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Chanel's Riviera: Glamour, Decadence, and Survival in Peace and War, 1930-1944 Audiobook
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"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
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“Narrator Sophie Roberts’s strong, polished, highly sophisticated voice effectively conveys the aura of fashionable society but maintains a firm narrative objectivity…on a world and time that moved from drawing-room comedy to the private dramas of war and occupation. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
Quotes
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“A history of the Cote d’Azur, from the frivolity and decadence of its post-Jazz Age heyday to the terror and desperation of World War II.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“Intoxicating descriptions…of Chanel’s life, specifically her fashion innovations and love affairs, are woven throughout the book…But glamour on the Riviera would soon give way to a fight for survival.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Entertaining…a peek, at once envious and satisfyingly censorious, at the lifestyles of the rich and famous.”
— Washington Post -
“You’ll come away from reading [Chanel’s Riviera] both better informed and utterly transported.”
— Stylist, Best Summer Books 2019 -
“A well-researched and compelling story.”
— Literary Review (UK) -
“Dishy and well-researched…this fluidly written history succeeds in capturing the era’s intoxicating mix of glitz and grit.”
— Publishers Weekly
Awards
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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A Literary Hub Pick of Best Audiobooks of the Month
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About Anne de Courcy
Anne de Courcy is the author of many widely acclaimed works of social history and biography, including 1939: The Last Season, Margot at War, The Fishing Fleet, The Viceroy’s Daughters, and Debs at War. Her books Diana Mosley and Snowdon: The Biography became the bases for television documentaries, and The Husband Hunters has been optioned for a feature film.
About Sophie Roberts
Helen Fisher spent her early life in America but grew up mainly in Suffolk, England, where she now lives. She studied psychology at Westminster University and ergonomics at University College London, and she worked as a senior evaluator in research at the Royal National Institute of Blind People.