The Chanel sisters : a novel / Judithe Little.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781525806384
- ISBN: 1525806386
- Physical Description: 379 pages ; 24 cm
- Edition: Library exclusive edition.
- Publisher: Toronto, Ontario : Graydon House, [2020]
- Copyright: ©2020.
Content descriptions
General Note: | Includes readers guide. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Chanel, Coco, 1883-1971. Chanel, Antoinette. Sisters > Fiction. Women fashion designers > Fiction. World War, 1914-1918 > Fiction. France > History > 20th century > Fiction. |
Genre: | Historical fiction. Biographical fiction. |
Available copies
- 7 of 7 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Prince Rupert Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 7 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prince Rupert Library | Litt (Text) | 33294002105138 | Adult Fiction - Second Floor | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2020 November #1
Coco Chanel's little-known younger sister Antoinette is the focus of this account of the Chanels' rise from poverty to the height of Parisian couture. Coco and Antoinette (Ninette) are raised in a rural convent but waste little time in making their escape, first to Vichy and then Paris, where Coco starts a small hat shop and takes a succession of lovers, while Ninette dreams of marriage and respectability. The sisters work together to turn Coco's shop into the beginnings of a business empire that will take all of France by storm. Little mixes fact with ample speculationâmost notably in a fictitious romance between Ninette and a married Argentinian, inspired by Ninette's actual, abrupt move to Buenos Aires toward the end of her lifeâto great effect, and while the author's note's failure to mention Coco's later role as a Nazi collaborator is notable, and disappointing, this portrayal of the short life of a woman destined to be overshadowed by her more successful sister makes for intriguing reading for historical fiction fans. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2020 October #1
Little (
Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly.Wickwythe Hall ) imagines the relationship between Coco Chanel and her younger sister, Antoinette, in this admirable fictional biography. The story of the sisters' onerous childhood begins in 1897 after their mother dies when they are 11 and eight, and their father, a wandering peddler, abandons the family and gives the girls to a convent orphanage. The author mines the girls' austere upbringing by the nuns to show how they would later develop their fashion sensibility ("An insistence on craftsmanship, of stitches perfectly made. The calming contrast of black and white," Antoinette observes), which is further stoked after their aunt shows them fashion magazines. Later chapters follow Coco's trajectory from Paris hatmaker to fashion force of nature, as well as both sisters' shifting fortunes in romance. Antoinette improves on the construction of Coco's signature hats, while accepting Coco's personal life as a well-kept mistress. Though aspects of each sister's love lives occasionally come off as tiresome, the descriptions of the millinery trade are consistently fascinating. Little's story of two indomitable women offers an eye-opening account of the unsung Antoinette and her pivotal role in her famed sister's success. Fashion aficionados in particular will appreciate this take on the life of a legend.(Dec.)