[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-115824-en":3,"doc-seo-115824-105":31,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":29,"read_time":30},115824,549768072016,"River Wang","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d",2,"Literature","The Lies of Fair Ladies - One","A sharp-tongued antique dealer navigates auctions, fake provenance, and a web of gendered power as a wealthy woman commissions—then tests—his honesty. Caught between rival dealers, tax schemes, and catalog lies, the protagonist uses experience and quick judgment to expose frauds hidden behind glamorous objects. Social tensions escalate at a tense viewing, where reputations, market ethics, and personal grudges collide in a single antique-centered confrontation.","For Charlotte Grace  \nTo The Chinese God Wei D'to, who saves books from scoundrels  \nThanks Susan, as ever  \nOne  \nTime to get rid of her.  \nDecisions about women creep up, don't they? They can even reach in, where antiques rightfully rule. I’m an—the—antique dealer, and I know.  \nJoan made love when her husband, Del, was talking at us. I’m a patient bloke but there are limits. She spat insults at him, jeering until her moans came and oblivion ruled. Can you imagine?  \nI’d given her the best years—well, two days—of my life. The reason was this antique she hadn't got.  \nJoan was filthy rich, in a praiseworthy way. That is, she honestly thought everybody else was rich, too. To me, antiques are one of the ten reasons for money; the other nine don't matter.  \n\"What do you think?\" she'd asked me brightly at the auction. First time I saw her. She gave me a dog to hold,  \nsilly cow. I gave it her back. It yawned, thinking what a hellof a day.  \n\"Dog looks fine, lady. \"  \nI wasn't particularly happy. I’d had a lousy day, St. Edmunds-bury. The worst job in antiques is being a tax hiker. You stroll in to some auction. Then, obviously suppressing excitement/glee and whatnot, you bid for Lot No. X—some duff painting, whatever old dross you've been hired to hike up. Rival dealers see your eagerness and get drawn in. The more the merrier. The price soars. Guess who eventually buys it? Why, Lot X 's owner himself! Then he donates it to some museum and claims tax relief on the price he bid. Good, eh? The painting was one I'd faked, a John Constable View of Dedham, Late Sun. Quite good, but wrong canvas. I’d got his greens just right, though mixing Prussian blue like J. C. is a swine. The owner was Barry Dimmonson. He met me in his Rolls to pay.  \n'I’ll need you again soon, Lovejoy. ' ' He fumed carcinogens from his bulbous cigar. \"This time knock me up somefink else. A pot. \"  \n\"What sort? A Ch'ien Lung vase takes—\"  \n\"Any frigging sort. \" He cruised off snarling into a car phone. Like I say, a tax hiker's a rotten job. I hurried to the viewing day at Wittwoode's Auction Temple, to meet destiny and Joan.  \nShe was exquisite. One waft of her perfume was worth Wittwoode's Auction Temple plus all the crud that lay therein.  \n\"I don't mean Jasper! \" she cooed. \"I mean that. \"  \nThe onyx cameo. Lot 66. Passing dealers listened with their directional ears.  \nNow, there's an obligation among dealers to support eachother against the [common enemy. And the good old C.E. is](common enemy. And the good old C.E. is)[ ](common enemy. And the good old C.E. is)[you. Punters](you. Punters), buyers. Anybody who wants what dealers want, namely antiques. Auctioneers don't count because everybody hates them. Reason? Because they know nothing, and do nowt. And get a rake-off. Makes your blood boil.  \nThe question worried me. Was this bird honestly asking for honesty? Then my mind smiled.  \nOver in the corner of the draughty old church Wittwoode has the nerve to call his, not God's, temple, Denny was trying to sell this very cameo to a woman called George Danson. A word about terminology here: a \"woman\" to the antiques trade is a non-dealer, man or woman. A \"lady \" is anyone with money, pure and maybe not so simple. George Danson was a poor old gaffer with a kindly soul. Denny was a shark; that is, an antiques dealer. He didn't own the lovely cameo brooch, of course. (Tip: People who try to sell you an item in an auction viewing never, ever own it, so watch out. )  \nI'd seen Denny come in out of the rain. He tried to con me once, a Royal Worcester framed oval porcelain plaque painted by John Stinton. Not really antique—1928 or thereabouts, but worth a small car. Denny 's was a dud. Fake porcelains are stamped out in Germany these days; the colors are wrong. I decided to blam Denny and do this ladylady [ sic] a good turn.  \n\"That, lady?\" Decibels bring audiences. \"Fake. \"  \n\"Fake?\" She stared at me. \"I mean the cameo. \"  \nEmphasis was needed. \"Duff. Neff. Fraud. Sexton Blak","cbCaivUERoHgjKDF","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivUERoHgjKDF","pdf",1277627,4,1,358,"English","en",105,"# One\n## Auctions, fakes, and dealer rivalries\n## The cameo and the demand for honesty","[{\"question\":\"What makes the antique dealer’s job particularly frustrating in the opening?\",\"answer\":\"He describes being used in tax-related bidding schemes where dealers and auction outcomes inflate prices and later claim tax relief, turning the work into a setup.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the protagonist suspect deception about the cameo?\",\"answer\":\"He recognizes that the item’s claims and presentation likely rely on catalog wording and dealership tactics, and he tests the lady with direct assertions of fraud.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the dealer’s relationship with other dealers affect the situation?\",\"answer\":\"Dealer politics and personal animosities intensify during the viewing, with other characters reacting strongly and influencing how accusations spread.\"}]","The Lies of Fair Ladies - One | PDF",1785477156,551,{"code":4,"msg":32,"data":33},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":34,"title":13,"keywords":35,"description":14,"schema_data":36,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":29},"the-lies-of-fair-ladies-one","",{"@graph":37,"@context":85},[38,53,68],{"@type":39,"itemListElement":40},"BreadcrumbList",[41,45,48,51],{"item":42,"name":43,"@type":44,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":46,"name":47,"@type":44,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":44,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":44,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-lies-of-fair-ladies-one/115824/",{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":42,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-08-23","2026-07-31",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"What makes the antique dealer’s job particularly frustrating in the opening?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"He describes being used in tax-related bidding schemes where dealers and auction outcomes inflate prices and later claim tax relief, turning the work into a setup.","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"Why does the protagonist suspect deception about the cameo?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"He recognizes that the item’s claims and presentation likely rely on catalog wording and dealership tactics, and he tests the lady with direct assertions of fraud.",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"How does the dealer’s relationship with other dealers affect the situation?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"Dealer politics and personal animosities intensify during the viewing, with other characters reacting strongly and influencing how accusations spread.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":52,"og:type":87,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":58,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":89,"canonical":52},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":25},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":92},[93,97,100,104,109,114,119,124,129,132,136],{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":94,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":96},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},80,"literature",{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":120,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":122,"slug":123},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":126,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":128},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":130,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":131},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":133,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":134,"show_sort_weight":133,"slug":135},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":137,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":138,"show_sort_weight":105,"slug":139},19,"General","general"]