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William Morrow

Mademoiselle Chanel: A Novel

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Description

For readers of The Paris Wife and Z comes this vivid novel full of drama, passion, tragedy, and beauty that stunningly imagines the life of iconic fashion designer Coco Chanel—the ambitious, gifted laundrywoman’s daughter who revolutionized fashion, built an international empire, and become one of the most influential and controversial figures of the twentieth century.Born into rural poverty, Gabrielle Chanel and her siblings are sent to orphanage after their mother’s death. The sisters nurture Gabrielle’s exceptional sewing skills, a talent that will propel the willful young woman into a life far removed from the drudgery of her childhood.Transforming herself into Coco—a seamstress and sometime torch singer—the petite brunette burns with ambition, an incandescence that draws a wealthy gentleman who will become the love of her life. She immerses herself in his world of money and luxury, discovering a freedom that sparks her creativity. But it is only when her lover takes her to Paris that Coco discovers her destiny.Rejecting the frilly, corseted silhouette of the past, her sleek, minimalist styles reflect the youthful ease and confidence of the 1920s modern woman. As Coco’s reputation spreads, her couturier business explodes, taking her into rarefied society circles and bohemian salons. But her fame and fortune cannot save her from heartbreak as the years pass. And when Paris falls to the Nazis, Coco is forced to make choices that will haunt her.An enthralling novel of an extraordinary woman who created the life she desired, Mademoiselle Chanel explores the inner world of a woman of staggering ambition whose strength, passion and artistic vision would become her trademark. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Morrow Paperbacks


Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 29, 2015


Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 432 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062356437


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 37


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 1.3 x 5.4 x 8.1 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #339,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #585 in Biographical Historical Fiction #762 in Biographical & Autofiction #44,244 in Literary Fiction (Books)


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • A Woman Who Chose and Changed The Future Forever!
Format: Hardcover
Famous artists frequently refuse to be defined, classified, or placed in society’s tidy box of approval. Coco Chanel, renowned designer of classic clothing, accessories and perfume, is an enigmatic delight as depicted in this novel by perceptive and sensitive historical novelist, C. W. Gortner. Gabrielle’s parents are deeply in love but her paternal grandmother rejects Gabrielle’s mother. Her mother in turn loves her daughter but says she is unable to live with her. So searching and yearning for love followed by rejection seems to be a pattern that Gabrielle will follow until she meets the true love of her love, Arthur Capel or “Boy,” a relationship that is treasured because with it comes respect and treatment as an equal, competent professional woman. The latter trait is not one encouraged in pre-WWII France but Gabrielle’s relationships yield financial and emotional freedom on her own terms. Thus begins an astonishing career in which Gabrielle begins her first shop where she is allowed to design everything but dresses. Her styles, like the change in her name, jettison her into fame as a designer who isn’t afraid to risk her business for what she believes. Cocoa often stated that women should dress elegantly, simply, sleekly, with some low-keyed jewelry or scarf accessories. These were memorialized in the Chanel black suit, the sexy but simple black dress, and the famous Chanel No. 5 perfume that has solidly sold from its creation to the present. Coco’s career conflicts and troubles are intimately described herein, some of which she handled with creative ideas and some which she lost and mourned. Competition was fierce and even some of her own colleagues and workers tried to bring about her demise, literally by law and figuratively through slander. Although Coco was judged and demeaned as a Nazi collaborator, Gortner depicts her connection to the Nazi’s with a higher purpose and mysterious misunderstanding in covert circumstances that force the reader to suspend judgment. The artist manages a comeback even after years of exile in Switzerland. While other writers have published their own books about Coco Chanel, C. W. Gortner has written a masterful portrait that is engaging and intriguing on every page celebrating Chanel’s intelligent, creative and beautiful clothing. This reader was truly sad at the ending of this novel, an ending that mourns the passing of a passionate, brilliant, talented and incomparable woman. Delightful historical fiction and so, so highly recommended! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2015 by Viviane Crystal
    • I loved the story and the way it presented the history ...
Format: Kindle
I loved the story and the way it presented the history of the era. The beginning of Ms Chanel's life and the many twists and turns to reaching the pinnacle made for an engrossing tale. I learned things about France and about fashion. While I loved the book, I wasn't so enamored of Ms Chanel. It was a great read and a good book for discussion. I read it shortly after reading The Nightingale and realized how differently people in close proximity endured the hardships of war. The main characters in both novels were French women. The Nightingale focused on WW II while Mademoiselle Chanel covered a greater period of time but did include her life during the war. The part of the book that dealt with her life during the war was less believable than the story of her life. She was a driven woman whose focus was money, success and acceptance by people of wealth and power. During the war her focus changed to trying to save a nephew she had abandoned to British boarding schools, not really in character or believable except as a way to excuse her collaboration with the Germans. Definitely worth reading. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2016 by MRP
    • Five Pointed Star
Format: Kindle
Mademoiselle Chanel: A Novel Unveiling an icon of fashion to depict her inner life of conflict and passion while remaining true to her biography is a difficult task. Yet C. W. Gortner has managed to accomplish it with skill and empathy. Carefully shifting through the facts of the life of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, Gortner creates scene after scene of compelling drama to reveal a complex woman. Told in the first person, his fictionalized account is both a tribute to the drive and independence of a pioneering woman at the forefront of social change as well as to her vulnerable sensitivities. Gortner brings us face to face with the men Coco must depend on to achieve success, while maintaining her sense of pride and fierce self sufficiency. It becomes the ultimate irony and conflict in the book and in her life: the needy, independent woman. Having endured the global calamities of the 20th century, Coco Chanel, through Gortner’s eyes, emerges as a sympathetic survivor. We see the way she clings to fragments of stability in her chaotic life, set in motion from birth. One of the most powerful images in the book is the Aubazine stone pathway patterned with the five-pointed symbols from the convent orphanage of her childhood that Coco later replicates in the mansion she builds, La Pausa. Hers was, indeed, a rugged path, a life of almost non-stop crisis, during a time when women who defied social conventions required tremendous spirit to break free. Living on the margins of society, it is not surprising that her circle of intimate friends was an odd mixture of a range of persuasions. Gortner invites us to meet them all, as Coco did, as her cherished friends, no matter their politics or social class. In the end, Gorton reveals the living character of Coco Chanel as a woman with a supreme commitment to creativity and design in fashion—based on hard work, drive, and an unswerving conviction of what is best for women. That Coco admittedly compromised her own morals to reach her goals is a theme throughout the book. By letting us learn Coco’s reasoning each time, Gortner lets us decide to judge or accept. An iconic woman written in the round, this is must read for those who love women’s history and modern fashion. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2015 by Kate Farrell

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