The author of The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson: Written by Herself (1825), she was a famed Regency era courtesan who became the mistress of the Earl of Craven at the age of 15.

Harriette Dubouchet's birth at 2 Carrington Street, in Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London, was recorded in the parish register of St George, Hanover Square.

[1][2] One of the fifteen children of Swiss John James Dubouchet (or De Bouchet), Wilson was one of four sisters in the family who pursued careers as courtesans.

All I know for certain is that, when Fanny and I discovered her abode, we went to visit her, and when we asked her what on earth had induced her to throw herself away on an entire stranger whom she had never seen before, her answer was, "I refused him the whole of the first day; had I done so the second he would have been in a fever.

Among her other lovers with whom she had financial arrangements was Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who reportedly commented "publish, and be damned" when informed of her plans to write her memoirs.

The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson, Written By Herself, first published in 1825, is celebrated for the opening line: "I shall not say how and why I became, at the age of fifteen, the mistress of the Earl of Craven.

"[4] Wilson might not have met the man or bedded him, but she was aware that the Prince of Wales, like the many other politicians, did not ultimately financially support their courtesans—and her memoir represents this controversial failing of English officeholders.