Event of the week
Madame Sadayakko: The Geisha Who Seduced The West by Lesley Downer (Review, £20)
The geisha book has almost become a genre in its own right ever since Arthur Golden hit the jackpot with his bestselling fictionalised Memoirs Of A Geisha. Now comes Lesley Downer's colourful account of Madame Sadayakko, a geisha who lived at the end of the 19th century. At the age of 15, she was deflowered by the then Japanese Prime Minister who, in keeping with custom, massaged the girl's thighs with egg white, reaching up her legs a little higher each night for the week leading up to the big night.
Eventually Sadayakko packed in the tea ceremonies in favour of a career on the stage, and performed all over the world. Lesley Downer will sign copies after her talk.
- Wed 5 Mar, 6.30pm. £7, concs £4. BP Lecture Theatre, British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1 (020-7499 1287).
