Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History - Tapa dura

"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 grâce . . . 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

Certain lives are at once so exceptional, and yet so in step with their historical moments, that they illuminate cultural forces far beyond the scope of a single person.