Beautiful For Ever: Madame Rachel of Bond Street - Cosmetician, Con-Artist and Blackmailer - Softcover

Rappaport, Helen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099570130 ISBN 13: 9780099570134

Publisher: Vintage, 2012

Synopsis

Madame Rachel had everything: a Mayfair address, the title of 'purveyor to Her Majesty the Queen', a shop full of exotic, expensive creams and potions. Her clientele were aristocratic, rich - and gullible.

This is the true story of Madame Rachel who began life as a poor fish fryer in a disease-ridden, grubby corner of Victorian London. She ended up with a shop in New Bond Street, where her wealthy clients came in their droves, lured by the promise of eternal beauty. What they found there was a con-woman and fraudster who made a career out of lies, treachery and the desperate hopes of women wanting to be 'beautiful for ever'.

Beautiful For Ever also tells of the beginnings of the cosmetics industry, when women paid to be 'enamelled' with a paste of white lead that lasted up to a year, and of a society on the brink of change and modernity. It's a thrilling tale of love affairs, scandal, blackmail, high-profile court cases, suicide and fraud, with the extraordinary Madame Rachel right at the centre of it all.

About this title

Review:

'A remarkable story... Rappaport handles her scandalous Victorian melodrama with energy and aplomb, and produces a richly entertaining portrait of the seamy side of 19th century society' --Daily Mail

'This book has the same mix of forensic investigation and light touch that makes Kate Summerscale s books so interesting' --The Big Issue

'Admirable... Madame Rachel's story, which has been superbly researched by Rappaport, is intriguing in itself [and] sheds a fascinating light on the ladies of Victorian society' --Daily Mail

Book Description:

The scandalous tale of Madame Rachel - celebrated beautician to the rich and famous of Victorian London, con-artist and convicted blackmailer.

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0099570130
• ISBN 13: 9780099570134
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320