Chanel's Riviera
Life, Love and the Struggle for Survival on the Cote d'Azur, 1930-1944
Published on 11. June 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-1-4746-0821-3 (ISBN)
Description
'Sex, disappointment and scandal from some of the 20th century's biggest icons all set against an impossibly luxurious and elegant French backdrop . . . You'll come away both better informed and utterly transported' Stylist
'Tales of glamour, decadence and survival . . . A peek, at once envious and satisfyingly censorious, at the lifestyles of the rich and famous' Washington Post
Featuring a sparkling cast of artists, writers and historical figures including Winston Churchill, Daisy Fellowes, Salvador Dali, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Eileen Gray and Edith Wharton, with the enigmatic Coco Chanel at its heart, CHANEL'S RIVIERA is a captivating account of a period that saw some of the deepest extremes of luxury and terror in the whole of the twentieth century.
From Chanel's first summer at her Roquebrune villa La Pausa (in the later years with her German lover) amid the glamour of the pre-war parties and casinos in Antibes, Nice and Cannes to the horrors of evacuation and the displacement of thousands of families during the Second World War, CHANEL'S RIVIERA explores the fascinating world of the Cote d'Azur elite in the 1930s and 1940s. Enriched with much original research, it is social history that brings the experiences of both rich and poor, protected and persecuted, to vivid life.
'Tales of glamour, decadence and survival . . . A peek, at once envious and satisfyingly censorious, at the lifestyles of the rich and famous' Washington Post
Featuring a sparkling cast of artists, writers and historical figures including Winston Churchill, Daisy Fellowes, Salvador Dali, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Eileen Gray and Edith Wharton, with the enigmatic Coco Chanel at its heart, CHANEL'S RIVIERA is a captivating account of a period that saw some of the deepest extremes of luxury and terror in the whole of the twentieth century.
From Chanel's first summer at her Roquebrune villa La Pausa (in the later years with her German lover) amid the glamour of the pre-war parties and casinos in Antibes, Nice and Cannes to the horrors of evacuation and the displacement of thousands of families during the Second World War, CHANEL'S RIVIERA explores the fascinating world of the Cote d'Azur elite in the 1930s and 1940s. Enriched with much original research, it is social history that brings the experiences of both rich and poor, protected and persecuted, to vivid life.
Reviews / Votes
Providing insight into the occupation of France and its terrifying impact on rich and poor alike, you'll come away from reading it both better informed and utterly transported -- Francesca Brown * STYLIST magazine * A riveting read about the best and very worst of times and at the heart of the story is the morally ambiguous (some may say morally bankrupt) Chanel herself. -- Sarra Manning * RED ONLINE * A well-researched and compelling story. Drawing on an immense volume of material, she has succeeded not only in constructing an intriguing portrait of Chanel herself but also in expertly conjuring the two very different worlds that then existed side by side -- Selina Hastings * LITERARY REVIEW * A highly amusing guide to the shenanigans, foibles and affairs of the rich and famous at a time when it seemed anyone who was anyone spent weeks at a time on the Riviera... De Courcy has dug deep into a rich seam of stories about the coastal region of France -- Anne Sebba * HISTORY TODAY * Anne de Courcy's Chanel's Riviera gives us delicious gossip. France's leading designer was the epitome of
chic. When she acquired a magnificent villa on the Cote d'Azur, the rich and famous - among them Jean Cocteau, H. G. Wells, Salvador Dali (and, after the abdication, the Windsors) - followed. They created a gilded and hedonistic world, which continued until the fall of France in 1940. -- A.W. Purdue * THES * De Courcy is very powerful on the fall of France - the sorrow and the pity ... De Courcy, in this gripping, rousing study, sees Chanel as a Marie Antoinette figure, simultaneously shrewd and other-worldly, protected by an armour of absolute self-interest. -- Roger Lewis * DAILY TELEGRAPH * Fascinating ... By turns sunny and shady, this beautifully written book illuminates a harrowing and occasionally surreal episode in 20th-century French history -- Martin Williams * COUNTRY LIFE * Sparkling, anecdote-rich narrative -- Paula Byrne * THE TIMES *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Orion Publishing Co
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 188 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
285 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4746-0821-3 (9781474608213)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Anne De Courcy
Chanel's Riviera
Life, Love and the Struggle for Survival on the Côte d'Azur, 1930-1944
E-Book
06/2019
1st Edition
Weidenfeld and Nicholson
€3.99
Available for download
Person
Anne de Courcy is the author of thirteen widely acclaimed works of social history and biography, including THE HUSBAND HUNTERS, THE FISHING FLEET, THE VICEROY'S DAUGHTERS and DEBS AT WAR. In the 1970s she was Woman's Editor on the LONDON EVENING NEWS and in the 1980s she was a regular feature-writer for the EVENING STANDARD. She is also a former features writer and reviewer for the DAILY MAIL.