French Women

The book we've all (certainly every woman between 25 and 75) been waiting for. Classy, chic, convincing, funny, wise, well-written and very timely. It's the ultimate non-diet book, which nonetheless shows us how to eat with balance, control and above all pleasure. Chuck out all the radical diet books, think about what you eat and why, and then enjoy eating the right things (and some of the wrong ones) intelligently, and in smaller portions. Eat, like a French woman, with your head not your stomach.

From the best-selling author of The Beekeeper’s Promise comes a gripping story of three young women faced with impossible choices. How will history - and their families - judge them? Paris, 1940. With the city occupied by the Nazis, three young seamstresses go about their normal lives as best they can. But all three are hiding secrets. War-scarred Mireille is fighting with the Resistance; Claire has been seduced by a German officer; and Vivienne’s involvement is something she can’t reveal to either of them.

This audiobook is a complete guide to dress elegantly and live effortlessly chic. You will find the essential principles of French chic, elegance, makeup, skincare, and capsule wardrobe, and you’ll learn how to create your own unique style. You’ll discover how easy it is to look gorgeous and, most importantly, feel confident and beautiful. "Sometimes, a little change in our wardrobe or the way we present ourselves can do wonders for our lifestyle."

Suddenly unemployed and single, Anna escapes to her parents' beautiful house in France for a much needed recharge - and to work out what she wants to do next with her life now her carefully mapped out plan has gone out the window. Anna gives herself six months to recuperate, all the while helping renovate her parents' adjoining gites into picturesque B&Bs. But working alongside the ruggedly handsome Sam on the renovation project, she didn't expect for life to take an unexpected, if not unwelcome, twist....

A little over 10 years ago, Janine Marsh and her husband gave up their careers in London to chase the good life in the countryside of northern France. Having overcome the obstacles of starting to renovate her dream home - an ancient, dilapidated barn - and fitting in with the peculiarities of the locals, Janine is now the go-to expat in the area for those seeking to get to grips with a very different way of life. In this book, Janine regales us with the delights and dramas of a year attempting to live the rural idyll.

Twenty-one-year-old Linda Kovic needs to learn a language fast in order to fulfill her dream of becoming a flight attendant, so she contracts to become an au pair for a wealthy family in the Loire Valley. In order to secure the nanny position, she lies on her application and pretends to speak French, confident she'll be forgiven once she arrives at her destination. This book captures Linda's real-life story inside and outside the Chateau de Montclair, detailing her challenges and triumphs as she tries to adjust to her new life.

Égérie de Jean-Paul Gaultier, Ève Salvail, l’icône de beauté à la tête rasée et tatouée, a défilé pour de prestigieux créateurs de mode, dont Versace, Lacroix, Lagerfeld et Mugler, fait la une de grands magazines, de même que des apparitions remarquées au cinéma. J’ai tout de suite compris, en voyant Ève la première fois, qu’elle allait réinventer le style des mannequins de cette époque.

Josephine's life story was as turbulent as the age, an era of revolution and social upheaval, of the guillotine and of frenzied hedonism. With telling psychological depth and compelling literary grace, Carolly Erickson brings the complex, charming, ever resilient Josephine to life in this memorable portrait, one that carries the reader from the sensual richness of her childhood in the tropics to her final lonely days at Malmaison.

In this witty and uplifting audiobook, Mylène Desclaux speaks tenderly and honestly about turning 50 and what it means for herself and for the other women in her entourage. In Why French Women Feel Young at 50, you will learn how to take pleasure from the simple things in life and how to make the most of your 50s, the Parisian way. 

What will be will be. Belinda Marshall’s idyllic teenage life in Brittany, France, fell apart when her parents dramatically separated and her mother took her back to England. Fast forward 35 years when Belinda’s world is once again turned upside down. It’s the week before Christmas and her employer 'surprises’ Belinda by asking for her help to rejuvenate their latest investment, a run-down campsite in Brittany.

In 1949, during her junior year abroad in Paris, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis bought several inexpensive paintings of Marie-Antoinette by a little-known 18th-century female artist. She also had a romantic relationship with Virginia vineyard owner Lucie Montgomery’s French grandfather - until recently, a well-kept secret. Seventy years later, Cricket Delacroix, Lucie’s neighbor and Jackie’s schoolfriend, is donating the now priceless paintings to a Washington, DC, museum.

It’s fair to say that Flick has had a terrible year. Her beloved father died, then, just hours after her wedding ceremony, her husband left her. Fed up with her daughter living like a hermit, Brenda decides to drag Flick off to France to stay in a chateau. What could be better than an idyllic escape? But when they arrive, Flick discovers the chateau is all but abandoned. The only upside of her French escape is the handsome and mysterious neighbour, Nate. Nate loves his life living in the cottage on the grounds of the abandoned chateau, but that is about to be put in jeopardy....

Jane and Eric de Vries. Often enemies. Sometimes lovers. Husband and wife. Or are we? I wore the dress. We said the vows. And somehow it became more than just a stunt to collect his billions. A promise bound by love, not hate. Until he humiliated me in front of all of New York and disappeared. Now my errant husband has returned, and it's like I never existed. Except when he looks at me like he wants to rip my dress from my body. Something's holding him back. And I won't rest until I discover its cause.

Secrets in seduction from the city of love.... Whether you're wondering where to buy last-minute lingerie, which restaurant has the best view of the Eiffel Tower or how to keep things hot between the sheets, the answer is simple: think like a Parisienne! Straight from the world's most romantic city and filled with fabulous tips and plenty of tongue-in-cheek humour, this is the French woman's ultimate guide to love and passion - in and out of the bedroom....

Famed presidential advisor Stephen Upton has suffered a stroke, and his four very different daughters gather in his perfectly appointed mansion outside Boston to await his death or recovery. Elizabeth, cold and calculating, fights hard for every success and pays a high price; beautiful Mary has always needed a man to support her tastes, but time is catching up with her; Alex can't remember her childhood and wants to know why; and Ronnie, illegitimate and proud, refuses to acknowledge her feelings for the man they all love and hate.

In 1992, Marilyn French was told she had one year to live. A smoker of 48 years she was diagnosed as having cancer of the oesophagus, a cancer which is almost always fatal. Five years on, having battled with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, a heart attack and her back breaking, she is very much alive. And - astonishingly - her body shows no sign of cancer.

Olivia Lamoureux vient d'acheter la maison de ses rêves. Elle emménage à la campagne, certaine d'y trouver la tranquillité. Elle ignore qu'elle devra, avant d'y parvenir, traverser un véritable «parcours du combattant», celui des travaux de rénovation de son havre de paix. Malgré cette vie mouvementée, Olivia espère encore qu'en début cinquantaine tout est possible, même l'amour.

When the kids are grown and Mercy Garrett gradually moves herself out of the family home, everyone determines not to notice. Over at her studio, she wants space and silence. She won't allow any family clutter. Not even their cat, Desmond. Yet it is a clutter of untidy moments that forms the Garretts' family life over the decades, from giving a child a ride to a painstaking Easter lunch, a fateful train journey to an unexpected homecoming. And it all begins in 1959, with a family holiday to a cabin by a lake.

Who is in Coma Suite Number 5? A matchless lover? A supreme egotist? A selfless martyr? A bad mother? A cherished sister? A selfish wife? All of these. For this is Silvia Shute, who has always done exactly what she wants. Until now, when her life suddenly, shockingly stops. Her past holds a terrible secret, and now that she is unconscious in a hospital bed, her constant stream of visitors are set to uncover the mystery of her broken life. Meanwhile she must lie there, victim of the beloveds, the borings, the babblings and the plain bonkers. Like it or not, the truth is about to pay Silvia a visit. Again, and again and again...

Une enfant de la DPJ, voilà ce que je suis. Ces trois lettres me suivront toute ma vie. J'en suis marquée au fer rouge, comme du bétail. Tout a commencé par une mère monoparentale, toxicomane et violente, et un beau-père agresseur. Ensuite, ceux qui devaient me protéger m'ont fait passer d'une famille d'accueil à l'autre, aveugles à la négligence que je subissais. Séquestrée, j'ai grugé les barreaux de mon lit pour ne pas mourir de faim. Abandonnée, j'ai cherché à être aimée à n'importe quel prix. Mais qui veut s'occuper d'une fillette avec un bagage aussi lourd ?