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30 reviews for:
Chanel's Riviera: Glamour, Decadence, and Survival in Peace and War, 1930-1944
Anne de Courcy
3.44 AVERAGE
30 reviews for:
Chanel's Riviera: Glamour, Decadence, and Survival in Peace and War, 1930-1944
Anne de Courcy
3.44 AVERAGE
I sort of chose this book by mistake… I thought I was requesting a historical fiction novel, but instead I got a full on history book! But that’s ok, sometimes it’s good to branch out of your comfort zone. I love this time period and I have wanted to learn more about Coco Chanel, and what a more glamorous setting than in the French Riviera! All of my favorites, including the Fitzgeralds, make an appearance. I loved learning more about her relationship with fellow designer, Elsa Schiaparelli. They seemed to have such different aesthetics, it’s no surprise they were bitter rivals. I also couldn’t get enough of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, what a love story. To abdicate the throne for the love of a woman! Swoon! My favorite parts of the book were, obviously, the decadences before the war. But if you are interested in how the war played out, it is there for you.
Această carte nu este o biografie a lui Chanel sau o istorie a Rivierei franceze - s-au scris deja nenumărate cărți despre aceste lucruri -, ci reprezintă povestea anilor în care Chanel și-a petrecut verile în acea zonă a Franței.
Riviera franceză este, probabil, cea mai cunoscută regiune de coastă din lume, iar Coco Chanel este, fără îndoială, cel mai cunoscut creator de modă care a existat vreodată.
Riviera franceză este, probabil, cea mai cunoscută regiune de coastă din lume, iar Coco Chanel este, fără îndoială, cel mai cunoscut creator de modă care a existat vreodată.
I was so excited to dig into this book since I have a trip planned to the French Riviera this summer. (We’ll see about that.) Unfortunately, I was disappointed. This book digs into the idyllic Cote d’Azur and its glamorous residents. Chanel owned her only real home there, called La Pausa. She, and the other artists and literati, spent a lot of time carousing and entertaining one another. I enjoyed learning about Chanel’s love life and her incredible work ethic. The book is full of notable people, like the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson, Churchill, Somerset Maugham, Picasso, Dali, etc. I got bogged down in the details of some of the lesser known figures. Many of Chanel’s friends were, frankly, not very nice. Lots of affairs and drug use and bad behavior. At the beginning of WWII, the Riviera was mostly immune to what was going on elsewhere in Europe. Wealth and prestige allowed them to ignore what was coming. Chanel made some questionable choices during the war and found that her celebrity and status as a fashion designer offered her some degree of protection. De Courcy weaves together the war stories of these ultra wealthy people along with the experiences of regular people. Overall I felt that the book tried to do too much. I had trouble staying focused and had to force myself to stick with it. My biggest takeaway is that I now want some of Chanel’s beach pajamas, pictured on the front cover. Wonder if they still make those?!
CoCo Chanel was one of the first of the wealthy to settle in the French Riviera and this book is a mix of the story of her life and the lives of her friends leading up to and during World War II. Chanel was an interesting person and this books look at the lives and lifestyles of those around her were fascinating as well. The book looks at the internal struggle inside France after the start of WWII as the British and others left as the invasion of France became a reality. The attitudes of the citizenry then versus our view in hindsight was fascinating and explains some of the perceived lack of urgency in the resistance of the Nazi regime. Because Chanel spend time in Paris and the Riviera this book looked at both the occupied and Vichy areas of France and the different players in each part of the country (French, Germans, and Italians) for a perspective beyond the battles and completely occupied countries. I Received a free ARC of this novel through the Goodreads First Reads Giveaways.
This book was about two things: the life of Coco Chanel and the life of people, mostly expats and wealthy, in the Riviera in the time between the World Wars and during WWII. On the life of Chanel, it felt rather underdeveloped, as not enough time was dedicated in this book to really understanding Chanel or explaining her life. She would appear or be thrown in at random points, so you never really knew what was happening to her or why she was included in this book. On the situation in the French Riviera, it felt very strange to be reading about only the lives of expats, even those who stayed through the war, as I did not particularly care about the specific hospital where random English nurse Elsie Gladman wrote or other specific people, as much as I would have liked a general descritipion of life in the Riviera in these times. I did find it interesting to learn about how the Italian soldiers acted, particularly in their safeguarding of the Jewish population, but I do not feel that the life of Jews, French or foreign, in the Riviera was focussed on. At the crux of it, this book was doing too much and not using enough sources or organization to create an informative, cohesive book on life in the Riviera nor a biography of the life of Chanel at this time.
A free copy of this book was received through NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
A free copy of this book was received through NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
A comprehensive look at life on the Riviera and in Paris before and during World War II, specifically as it concerned Chanel and those in her circle. Well written and thoroughly considered, it is a complex look at the complex woman that was Chanel.
First of all, thank you SO SO much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I'm so happy I got to read the book. It was truly a gift!
Second...You know when you have a good feeling about a book just by reading the synopsis? I had that this time. I wanted to know more about the Riviera's pre-war years and after WWII, but I never found a book that talked about that without using the setting as a prop to talk about someone else and forgetting about the Riviera altogether.
Anne de Courcy did an amazing job; she researched meticulously facts and events I had no clue they even happened, and let me just say that the idea to not make Chanel the sole protagonist but just a "main character" with a supporting cast of equally incredible people was a brilliant one. I'm all for political and social anecdotes, give me all the gossip!!
It also helped and made me love it even more that Chanel is not painted as a saint that had nothing to do with the Nazi regime, I never felt like the author was trying to defend her like I've seen so many authors do in the past.
The author described the devastating effects of the German invasion of France and the occupation that followed, the struggle of the people and the impact it had on a place as decadent, wealthy and full of influential people like the Riviera in such an engaging way I felt like I was glued to my kindle. Only pros can do that with history books.
Last but not least, ELSA SCHIAPARELLI made a brief appearance here and there, but she's a Queen, and seeing her thrive while Coco was bitter about her whole existence made me SO happy.
Second...You know when you have a good feeling about a book just by reading the synopsis? I had that this time. I wanted to know more about the Riviera's pre-war years and after WWII, but I never found a book that talked about that without using the setting as a prop to talk about someone else and forgetting about the Riviera altogether.
Anne de Courcy did an amazing job; she researched meticulously facts and events I had no clue they even happened, and let me just say that the idea to not make Chanel the sole protagonist but just a "main character" with a supporting cast of equally incredible people was a brilliant one. I'm all for political and social anecdotes, give me all the gossip!!
It also helped and made me love it even more that Chanel is not painted as a saint that had nothing to do with the Nazi regime, I never felt like the author was trying to defend her like I've seen so many authors do in the past.
The author described the devastating effects of the German invasion of France and the occupation that followed, the struggle of the people and the impact it had on a place as decadent, wealthy and full of influential people like the Riviera in such an engaging way I felt like I was glued to my kindle. Only pros can do that with history books.
Last but not least, ELSA SCHIAPARELLI made a brief appearance here and there, but she's a Queen, and seeing her thrive while Coco was bitter about her whole existence made me SO happy.
As a thank, you to Netgalley and the publisher St. Martin’s press for a copy of Chanel’s Riviera by Anne De Courcy I present this review. The setting for the novel depicts the French Riviera during the late 1930s before the beginning of World War 2. It shows the momentum the riviera experienced as artists (ex. Picasso), celebrities (ex. Gloria Swanson, Cecil Beaton), and public officials “The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Joseph P. Kennedy flocked to this warm, and chic getaway. At the heart of this destination was Gabrielle or Coco Chanel. These individuals played an important part in her life and she in theirs. An important part of who she was depended entirely on her friendships and the need for independence. One aspect of the novel that I appreciated was its ability to explore the creation of Coco Chanel's now-iconic perfume, little black dress, and the impact that society had on their creation. The novel was fast-paced and held my interest. If you are a fan of Coco Chanel, and historical memoirs I suggest this novel. I give this novel a strong four out of five stars on Goodreads.
Per the author, Anne de Courcy, this book isn't intended to be a definitive biography of Coco Chanel. It is more of a biography of a place—the French Riviera before and during the Second World War. Because the Riviera was such a hot spot, it attracted the rich and famous and infamous, including Chanel and her many lovers. De Courcy covers a broad range of characters such as Winston Churchill, Aldous Huxley, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and a number of Americans, such as the Singer Sewing Machine family—and all their hedonistic lifestyles. The writing on much of this was so superficial as to be skimmable and the number of names dropped so copious that I found it difficult to keep track of them—they seemed like lists of the well-do-do.
The second half of the book saves the first half as De Courcy gave me some insights into pre-WWII France and the “impregnable” Maginot line as she details the treatment of Jewish immigrants as they fled from Nazi Germany. Not until World War Two actually begins, does the writing settle into a more cohesive story. De Courcy describes the devastating effects of German occupation on the lives of refugees, Jews, expatriates and other foreigners along with French citizens on either side of the conflict.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
The second half of the book saves the first half as De Courcy gave me some insights into pre-WWII France and the “impregnable” Maginot line as she details the treatment of Jewish immigrants as they fled from Nazi Germany. Not until World War Two actually begins, does the writing settle into a more cohesive story. De Courcy describes the devastating effects of German occupation on the lives of refugees, Jews, expatriates and other foreigners along with French citizens on either side of the conflict.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.