From the highest to the lowest-born, these women share not only beauty but boldness, bravery, and often, a great deal of intelligence, which enabled them to seduce the greatest and the most ambitious of men.
They wielded their influence to make their way to the highest spheres of society, where they were admired, respected, feared, or hated, depending on their temperament. But above all, they left no one indifferent, and led lives rich in every variety of passion.