Tag: Events

This is a longer version of a review that first appeared on the Henley Standard website. It is based on notes I took during the event and my own recollections. Any errors in recording views expressed during the discussion are my own.

There was a packed house in the Finlay Suite of Phyllis Court to hear Festival favourite Anne De Courcy talk about her latest book, Chanel’s Riviera. Subtitled Life, Love and the Struggle for Survival on the Cote d’Azur, 1930 – 1944, Anne described her book as a biography of the Riviera.

The book opens as Chanel’s long love affair with the Duke of Westminster is ending. During the course of their relationship she’d acted as hostess at his society events and been responsible for decorating some of his houses. Anne explained, their friendship had brought the glamorous Chanel a lot, enabling her to leave behind her humble beginnings. Abandoned by her father at the age of eleven, she was brought up in a convent. It was a strict life, cut off from the outside world and where the palette was overwhelmingly black and white. Anne found it remarkable that Chanel did not become institutionalized but managed to be an original.

On leaving the convent at eighteen, Chanel and her cousin were apprenticed to a military tailor. There she encountered many young officers, eventually moving in with one of them as a ‘second string mistress’. She learned to ride and, unwilling to wear the huge hats that were fashionable at the time, she took a plain boater and trimmed it herself. Soon others were asking her to make ones for them. Later, Chanel met and lived with a young Englishman who provided the financial support for her to open a millinery shop and subsequently move into dressmaking.

Anne talked about how the Duke of Westminster pursued Chanel for months, sending her gifts and jewellery. Chanel took her time to say yes as, by that time, she was a well-known, independent woman. However, Chanel made her ‘real’ money through the development of her scent. Up until then “nice” women only used floral scents but Chanel wanted to create something different. Introduced to a famous parfumier, she selected from the samples he presented to her the fifth. Anne recalled Chanel’s saying that you should always put scent where you want to be kissed, joking that it seemed to her to ‘leave quite a lot of doors open’.

It was from the Duke of Westminster’s yacht that Chanel first spotted the piece of land where she would build her villa, La Pausa. It was the first thing she owned outright herself, demonstrating Anne considered that Chanel had surmounted her past as a ‘kept woman’. The design of the villa was based on convent cloisters and Chanel set out to make it look old, for example importing aged olive trees.

Illustrated with photographs from the book, Anne’s talk showcased her detailed knowledge of her subject as she mentioned some of the famous figures who flocked to the Riviera in its heyday during the 1930s. These included artists such as Picasso, writers Ernest Hemingway, Somerset Maugham, H G Wells and Jean Cocteau as well as Winston Churchill. In 1933, in the wake of the book burnings in Germany and Austria, a number of German Jewish writers arrived on the Riviera leading to it being referred to as ‘Weimar on Sea’.

In 1936, Wallis Simpson and the then Edward VIII arrived on the Riviera. Because of rumours of a bomb plot, they were lent a yacht and it was during that cruise that they were first publicly photographed together as a couple. [Those interested in learning more about Wallis Simpson can read my review of Untitled: The Real Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor by Anna Pasternak.] Anne described some of the other colourful figures who made the Riviera their home such as renowned society hostess Maxine Elliott, and Lord and Lady Furness (the latter the owner of a pet cheetah).

Initially, talk of war was dismissed by the residents of the Riviera. ‘We have the Maginot Line’ was the constant refrain, referring to the line of forts along France’s border with Germany. Anne described how the atmosphere changed following the outbreak of war. Many refugees from Northern Europe, including Jews fleeing persecution, sought refuge on the Riviera and, with the fall of France in 1940, food shortages caused by the diversion of supplies to Germany made life really tough. Despite this and the urging of the British and American consulates, the residents of Cannes and Antibes were reluctant to leave not least because it was a cheap place to live. Soon the black market was flourishing and the resistance movement grew despite the presence of paid informers.

Anne revealed how, during the war, Chanel had a German lover partly in the hope she could get help for her nephew who was a prisoner of war. Addressing the accusations of collaboration that have been made against Chanel, Anne rejected the notion that Chanel spied for Germany arguing that she would have had information of little value. In fact, Chanel didn’t even know the architect who designed La Pausa had joined the resistance, hidden a transmitter in the basement and was involved in helping Jews to escape. Above all, said Anne, Chanel wanted to survive.

Chanel marked the liberation of Paris in 1944 by opening her store and giving a bottle of her iconic perfume to every US soldier. This kept her free from the retaliation meted out to others accused of collaboration. She left for Switzerland the same year which is the point at which Anne’s book ends having given us a vivid picture of Chanel as a self-sufficient, independent woman with considerable business acumen despite her difficult childhood.

Responding to audience questions, Anne argued Chanel’s success as a designer was because she recognized early on that the best advertisement for her clothes was for them to be seen being worn by women of style. In response to another question about whether Chanel ever felt lonely, Anne said, although she had brothers, sisters and nephews whom she supported financially, she felt Chanel relied most on her circle of friends. Asked what she thought Chanel would make of her brand today, Anne said she’d probably approve of the pieces reminiscent of her early designs. However, being always impeccably turned out, she didn’t believe Chanel would think much of the fashion for ‘bed hair’! Finally, Anne revealed she is currently in negotiations for her next book (provisionally titled Five Love Affairs and a Friendship) about writer and heiress, Nancy Cunard and set in the 1920s.

A knowledgeable and thoroughly entertaining speaker, I can see Anne De Courcy making many more return visits to Henley Literary Festival.

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About the Book

Far from worrying about the onset of war, the burning question on the French Riviera in 1938 was whether one should curtsy to the Duchess of Windsor.

Featuring a sparkling cast of historical figures, writers and artists including Winston Churchill, Daisy Fellowes, Salvador Dalí, the Windsors, Aldous Huxley and Edith Wharton – and the enigmatic Coco Chanel at its heart – Chanel’s Riveria is a sparkling account of a period where such deep extremes of luxury and terror had never before been experienced.

From the glamour of the pre-war parties and casinos, to Robert Streitz’s secret wireless transmitter in the basement of La Pausa – Chanel’s villa that he created – while Chanel had her German lover to stay during the war, Chanel’s Riveria explores the fascinating world of the Cote d’Azur elite in the 1930s and 1940s, enriched with original research that brings the lives of both rich and poor, protected and persecuted, to vivid life.

About the Author

Anne de Courcy is the author of thirteen widely acclaimed works of social history and biography, including The Husband Hunters, The Fishing Fleet, The Viceroy’s Daughters and Debs At War.

In the 1970s she was Woman’s Editor on the London Evening News and in the 1980s she was a regular feature-writer for the Evening Standard. She is also a former features writer and reviewer for the Daily Mail.  She lives in London SW3. (Photo credit: Publisher author page)

Connect with Anne

Website

This is a longer version of a review that first appeared on the Henley Standard website. It is based on notes I took during the event and my own recollections. Any errors in recording views expressed during the discussion are my own.

Henley Life journalist, Cindy Burrowes, started by asking Victoria about her connection with Greece given so many of her books are set there. Victoria said, although she has no blood connection, when she’s in Greece she has an instinctive sense of being ‘home’, a feeling she can’t quite explain.

She joked she blames her passion for Greece on Bognor Regis after too many childhood holidays spent on a pebble beach looking at a brown sea. Going to the Greek island of Paros for the first time in 1976 had been a ‘revelatory experience’ and, since then, she has gone to Greece every year, has a house there and even learned Greek.

Victoria considers any immersion in a country has to involve learning the language, especially since she’s writing about 20th century history and many of the people who lived through the events she’s describing don’t speak English. Learning Greek has enabled her to chat to such people and do book tours throughout Greece. Victoria reckons she’s been to more obscure places in Greece than most people who live there

Victoria’s latest book, Those Who Are Loved, is set during the Nazi occupation of Greece and the Civil War that followed. It was a dark time in the country’s history that many Greeks are still unwilling to talk about. There were terrible events – famine, the devastation of areas of the country. Nothing that appears in the book was made up or exaggerated. Greece suffered a catastrophic war and Victoria feels it is miraculous the country has got back to where it is.

Cindy asked about the title of the book. Victoria explained it came fairly late but she wanted a title that expressed positivity, the idea that ultimately there is a redemption and that those who are loved and remembered never really die. The line comes from a poem written by revered Greek poet, Yannis Ritsos, which in turn was inspired by a 1936 photograph of a mother grieving for her dead son who was shot by police during protests by tobacco workers. (The audience was able to see the photograph along with others depicting many of the places Victoria visited during her research for the book.)

Although the storyline of the book covers a period from 1930s to the present day, Victoria revealed she often doesn’t start at the beginning when writing but may perhaps begin with an idea for the middle or the ending. In the case of this book, it started with a visit to a place – the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion. (Lord Byron carved his name on one of the pillars there, she said.) In the background was a dark piece of land, an uninhabited island that she was told was used to house between twenty and thirty thousand Communist prisoners after the Civil War. Victoria started to research the subject and discovered women were also sent there in the 1940s and 1950s.

Seven years later she finally managed to visit the island as, although it’s not far from the mainland, it’s inaccessible except by private boat. Victoria found it full of remnants of its time as a torture camp, including an amphitheatre where prisoners were lectured. As with her previous books, the inspiration for the story came from going to a place that’s full of, if not exactly ghosts, then memories and untold stories.

Cindy observed that Victoria’s books educate the reader about Greek history, such as events in Smyrna. Victoria said it’s something Greeks don’t go into great detail about, referring to it only as the ‘catastrophe’. However, it was a turning point in Greek history that Victoria wrote about in her earlier book, The Thread. In 1922, the city was razed to the ground and one million of its Greek population fled west to Greece. The population of Greece at the time was three to four million so this represented a massive influx of refugees, most of whom came with nothing. Cindy said she understood many of them took to boats to travel to the Greek islands. Victoria confirmed, ironically given recent events, a large number went to Lesbos where they were put in camps. The majority of the immigrants were left wing which led to a military dictatorship to control growing unrest.

Cindy asked how much of Victoria’s research is carried out in the UK and how much in Athens. Victoria said she does a lot in Athens and visiting various sites mentioned in the book. However, most of her reading research is done in the London Library using their online archive. For example she found a PhD thesis about the famine in 1941. It would be no more than a line in a history book but that thesis gave her so much colour.

Cindy wondered if the characters in her books are inspired by individuals she comes across in research. Victoria said she tends to completely make up characters as basing them on real people would be ‘creatively stultifying’ although she might be inspired by a face in a photograph. She joked she’s possessive about the people she invents as they’re with her for a long time when she’s writing a book. However, she confessed her villains might remind her of someone she’s met and disliked in real life and getting her revenge in that way is hugely satisfying.

Cindy asked where Victoria usually works. In the old days, Victoria said, she would have printed out photos but now she has them on her laptop for reference. Even if she doesn’t tell the reader everything about a character, she needs to know them herself. Cindy mentioned one character whose hair is described in detail. Victoria laughed and said the curls he had are a very important part of the plot and are based on a real person’s head of hair, although they don’t know that!

Had Victoria considered, Cindy wondered, setting a book in Athens? Victoria described it as an ‘extraordinary and complicated’ city, revealing the really interesting parts for her are those around the centre; the broken pavements, the crumbling buildings. Athens is chaotic but she finds the chaos and dereliction have a kind of beauty, remarking ‘For me, in every derelict building there’s a potential story. Why is that here? What’s the story behind this?’

Cindy said she loved how the book celebrates the Greek family, centred around the dining table. Victoria said she felt the dining table was the single most important piece of furniture in a Greek household – the place for sharing food even when they may be divided in other respects. She observed that, the Greeks being more demonstrative in arguments, a dining table should have a few dents in it.

Audience questions included Victoria’s view on whether the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece (answer, possibly, if it is free to see them as it is currently in the British Museum) and what she reads when she’s not writing. Victoria said, as one of the judges of The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, she’s currently immersed in reading the submissions and excited about the extraordinary talent on display.

Afterwards, The Bell Bookshop team were on hand with copies of the book for audience members to purchase and have signed by Victoria. Now I’ve heard Victoria talk about the book (and had my copy signed), I can’t wait to read it.

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About the Book

Those Who Are Loved is set against the backdrop of the German occupation of Greece, the subsequent civil war and a military dictatorship, all of which left deep scars.

Themis is part of a family bitterly divided by politics and, as a young woman, her fury with those who have collaborated with the Nazis, drives her to fight for the communists. She is eventually imprisoned on the notorious islands of exile, Makronisos and Trikeri, and has to make a life or death decision. She is proud of having fought, but for the rest of her life is haunted by some of her actions. Forty years after the end of the civil war, she finally achieves catharsis.

Victoria Hislop sheds light on the complexity of Greece’s traumatic past and weaves it into the dynamic tale of a woman who is both hero and villain, and her lifelong fight for justice.

About the Author

Inspired by a visit to Spinalonga, the abandoned Greek leprosy colony, Victoria Hislop wrote The Island in 2005. It became an international bestseller and a 26-part Greek TV series. She was named Newcomer of the Year at the British Book Awards and is now an ambassador for Lepra.

Her affection for the Mediterranean then took her to Spain, and in the number one bestseller The Return she wrote about the painful secrets of its civil war. In The Thread, Victoria returned to Greece to tell the turbulent tale of Thessaloniki and its people across the twentieth century. Shortlisted for a British Book Award, it confirmed her reputation as an inspirational storyteller.

It was followed by her much-admired Greece-set collection, The Last Dance and Other Stories. Her fourth novel, The Sunrise, was published to widespread acclaim, and was a Sunday Times number one bestseller. Victoria Hislop’s last book, Cartes Postales from Greece, is fiction illustrated with photographs. It was a Sunday Times bestseller in hardback and one of the biggest selling books of 2016.

Victoria divides her time between England and Greece. (Photo credit: Publisher author page)