There are a lot of books out right now about Coco Chanel. The rest of her family is usually only mentioned as side notes. Very interesting to read Judithe Little's take on all this. Excellent historical fiction.

Historical fiction account of the Chanel sisters as told by Antoinette Chanel, Gabrielle "Coco's" younger sister which tells of the sisters' upbringing by nuns in a strict Catholic orphanage to Coco's rise as a fashion icon.

Little is known about Coco's sister, Antoinette, so I appreciated this perspective. This book read more like a nonfiction account instead of a fictional story. I was a little disappointed that her involvement with the Nazis was glossed over; in fact very little was mentioned about her time in occupied Paris at all. I honestly got more information from the author's note at the end than I really did throughout the story.

The book cover, a 1920 fashionably seductive look, was so Coco. The book starts out with the three sisters in the catholic orphanage where they are learning to sew. Durning the holiday they join their cousin at Moulins. I was captivated by the description of the four girls watching the people of Moulins parade around the park. I pictured the pointillist paniting of Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. The famouse artists Seurats and Toulouse Lautrec paintings stayed with me durning the novel as I pictured Coco and Antoinette living around Paris and enjoying haunts like the Moulin-Rouge. Coco clothes, and hats were way ahead of the fashion but so seductive, perfect for the pre World War I cabaret ambiance.

Coco and Anatoinette lives entertwined with the beginning of Coco fashion fame, starting out with the making of hats and selling them from the apartment of her lover before moving to the shop on the rue Cambon in Paris. I felt that you could peek into the timeperoid with the vivid discription of the clothes, atmosphere, and wealth that surrounds the Chanel sisters. This well researched book, The Chanel sisters, is a book you will not want to miss. Widening the books horizons with Antoinette narrarating has enabled the author to has include the lives of the sisters and their cousin, lovers and World War I.
Thank you NetGalley and Judithe Little for this copy!
Due out December 2020 from Graydon House

This is the story of the Chanel sisters loosely based on fact mostly because the story is told by Antoinette Chanel, Coco (Gabrielle) Chanel's sister. Not a lot is known about Antoinette but the author has put together a plausible storyline based on what little is known about her.

I love anything to do with fashion history. This book, however, revolves more around the romantic lives of the women in the Chanel family more than the actual couture or fashion part of their lives.

There were some events in the book that I wanted to know more about, such as the Great Flood of Paris in 1910 as well as the biographies of the people who formed an integral part of the sister's lives.

A light read recounted by Coco's sister. I would imagine that if you wanted to read more about the fashion industry, a book centering principally on Coco Chanel would be more informative.