Belle de Jour

Belle de Jour is a novel by French author Joseph Kessel, published in 1928 by Gallimard. Plot Séverine Sérizy recalls a mechanic touching her when she was an eight-year-old girl on her way from her bedroom to that of her mother. Now, a young, beautiful housewife, Séverine finds it difficult to fulfill her masochistic desires with her husband, Pierre. Although they love each other, physical intimacy is a problem, which frustrates them both. When Monsieur Husson mentions an acquaintance who works at a local brothel, Séverine becomes curious about prostitution as a means of satisfying her desires. She uses the pseudonym "Belle de Jour" (Beautiful by Day), as she works from two to five o'clock each day, returning to her unaware husband in the evening. Séverine becomes entangled with one of her clients, Marcel, a young gangster. He provides her with the thrills and excitement of her fantasies. The situation becomes more complicated when Séverine decides to leave the brothel, with Madame Anaïs's agreement, after Marcel becomes too demanding and jealous of her husband.