One of the best known examples of the blook is Belle de Jour, the weblog of a high-class London call girl. Belle, whose identity is a closely guarded secret. (The name was taken from the 1967 movie which starred Catherine Deneuve playing a prostitute named Séverine Serizy.) The secrecy around Belle’s true identity makes the story that much more interesting. The Times Online reported on rumors that had surfaced in a blog, Belle de Hypothesis, that Belle is actually the creation of Lisa Hilton and a “coterie of young women who saw it as an appropriate vehicle to vent their frustrations with various aspects of their personal and professional lives.” Ms. Hilton is an Oxford educated author living in the US. A self professed sexual adventuress, she has written a very candid article exposing her own sexual exploits.
Sixteen months after starting the diary, Belle not only won herself a six-figure book deal (The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl UK – Phoenix and Belle de Jour: Diary of an Unlikely Call Girl US – Grand Central Publishing), but her story has also been adapted for television. The television show is The Secret Diary of a London Call Girl and she will be played by Billie Piper (see left) on BBC’s Channel 4. The book deal was carefully arranged so that the true name of Belle de Jour would not be revealed.
The writing is written in true diary style. Belle is detailed, frank and practical in her descriptions of her work and her clients. The earlier works of Lisa Hilton lend credence to the idea that she is the true Belle. Her book Athenais: The Life of Louis XIV Mistress-the Real Queen of France chronicles the life of Athenais de Montespan, the favorite mistress of the Sun King and documented “the incredible adventures of a woman who lived brazenly.” (Booklist review)
In this case, the story about the blook is as intriguing as the stories in the blook. Perhaps we’ll soon hear that Hollywood is making a film about the making of the blook. Stay tuned.
Future Perfect Publishing 
August 29, 2007 at 5:00 pm
As a real-life sex worker (I used to be an escort, but now I’m an erotic masseuse) I am sure that “Belle de Jour” is a fake. There are just too many things about her blog, which don’t add up. Mainly, Belle makes escorting seem glamorous and fun. Sure, sometimes I did get a kick out of the anonymous sex, but, to be honest, most of the time it was just dull. The men were neither good-looking enough or intelligent enough to make the job “glamorous”.
September 17, 2007 at 5:21 am
I don’t want to say too much, but a glance down the cast list for the ITV2 series (and I’m not talking about Billie Piper here) backs up the Lisa Hilton hypothesis.
January 30, 2009 at 2:55 am
As an Escort myself, I find The book and series very entertaining but total ficton, and i’d be even mor surprised if this was written by a Woman nevermid a callgirl
Siren x
January 31, 2009 at 5:23 am
Given Lisa Hilton’s background, it probably isn’t surprising that the blog may not be a close match with reality.
Perhaps Belle du Jour needs to have some competition :-).
October 3, 2009 at 6:22 pm
[…] lifestyle site. It’s exciting and fast moving and possibilities are endless – we all know the Belle Du Jour Story and next in line for blogger exploitation is fashion (just) teen […]