Title: Mademoiselle( Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History) <>Binding: Hardcover <>Author: RhondaK.Garelick <>Publisher: RandomHouse
"A detailed, wry and nuanced portrait of a complicated woman that leaves the reader in a state of utterly satisfying confusion--blissfully mesmerized and confounded by the reality of the human spirit."
--The Washington Post "Writing an exhaustive biography of Chanel is a challenge comparable to racing a four-horse chariot. . . . This makes the assured confidence with which [Rhonda K.] Garelick tells her story all the more remarkable."
--The New York Review of Books "This monumental biography . . . anchors Chanel's remarkable story within larger cultural, social, and political forces."
--Library Journal (starred review)
"Broadly focused and beautifully written."
--The Wall Street Journal "Garelick can convincingly, and engagingly, illuminate a succession of parallels between fashion and politics."
--The New York Times Book Review "A true coup de grāce . . . a vital entry in the extensive library of Chanel scholarship."
--Yale Alumni Magazine "This is the definitive biography of Chanel. It is also the life of one of the most successful world conquerors who has ever imposed her will on a vast subject population. It is gripping, astute, and elegantly written. And if it leaves you leery of ever wearing a Chanel jacket, or carrying a Chanel bag, you will understand where the desire for it came from."
--Judith Thurman, author of the National Book Award-winning Isak Dinesen: The Life of a Storyteller "In this magisterial, affecting portrait, Rhonda K. Garelick traces Chanel's history as a woman and as a designer and in doing so illuminates the troubling contradictions of twentieth-century Europe. Her book is a masterwork of original research and psychological nuance, remarkable in combining insight into her subject with insight into modernity entire. It's a Jamesian portrait of the curious mix of sadness and sadism that loneliness can hatch. It is also a deeply moving exploration of a damaged, unhappy genius striving vainly for an elusive wholeness, and, by sheer force of will and vision, remaking the world's notion of elegance in her own image."
--Andrew Solomon, author of the National Book Award-winning The Noonday Demon "A stylish book about style, based on meticulous research and a deep understanding of French culture. Rhonda Garelick tells this extraordinary story with just the right blend of sympathy and judgment, in an utterly readable account."
--Peter Brooks, author of Reading for the Plot and Henry James Goes to Paris "Garelick expertly illuminates the forces that created one of the world's most iconic brands.
Mademoiselle is a fascinating account of the grit as well as the glamour behind the rise of Coco Chanel."
--Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana and A World on Fire
"Garelick explores the world of Coco Chanel in intimate--and intricate--detail, revealing the life and times of the woman she astutely describes as 'understanding how the right labels can govern desire.' This is a must-have book for followers of fashion and social history devotees alike."
--Lindy Woodhead, author of War Paint and Shopping, Seduction & Mr. Selfridge "Definitive . . . Cultural biographer Garelick . . . offers a fine psychological portrait of the poor orphaned girl [who] succeeded smashingly on her own terms."
--Kirkus Reviews "Delivers a probing, well-researched and insightful biography of this familiar but endlessly surprising figure."
--Publishers Weekly
