Preview
  • Chanel's Riviera

  • Glamour, Decadence, and Survival in Peace and War, 1930-1944
  • By: Anne de Courcy
  • Narrated by: Sophie Roberts
  • Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (112 ratings)

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Chanel's Riviera

By: Anne de Courcy
Narrated by: Sophie Roberts
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Publisher's summary

"Narrator Sophie Roberts' 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

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Anne de Courcy (P)2019 Orion Publishing Group