Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World by English author Lesley Downer, a former expat in Japan, journalist and historical novelist, is an ethnographic cultural history and expat memoir, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press.
This was originally published in 2000 by Headline Books.
The book presents an accessibly-written cultural history cum personal ethnographic memoir of Japan’s geisha—from the predecessors of the profession in the artistically accomplished ladies-in-waiting of the Heian period, to the courtesans of later eras, to the present day—and the various other professions that grew up around supporting them, some passing down the family business through centuries, with the author herself invited to spend several months experiencing the training and daily activities of the geisha in Kyoto while living among them.
Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.