimes less, sometimes a great deal more,” she has said.

So fans, sit back and begin to learn all about the man who stole Brooke’s heart: T. Here’s her post in full. Cheers! Read it here, or read it directly on Brooke’s blog, but whatever you do, just read it:

“lundi, février 1

You know, the story of how T and I met is kind of funny, and most of you haven't heard it yet. So here goes part 1:

The Boy and I split for good sometime late 2007, if the blog archive is correct (Google's generally better at remembering things than I am, so yeah). By April 2008 I was a bit down on work, where I lived, and fed up of going on a series of pointless dates with weird Geordies. Though for what it's worth, I did get a hell of a lot of material for Playing the Game out of those dates. But still.

I'd exhausted the limited possibilities of being set up by friends, joining Guardian Soulmates, and dipping a toe into Speed Dating. But let's be honest, who decided ticking boxes about eye colour or a 2-minute summary of your CV was a good way to meet a sex partner? What I needed was a drastically more honest – and less structured – approach. So I posted this on Gumtree in the Casual Relationships section:

By most criteria I'm a reasonable person – not secretly married, or a gold digger, or hiding a meth habit that makes Britney Spears look like Mother of the Year. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) At this point I'd take Britney, Kevin, and the entire cast of backing dancers over some of the frankly puzzling dates I've had recently.

Which brings us to the dilemma: how does an independent young woman find a casual relationship? Am not interested in one-night stands because, let's be honest, taxi fare from the Bigg Market back to mine is extortionate. Also one-off sex is usually crap. I'd like to meet someone several times a month (drinks, dinner and sleeping over optional) who has mojo to spare. Somewhere there must be a gorgeous man with a filthy mind who is up for hot regular sex...

Sounds simple, no? Maybe even appealing? And yet, I can't sodding give it away in Newcastle. There's no secret agenda. No games. I'm congenitally incapable of clingy. Mysteriously, my phone is not ringing off the hook. The trend seems to be meet a lad, go for a pint, and then... nothing. I like exploring the city's real ale haunts as much as the next girl, but this is the very limit.

There's no laundry list of requirements. Let's meet and see whether sparks fly. Granted, if you have a Nobel Laureate mind in a gym-honed bod, that would be a plus. But sexy is in the eye of the beholder – I also fancy Bill Murray.

So if you're a man between 25 and 35 who is not married and not flaky, then this girl would like to start a mutually rewarding sexual relationship with you. Bring your photo and a sense of humour; I'll bring the Astroglide and Nutella.

Peace out, man.

I started talking to several men, including T. His opening line was that he'd sung karaoke in the bar from Lost In Translation. A working knowledge of Bill Murray? Well, it at least showed he read to the end. We texted a few times, and I told him to meet me at a bar for a Thomas Truax gig...

POSTED BY BELLE AT 6:15 PM”

Pretty great, eh? What happens next? Keep checking Brooke's blog! (Note: You will probably be able to catch Part II right here, too, if a day or so behind.)

As Belle de Jour, Brooke has written four books in addition to her always fabulous blog about her work in the sex industry. Her fifth book, Belle's Best Bits: A London Call Girl Reveals Her Favourite Adventures, was released last month and is widely available across the pond and at Amazon.com UK.

Here is a description of the book, provided by Orion Books:

“From the summer of 2003 Belle charted her day-to-day adventures on and off the field in a frank, funny and award-winning diaries. She was the first to reveal (among other things) how she became a working girl, what it feels like to do it for money, and where to buy the best knickers for the job. She also discusses her efforts to change from 'working girl' to working girl, whilst sneaking off to visit clients in her lunch hour. From debating the literary merits of Martin Amis with naked clients to smuggling whips into luxury hotels, this is a no-holds barred account of the high-class sex-trade, and an insight into the secret life of an extraordinary woman.”

Her other books are Belle de Jour’s Guide to Men, 2009; The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl, September 2005; The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl, May 2007; and Playing the Game, June 2009. There is not a ringer in the bunch – trust me!

Her writing has been so popular that it became the basis for the international hit TV series, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper. It can be seen on Showtime in the U.S., and the first two seasons are available on DVD. The third season premieres this month, and was previewed by a special 30-minute interview of Brooke by Billie. Hopefully, that interview will be included in the third-season DVD boxed set once it becomes available.

— The Curator