Mademoiselle

As Tavia Gilbert leads the listener through Coco Chanel's countless alliances and conquests, she reveals Coco's driving ambition and eccentricities. A dominant and colorful influence in twentieth-century fashion, Chanel has already been the subject of numerous biographies, but Garelick delivers historical context to render this account worthwhile. Gilbert elegantly portrays the multitude of Chanel's wealthy lovers and financial backers, ranging from the Duke of Westminster to a Nazi officer. Gilbert's smooth pronunciation of French names is melodic but understandable to the American listener, and her consistent pace carries through the author's complex comparisons of Chanel's relationships to the politics of her time. Gilbert's vibrant narration almost--but not quite--compensates for the absence of the print edition's photographs. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

April 1, 2015

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel was born into poverty and raised in a convent orphanage after the death of her mother. Her lovers included aristocrats, diplomats, composers, and a Nazi officer. A wealthy admirer assisted her with setting up a hat design business that evolved into the Chanel Corporation, the world's most profitable privately held luxury goods maker. World War I was a turning point for Chanel. The demands of the war meant that upper-class women were working outside the home for the first time, and they snapped up the designer's simple garments, which allowed freedom of movement. Garelick (Electric Salome) explains that Chanel had a talent for absorbing the spirit of the times and incorporating it into her designs, in the process transforming the way women dressed. Tavia Gilbert gives a solid rendering of the drama of Chanel's eventful life. VERDICT Recommended for public libraries and fans of fashion or history. ["This exhaustively researched yet highly readable biography secures a prominent place among countless books on Chanel," read the starred review of the Random hc, LJ 9/1/14.]--Cynthia Jensen, Gladys Harrington Lib., Plano, TX

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