Chanels Riviera, Anne de Courcy
Chanels Riviera, Anne de Courcy
1 Rating(s)
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

Chanel's Riviera
Glamour, Decadence, and Survival in Peace and War, 1930-1944

Author: Anne de Courcy

Narrator: Sophie Roberts

Unabridged: 10 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/11/2020

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

"Narrator Sophie Roberts's strong, polished, highly sophisticated voice effectively conveys the aura of fashionable society but maintains a firm narrative objectivity. Droll, fascinating, full of memorable characters and anecdotes, here is a perspective on a world and time that moved from drawing-room comedy to the private dramas of war and occupation." — AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner

In this captivating narrative, Chanel’s Riviera explores the fascinating world of the Cote d’Azur during a period that saw the deepest extremes of luxury and terror in the twentieth century.

The Cote d’Azur in 1938 was a world of wealth, luxury, and extravagance, inhabited by a sparkling cast of characters including the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Joseph P. Kennedy, Gloria Swanson, Colette, the Mitfords, Picasso, Cecil Beaton, and Somerset Maugham. The elite flocked to the Riviera each year to swim, gamble, and escape from the turbulence plaguing the rest of Europe. At the glittering center of it all was Coco Chanel, whose very presence at her magnificently appointed villa, La Pausa, made it the ultimate place to be. Born an orphan, her beauty and formidable intelligence allured many men, but it was her incredible talent, relentless work ethic, and exquisite taste that made her an icon.

But this wildly seductive world was poised on the edge of destruction. In a matter of months, the Nazis swooped down and the glamour of the pre-war parties and casinos gave way to the horrors of evacuation and the displacement of thousands of families during World War II. From the bitter struggle to survive emerged powerful stories of tragedy, sacrifice, and heroism.

Enriched by original research and de Courcy’s signature skill, Chanel’s Riviera brings the experiences of both rich and poor, protected and persecuted, to vivid life.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

About Anne de Courcy

Anne de Courcy is the author of several widely acclaimed works of social history and biography, including CHANEL'S RIVIERA, THE HUSBAND HUNTERS, MARGOT AT WAR, THE FISHING FLEET, THE VICEROY'S DAUGHTERS and DEBS AT WAR. She lives in London and Gloucestershire.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader on February 23, 2020

3.5 stars! In a nutshell, half of this book is about Coco Chanel’s glitzy, glamorous Riviera at a time when the Kennedys, Picasso, the Duke and Duchess Windsor, and many others were visiting and rubbing elbows with her. Chanel was a beauty and drop dead intelligent, which inspired awe in those who in......more

Goodreads review by Katie on January 22, 2020

3.5 stars The author is pretty upfront with how this book isn't intended to be some definitive biography of Coco Chanel. There are other books out there that cover her entire life whereas this book has some details about how she got her start in the fashion and perfume industries but it primarily foc......more

Goodreads review by Valerity (Val) on December 17, 2019

I’ve always wanted to know more about Coco Chanel the fashion and perfume maven, and this was a good overall look at her life, at least during an important part of it that tells of her and how she did business and lived her life. I enjoyed learning about the various artists and writers that she was......more

Goodreads review by Matt on August 13, 2019

I received this as a goodreads giveaway. The book looks at the Riviera prior to WWII and throughout the course of the war. As evidence by the title, the work focuses on Coco Chanel and uses her experiences and life to analyze the Riveria. The book is half on Chanel and half on the Riviera during Wor......more

Goodreads review by Caitlin on February 10, 2020

There were some major problems with this book. Repetitive language and badly organized This book reads like a first draft. First, some smaller things. The author has the same paragraph--with nearly the same wording--about Chanel's childhood twice to no good effect. She introduces Aldous Huxley several......more