World: Suivez-Moi, Jeune Homme

In the golden days of La Belle Epoque at the turn of the century, the courtesans of France were famed for their elegance, the dazzle of their jewels, and the high cost of their favors. None more so than La Belle Otero, with her jet-black hair, hourglass figure and enameled complexion. One night at the Café de Paris, five rulers of Europe offered homage at her table—Russia's Nicholas II, Britain's Edward VII, Prussia's Wilhelm II, Belgium's Leopold II and Spain's Alfonso XIII. Otero boasted, "I have been a slave to my passions, but never to a man."

Caroline Otero was born in...