Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History

Rhonda K. Garelick's biography entitled ' Mademoiselle Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History' is a highly enjoyable and informative read, which has been well researched by the author. Chanel was clearly conscious of her childhood as an orphan, even more conscious of her years as a courtesan to the industrialist, Etienne Balsan, in which she might be regarded by some as a common prostitute, or more kindly as his 2nd mistress. Either way, Chanel was never Balsan's first-choice, which was in fact the rather beautiful and accomplished courtesan, Emilienne d'Alencon. Through Balsan, Chanel met the Englishman Arthur 'Boy' Capel, who became not only her lover but gave her the chance of a lifetime, since he would be her initial financial backer, enabling her to open a millinery shop at what is now the famous address, 21 rue Cambon, Paris. The Chanel empire has its foundations in the relationship with Capel. Capel was to die tragically in a motoring accident and there seems little doubt that this had a profound and fundamental effect on Chanel throughout the rest of her life. Subsequently, Chanel would become the mistress of the second Duke of Westminster, known by many of his closest friends as 'Bendor', who at the time was most probably the wealthiest man in the world. However, one factor stands out in these various sexual relationships, which is that at no time did any of her male lovers seriously consider marrying her and that came down simply to background. The orphanage and courtesan labels never left her until much later in life and even then were still self-compromised by her behaviour during the period of German occupation of Paris from 1940 until 1944. It is neither the place or intention to spoil the read by delving too deeply into the biographical detail. Suffice to say that Chanel was guilty of being pro-Nazi, did have a Nazi lover throughout the occupation and was highly anti-Semitic. Then we come to the story behind the world-famous perfume, Chanel No. 5; that too is fascinating and although her ownership of the perfume only lasted from 1920/21 to 1924 and was the result of her friendship with a cousin to Czar Nicholas II and the Romanovs perfumer, Ernest Beaux, it would eventually make her one of the richest, most well-known and influential couturier's in the world. In fact, in the long run, Chanel was to achieve her aim to become rich, powerful and above all, respected and accepted by society, however, she was never patriotic towards her country of birth. Don't sell yourself short, do read Rhonda K. Garelick's book, its a fascinating and highly enjoyable biography of a couturier and her signature perfume that are both cultural icons. If you want to do some additional research reading, then you may also find Justine Picardie's 'Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life with sketches by Karl Lagerfeld'; Hal Vaughan's 'Sleeping with the Enemy' and Tilar J. Mazzeo's 'The Secret of Chanel No. 5: The Intimate History of the World's Most Famous Perfume' of interest. Garelick's biography of Coco Chanel is a great read and comes highly recommended.

Good book

A present for a discerning female.

One of the people throughout history that I have found to have one of the most fascinating lives is that of Coco Chanel.With a life steeped in mystery and drama (mostly of her own making and legend) and with so many books have been written about her I have found out a lot of information that I never knew. I must admit that Rhonda K Garelick’s book seems to be the most comprehensive and the book that is most willing to look at Chanel’s many flaws and bad decisions. Mademoiselle is an in-depth account of the life and loves that helped shape the woman she become. It celebrates her victories along with looking at her dark and often insidious past.Love her or loathe her, you will definitely learn about Coco Chanel and learn to respect the impact that she had on feminism and fashionMademoiselle – Coco Chanel and the Pulse of Historyby Rhonda Garelick is available now.

This detailed and meticulously researched biography of Coco Chanel is certainly both readable and endlessly fascinating, with a wealth of information about Chanel herself and the times she lived in. The author has left no stone unturned to find out everything she could, but the result is a book that is in fact overly long and occasionally repetitive, with perhaps just too much detail. This is a shame, as the subject matter is so intriguing. The book is also marred by the use of (usually anachronistic) American slang, which is out of place in a serious biography. (The text is peppered by expressions such as “women would spring for her perfume”, Cocteau could now live closer to his buddies”, many people seem to have “savvy”, Chanel “dates” Grand Duke Dmitri, and it seems unlikely that Chanel ever said, even in the original French, “a country that understands only comfort is screwed”.) The author also seems to be confused about the British Royal Family. “…the pro-Nazi branch of the British royal family, many of whose members participated in other Anglo-German strategies to end the war on German terms”. We all know about the Duke of Windsor having pro-Hitler sympathies, but he hardly constitutes a “branch”. Nor was Chanel’s former lover the Duke of Westminster a member of the royal family. And did Churchill really personally pay for the Paris flat of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, against British law? Such inaccuracies detract from an otherwise excellent biography, and for me at least made it less enjoyable than it could have been. A bit of healthy editing wouldn’t have come amiss either.Nevertheless, overall this is a full and compelling biography and one which kept me reading to the end.