Chanel's Riviera cover art

Chanel's Riviera

Life, Love and the Struggle for Survival on the Côte d'Azur, 1930–1944

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Chanel's Riviera

By: Anne de Courcy
Narrated by: Sophie Roberts
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Summary

 Far from worrying about the onset of war, in the spring of 1938 the burning question on the French Riviera was whether one should curtsey to the Duchess of Windsor. Few of those who had settled there thought much about what was going on in the rest of Europe. It was a golden, glamorous life, far removed from politics or conflict.

Featuring a sparkling cast of artists, writers and historical figures including Winston Churchill, Daisy Fellowes, Salvador Dalí, 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 lives of both rich and poor, protected and persecuted, to vivid life.
(p) Orion Publishing Group 2019 Art & Literature Europe Western Europe War Inspiring Imperialism Winston Churchill Royalty Military Interwar Period
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Critic reviews

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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Fascinating ... By turns sunny and shady, this beautifully written book illuminates a harrowing and occasionally surreal episode in 20th-century French history (Martin Williams)
Sparkling, anecdote-rich narrative (Paula Byrne)
All stars
Most relevant
Chanel was the friend of the powerful and the glamorous; their influence protected her from her collaboration and Antisemitism. An enigmatic woman who remained just as mysterious at the end of the book as at the end of her life

The book strongest part is the description of the Riviera under Nazi occupation

The narration is monotoned and slightly off-putting, Apple’s Siri is better at delivering nuance than Ms Roberts. However, I’m glad I listened to it in a sunny August garden close to where most of the book took place

More about the Riviera than Chanel

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Quite liked the story but hated the narrator. Terrible French prononciation. It was painful to listen to the story

Narrator

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fascinating account of a life from utter poverty and discomfort to grand style and luxury - talent will out - very revealing personal experience of life on the cote d'Azure
loved the details of every day survival - who would have thought it of the French Riviera

Style and Substance

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Often shocking in its hedonistic excesses and indulgence by the very wealthy, de Courcy paints a convincing picture of life on The Riviera before and during the war. It’s full of interesting detail although sometimes the sheer cast of rather shallow characters is a bit relentless. The French don’t emerge very well with their awful attitude to Jews - the authorities couldn’t try hard enough to hasten their deportations. The wartime deprivation and struggle for survival is well detailed. How would we cope with the difficult choices to be made - starve, use the black market or collaborate?

Bad behaviour on The Riviera

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what a rambling list of names and dates it is!!!!

The author is undoubtedly exceptionally conversant with the subject matter (WW2, I can't comment on the elements regarding Chanel) and I only wish this was a much deeper dive into a few very specific and 'plot' critical people...in that way avoiding the endless stream of names, dates, situations and engagements that seemingly have tenuous connections (...I'm happy to accept this may be my lack of detailed knowledge regarding some of the names but I know my WW1/WW2 history pretty well).

I did wonder whether the semi-monotone narration made this listen tougher than it needed to be...and on reflection, I think a better/more animated delivery many have created greater distinction and connection. Whilst I don't expect the narrator to bring a book to life solely with their voice, I don't expect a narrator to drain the life out of a book either...and a little bit of that has happened here I think...

Listening to it I find myself increasingly frustrated, not so much that the title is a tad misleading which begs the question - did the title 'The Riviera' get rejected at some point? I see it has a second title so why did it really need such a tenuous primary title...seems sneaky and slightly deceptive as designed to pull a bigger fan base...think it may have back fired a tad, from my point of view anyway...

My frustration is more to do with how fantastic this book could actually be.

I will be engaging with this text again (book probably next time), I think there are gems in there. I love the perspective, subject matter and this period/geography but the reality is that this book/listen is very hard work, unnecessarily hard work...and it really need not have been.

Anne de Courcy - I applaud your knowledge, well done. I will most likely take my next tour of your material via the book - the audible version is flawed for me I feel.

Loved the idea of this book but...

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