rn901

One of my best friends who I meet and hook up with once every week or so, started as a client. It's become a "situationship" where we aren't in a relationship but we're more than a simple friendship with benefits. He's young, in-shape, handsome, intelligent, educated and an extremely kind mannered introvert. Our first meet ups consisted of him giving me a massage prior to the sex (Not a bad gig to get paid for receiving massages!). More and more our sessions got longer, with wine and conversations late into the night. After a couple months of visits, I stopped charging. He then started taking me out to dinner and I regularly started spending the night. We live about a 10 minute walk from each other and see each other almost weekly now. This peculiar arrangement has lasted over five years, with us still reluctant to make anything official out of it (why change something that isn't broken?). I hesitate telling clients this because I don't want them to get any ideas. Throughout my career I've had other clients try to push to something beyond a client/provider arrangement and I've had to maintain boundaries. It's important to not let the lines get too blurry as things can get messy fast if such lines aren't clearly established.
I've had longtime regulars who have become some of the best friendships of my life. Some are almost like family, yet they still happily pay as clients because that's the sort of wonderful souls that they are. As Benjamin describes, they're the ones with social grace and fruitful effortless conversations. I hope to keep them all in my life well after I retire from this work. The ones who have treated me the best usually also made me feel very appreciated. I find it interesting that almost never do the most generous and most pleasant say they should be the ones getting paid instead. That's just not something they say. Others of a lesser caliber will act that way or say that but that's not how these best among clients think or operate. Rather, they be their great selves and they pay my rate without ever the slightest objection or hesitation. They're humble, while being the most giving. They're men of class and kindness. 

I’m intrigued by this question. Why are some people fascinated about the idea of a sex worker hiring a client??? Lol. 
 
There is no alternate universe or “other life”. Things are the way they are. Now you can ask, if sex worker and said client ever decided to form a “non-clock” relationship, and yes that happens. 
 
I won’t go into the pros and cons of such arrangements, but yes it can and does happen. Once it does, it can be subject to the same pitfalls as any traditionally started relationship. 
But the fantasy of an escort hiring a client: kill that. Clients aren’t going to earn money by becoming SuperSexman 🦸🏻‍♂️ 

All of the guys I see are people I genuinely want to spend time with. Otherwise, I wouldn't see them in the first place.
Do I want to date them or run away together and elope?  No.  That's emotionally irresponsible.
What I value even more than sexual skill is social grace and easy, effortless conversation.  That's not something that everyone has, but it is something that can be shaped and sharpened.  That, for me, is what makes or breaks how I connect to people and if I want to connect with them in the future.
 
 

Administrator’s Message:
Gentlemen, I just removed 2 messages that violate our Guidelines for posting. Please! No personal attacks. Just stay on topic.
 

I suspect that some clients think that if they get nasty and attack escorts who have raised their rates, they can intimidate escorts in general into lowering their rates.  Of course, that's ridiculous, but that won't stop these clients.  They're on a mission!

Let me quote.... Myself.
Cost of living is going up, especially in major cities.  Rent, gas, utilities, groceries.  Inflation is real.  Perhaps not '80s real, but it's here and ticking upward.
This means every service will have more inherent costs and will likely up their prices.
In terms of escorts, how much is enough?  Well, that's a per-person issue.  It's incredibly tough to sit here and judge what someone 'deserves' to charge when you don't know all of the particulars.
Ultimately, clients have to make their own judgement call without making it personal.  If the price is too high, just say thank you and move on.  There's no need to come here and get super passive-aggressive about what you were quoted.  There's also no need to come here and use an escort's pricing structure as an excuse to make ugly personal comments.

One of my favorite topics! Entitlement, smugness, lack of consideration for others, an attitude of "I'm paying so whatever I say, goes" or "I'm the customer and the customer is always right". You can find a little bit of that obnoxious childish sentiment on here, in fact.

I can handle arrogance and ego, to a point, until it goes into the territory of entitlement and insult to others. 

I also usually don't give second chances to flakes/no shows either. That kind of goes into the category of "lack of consideration for others", but I get it.  People can panic and be anxious around something as vulnerable as sexuality. I'll cut those people some slack. But if you didn't show up because you "found someone else" or just changed your mind, then no. The least a person can do is message if they are canceling. I'm not wasting my time on you again if you couldn't even give me the bare minimum courtesy of telling me that you're canceling at the last minute. 

Very rarely have I regretted an appointment. I'll be pretty quick in detecting the entitlement right away and not even entertain meeting such characters in the first place. The flakes are harder to detect, but once you flake then nah not again. So my zero tolerance for flaking and entitlement has done me pretty well in preventing appointments I'll end up regretting. My sanity and self-respect are worth whatever amount they're willing to pay. The power to decide who I meet is one of the greatest perks of this job. 

Oh and how could I forget Gore Vidal's nonfiction writings on American history and politics:

- Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: How We Got to Be So Hated
- Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of Amnesia
- United States: Essays 1952-1992

- The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000

- Inventing a Nation: Washington, Adams, Jefferson (Icons of America)

To name a few

@Charlie, @rn901, @E.T.Bass,
 
I can't thank you enough for these recommendations - after spending time browsing Amazon, looking at ones  @Charlie recommended, I decided a much better approach was to visit my favorite quasi-independent bookstore in London, and actually touch the books and see if I get lost reading a few pages, as it'll also introduce me to new shelves I've not visited or haven't visited in a while.    Will spend a few hours tomorrow lost in Foyles (Charing Cross Road)... may also use it as an excuse to wander down Compton Street for further browsing.  Thank you!

Oh and how could I forget Gore Vidal's nonfiction writings on American history and politics:

- Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: How We Got to Be So Hated
- Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of Amnesia
- United States: Essays 1952-1992

- The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000

- Inventing a Nation: Washington, Adams, Jefferson (Icons of America)

To name a few

Anything by Eric Foner is great, particularly on Reconstruction. Two of my favorites were The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution, and the other, Reconstruction Updated Edition: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877. Of course if one were to dive into that topic they would also need to check out the classic Black Reconstruction in America, 1860-1880 by W.E.B Du Bois. Just finished reading the biography of John Brown by Du Bois this year and it was pretty good, but nothing beats his book on Reconstruction. 

On the civil rights movement, I highly recommend Harvard Sitkoff's The Struggle for Black Equality. It offers a very concise coherent overview of the movement's development and history. Two others on the topic would be Howard Zinn's SNCC: The New Abolitionists  and Francis Fox Piven's and Richard Cloward's Poor People's Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail. The latter discusses social movements in general, one being the civil rights movement but also the mobilization of the unemployed during the Great Depression, the CIO/labor movement and the welfare rights movement. Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States is also a classic must read on American history. It covers every social movement in American history: the labor movement, the women's movements, the civil rights movement, anti-war movements, ect. 

Some books on the women's movement and feminism I've enjoyed were Angela Davis' Women, Race & Class and Rebecca Solnit's Men Explain Things to Me. Anything by either of those writers will make for a good read. Rickie Solinger's Abortion Wars: A Half Century of Struggle, 1950–2000 will give an extensive look at the fight over Roe v Wade and other abortion laws in the United States. Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist is good as I'm sure her other writings are. 

If your mother enjoyed Bob Woodward's books then she probably would like John Dean's. He wrote a book on the Trump administration titled Authoritarian Nightmare: Trump and His Followers and another on the Bush administration titled Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush. My favorite book of his is Conservatives Without Conscience. In it he describes a lot of the psychology and personality traits that go into an ardent right-wing conservative. Another two books with a similar theme would be Lisa McGirr's Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right and Chip Berlet's and Matthew Lyon's Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort. One book on my list on the topic I haven't read but plan on reading is David Nelwert's Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump. 

Some other books on my list for this year on American history and that your mother may enjoy are Harvey Kayes' The Fight for the Four Freedoms: What Made FDR and the Greatest Generation Truly Great and his other book Thomas Paine And The Promise Of America. I listened and watched some interviews of Harvey Kaye and loved him. I plan on also getting to Chalmers Johnson's book Blowback, Second Edition: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire and Michael Parenti's Against Empire. Noam Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival and Manufacturing Consent are also classics on American foreign policy. I also have been putting off and need to finally get to Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States. Hope your mother enjoyed it. It's a popular read that I have no excuse to not get to. I also plan on diving into Shelby Foote's three volume series on the Civil War and James M. McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom. If she likes Steinbeck then of course there are the classics Grapes of Wrath and my favorite In Dubious Battle. Given her appetite, I wouldn't be surprised she has already read both. If she likes Steinbeck, then she probably also would be a fan of the classic writings of Upton Sinclair. However, she has probably gotten to those as well. (but those are all fiction, so maybe not)

Hope that helps. Looking at that extensive list, I would say she has good taste. Good for her on having such an active mind at the age of 90!

During the height of the pandemic a lot of providers increased their rates and probably have kept them at those new levels thereafter. Mine have  stayed the same, but I can see how others have increased theirs this past year and a half. 

Some famous pornstars even charge 500 or more, even 1000...
Prices (not dragging this into another thread on rates) also depend on how expensive the city is as you pointed. 
 

Edmund White was born in Cincinnati in 1940, and currently lives in NYC.
I just finished the 3rd of his 3 autobiographical novels. All good.
He chronicled personal life experiences that reflect the evolution of gay men in America during the last half of the 20th century.
At times I thought to myself "what a drama queen". But perhaps he deserves to wear it as a badge of honor.
 
#3 is The Farewell Symphony.
which chronicles his later adult life and his loves in America and Europe.
 
#1, A Boy's Own Story was the most acclaimed. Here is an article by Alan Hollinghurst, an author discussed in this forum.
 
#2, The Beautiful Room is Empty his coming out and and coming of age.
 
 
 
#3

 
#2
 

 
#1

I've read #1 and #2. I remember the writing and his turn of phrase more than the actual details of White's. It made an impression on me as this was part of my coming out reading list. And I've hesitated to read them again, because I think they would mean less to me second time through. I read On Becoming A Man, Paul Monette's auto-biography, and loved it the first time. The second time I read years later, I didn't identify with the book much at all. Although I've always appreciated his dedication at the beginning of book, something along the lines of he 'could only have met his partner out in the open.'

The Lammy's streamed live tonight and are available on Youtube.
A couple of the winners I haven't read really caught my eye.  
One of them is
My Autobiography of Carson McCullers: A Memoir  Jenn Shapland
 

'Barrack buddies and soldier lovers : dialogues with gay young men in the U.S. military'
by Zeeland, Steven

'The Penguin Book of Gay Short Stories' by David Levitt & Mark Mitchell 
This is an anthology of stories that, in the words of its co-editor David Leavitt, "illuminate the experience of love between men, explore the nature of homosexual identity, or investigate the kinds of relationships gay men have with each other, with their friends, and with their families.
Contents:
A poem of friendship / D. H. Lawrence -- Arthur Snatchfold / E. M. Forster -- Sally Bowles / C. Isherwood -- Me and the girls / N. Coward -- My father and myself [excerpt] / J. R. Ackerley -- May we borrow your husband? / G. Greene -- Hands / S. Anderson -- The teacher of American business English / J. Kirkup -- Falconer [excerpt] / J. Cheever -- The folded leaf [excerpt] / W. Maxwell -- Servants with torches / D. Windham -- Jimmy / D. Hogan -- Torridge / W. Trevor -- Some of these days / J. Purdy -- A glass of blessings [excerpt] / B. Pym -- Reprise / E. White -- Dramas / E. O'Brien -- Mrs. Tefillin' / L. Kramer -- Spunk / P. Bailey -- The Times as it knows us / A. Barnett -- The princess from Africa / D. Plante -- Adult art / A. Gurganus -- The Cinderella waltz / A. Beattie -- Good with words / S. Greco -- Nothing to ask for / D. McFarland -- Ignorant armies / M. Cunningham -- Run, mourner, run / R. Kenan -- Six fables / B. Cooper -- Perrin and the fallen angel / P. Wells -- My mother's clothes: the school of beauty and shame / R. McCann -- A place I've never been / D. Leavitt -- Notes towards a performance of Jean Racine's tragedy Athalie / N. Bartlett -- Buried treasure / G. Glickman -- Self-portrait in twenty-three rounds / D. Wojnarowicz -- Jump or dive / P. Cameron -- Gentlemen can wash their hands in the gents' / C. Coe -- The dancing lesson / G. Albarelli -- A real doll ; The whiz kids / A. M. Homes.

Some of my earliest childhood memories were weekly visits to the local library with my mom.  I remember the first book I read, bursting with pride when I was allowed my first library card, and weekends with her and grandpa browsing old bookstores in NYC. 
Now 90, mom lives in an "active" retirement community in Arizona, is still active, mobile, and reasonably sharp.  At the start of the covid pandemic, my sister and I persuaded her to stay indoors -- and we remotely managed regular deliveries of food.   She had a primitive TV so I took over the task of ensuring regular deliveries of DVDs and books;  the DVDs stopped once we replaced her television and broadband/internet...  the books became an entirely different problem.   
I knew mom was a reader, but never appreciated how voracious her appetite was.  Since start of pandemic (March 2020) I've sent 130 books, some singly, some in large packs, many from Amazon, many more from Bookshop.org (to support local/independent bookshops).   I've spent hours reading recommendation lists, NY Times best seller lists, Amazon lists; set up accounts on GoodReads, visited bookstores around London...   
Here's my problem:  I'm running out of ideas, I don't want to sound desperate, but I'm desperate.   Does anyone have any recommendations?  As a New Yorker her appetite matched her life experience -- anything related to strong women, civil rights, American and British history, American Presidents, immigration, American theater.   She loathes romance novels, and refuses to be tricked into reading fiction.
Here's just a small sampling of the books I've sent her in the past 20 months...
Help ???
Abrams, Dan -- Lincoln's Last Trial: The Murder Case that propelled him to the Presidency Adie, Kate -- The Kindness of Strangers Albright, Madeleine -- Hell and Other Destinations: A 21st-Century Memoir Albright, Madeleine -- Madam Secretary: A Memoir Albright, Madeleine -- Prague Winter: A personal story of remembrance and war Albright, Madeleine -- Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box Applebaum, Anne -- Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism Attenborough, Sir David -- Adventures of a Young Naturalist: The Zoo Quest Expeditions Baime, A. J. -- The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World Barrios, Richard -- West Side Story: The Jets, the sharks and the making of a classic Barry, John M. -- The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History Belafonte, Harry -- My Song: A Memoir Birmingham, Stephen -- Life at the Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address Bleyer, Bill -- Long Island and the Sea: A Maritime History Bob Woodward -- The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate's Deep Throat Borchert, Scott -- Republic of Detours: How the New Deal Paid Broke Writers to Rediscover America Brands, H. W. -- Heirs of the Founders: The Epic Rivalry of Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster, the Second Generation of American Giants Brands, H. W. -- The Zealot and the Emancipator: John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, and the Struggle for American Freedom Brands, H.W. -- The General vs. The President: MacArthur and Truman at the brink of nuclear war Bren, Paulina -- The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free Brower, Kate Andersen -- Team of Five: The Presidents Club in the Age of Trump Bryson, Bill -- Mother Tongue: The Story of the English Language Bryson, Bill -- Notes from a Small Island Bundles, A'Lelia -- Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker Bush, George W. -- Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants Bythell, Shaun -- Confessions of a Bookseller Cadbury, Deborah -- Queen Victoria's Matchmaking: The Royal Marriages that Shaped Europe Caro, Robert A. -- The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York Carter, Jimmy -- A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety Carville, James -- All's Fair: Love, War, and Running for President Chang, Jung -- Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China Chang, Jung -- Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China Chernow, Ron -- Alexander Hamilton Chernow, Ron -- Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Colman, Penny -- A Woman Unafraid: The Achievements Of Frances Perkins Cornejo Villavicencio, Karla -- The Undocumented Americans Damrosch, Leo -- The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age Demarest, Janet Emily -- Tales from the General Store: The Legends of Long Island Downey, Kirstin -- The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins, Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, Dray, Stephanie -- My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne -- An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (REVISIONING HISTORY) Egan, Timothy -- The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl Epstein, Daniel Mark -- The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin's House Essinger, James -- Ada's Algorithm Evans, Harold -- My Paper Chase: True Stories of Vanished Times Fagone, Jason -- The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies Feiffer, Jules -- Conspiracy in the Streets: The Extraordinary Trial of the Chicago Seven Ginsburg, Ruth Bader -- My Own Words Glenconner, Anne -- Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown Gornick, Vivian -- Fierce Attachments (FSG Classics) Graham, Katharine -- Personal History Grasso, Dr. Joanne S. -- The American Revolution in Long Island (Military) Gunn, Cameron -- Ben & Me: From Temperance to Humility--Stumbling Through Ben Franklin's Thirteen Virtues,O ne Unvirtuous Day at a Time Holland, Jesse -- Black Men Built the Capitol: Discovering African-American History In and Around Washington, D.C. Hoose, Phillip -- Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice Hurston, Zora Neale -- Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" James Essinger -- Ada's Algorithm: How Lord Byron's Daughter Launched the Digital Age Through the Poetry of Numbers Jules Feiffer -- Conspiracy in the Streets: The Extraordinary Trial of the Chicago Seven Kamman, Madeline -- When French Women Cook Katz, Catherine Grace -- The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War Kerrison, Catherine -- Jefferson's Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America Kolker, Robert -- Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family Kurin, Richard -- The Smithsonian's History of America in 101 Objects Landdeck, Katherine Sharp -- The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Air force Service Pilots of World War II Lanier, Shannon -- Jefferson's Children: The Story of One American Family Larson, Erik -- The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz Levine, Suzanne Braun -- Bella Abzug: How One Tough Broad from the Bronx Fought Jim Crow and Joe McCarthy, Pissed Off Jimmy Carter, Battled … Lewis, Michael -- The Fifth Risk MacGregor, Neil -- A History of the World in 100 Objects Mapes, Mary -- Truth: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power Margot Lee Shetterly -- Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race Marlon, James -- A Brief History of Seven Killings Matteson, John -- A Worse Place Than Hell: How the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg Changed a Nation McCarthy, Tom -- Satin Island McNeal, Violet -- Four White Horses and a Brass Band: True Confessions from the World of Medicine Shows, Pitchmen, Chumps, Suckers, Fixers, and Shills Meyers, Stephen L -- Lost Trolleys of Queens and Long Island Milton, Giles -- Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler's Defeat Moore, Donovan -- What Stars Are Made Of: The Life of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Moore, Kate -- The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of Americas Shining Women Morrison, David D. -- Jamaica Station (Images of Rail) Mundy, Liza -- Code Girls Obama, Barack -- A Promised Land Obama, Michelle -- Becoming Obioma, Chigozie -- The Fisherman Olson, Lynne -- Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour Olson, Lynne -- Madame Fourcade's Secret War: The Daring Young Woman Who Led France's Largest Spy Network Against Hitler Orlean, Susan -- The Library Book Owen, Amanda -- Adventures Of The Yorkshire Shepherdess Purdum, Todd -- Something Wonderful Purnell, Sonia -- A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II Rather, Dan -- What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism Reid, Jan -- Let the People In: The Life and Times of Ann Richards Richards, Ann -- Straight from the Heart Roberts, Andrew -- Churchill: Walking with Destiny Roosevelt, Eleanor -- The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt Rose, Alexander -- Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring Rothstein, Richard -- The Colour of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Sahota, Sunjeeve -- The Year of the Runaways Shapiro, James -- Shakespeare in a Divided America: What His Plays Tell Us About Our Past and Future Shetterly, Margot -- Hidden Figures: The true story of four black women and the space race Simpson, John -- We Chose To Speak Of War & Strife Skloot, Rebecca -- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Souza, Pete -- Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents Spady, Matthew -- The Neighbourhood Manhattan Forgot: Audubon Park and the Families Who Shaped It Stanton, Brandon -- Humans Stanton, Brandon -- Humans of New York Stanton, Brandon -- Humans of New York: Stories Steinbeck, John -- Travels with Charley in Search of America Steinhauer, Jennifer -- The Firsts: The Inside Story of the Women Reshaping Congress Stevenson, Bryan -- Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption Teachout, Terry -- Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong Trethewey, Natasha -- Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir Trump Ph.D., Mary L. -- Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man Tyler, Anne -- A spool of Blue Thread Viertel, Jack -- The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built Wallach, Janet -- The Richest Woman in America: Hetty Green in the Gilded Age Warren, Frank -- A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book Warren, Frank -- PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives Watson, Christie -- The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story Wilkerson, Isabel -- The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Winegard, Timothy -- The Mosquito Wine-Banks, Jill -- The Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President Wolff, Michael -- Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House Woodward, Bob -- All the President's Men Woodward, Bob -- Rage Woodward, Bob -- The Final Days Yanagihara, Hanya -- A little Life : A novel Yang, Jia Lynn -- One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle Over American Immigration, 1924-1965
 

These are absolutely perfect.  Have just started to find and order them on Amazon -- THANKS! 

I could probably make another list as long, but let me start with a half dozen favorites of mine.
    Catherine Allgor--A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation     Lorene Cary--Black Ice (memoir)     Eric Foner--Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad     Mary S. Lovell--The Churchills: In Love and War     Peter Shinkle--Ike's Mystery Man: The Secret Lives of Robert Cutler       Raleigh Trevelyan--Sir Walter Raleigh (biography) All of them seem to fit your mother's interests, but most of them come to my mind immediately because of personal connections; i.e., Cary was a friend and neighbor of mine; Foner's history revealed the surprising fact that my first New York apartment was in what had been the private home of prominent  abolitionists in the 19th century; and when I opened Shinkle's book, I saw a photo of a man I once knew. The Raleigh biography is by one of his descendants, who was also an old friend of mine.

He certainly has had a crazy life. It’s not every gay porn actor who starts out as underage; has two people commit murder over them; assists the FBI in a sting to catch the killers; testifying at the trial; tries their hand at legitimate acting; then return to porn all before the age of thirty.

He's been through a lot!
 
Thread on the movie 'King Cobra' 2016

There is one, Knight Call, in Sydney's Kings Cross, and from its web page appears to be operating. I haven't used it.
http://www.knightcall.com.au/location.htm
Oops, I didn't click far enough into the site. It lists its prices and escorts with direct contact details for them but notes it is not operating from the address on the opening page, but will return at new premises when things return to normal.

"Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
                                              Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
                                              Ring out the thousand wars of old,
                                       Ring in the thousand years of peace."
                                                                           Alfred Lord Tennyson