Chanel’s Riviera: Life, Love and Struggle for Survival on the Côte d’Azur 1930-1944
By Anne de Courcy
Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 304pp, £20/$24.50
Ever since Coco Chanel launched her best-selling perfume, Chanel No 5, almost a century ago in 1921, French fragrance has acquired a mystique all of its own. Chanel’s abstract, imperiously powdery parfum changed the industry for good. Previously, the scents commonly available to women had been florals in rose, jasmine or flouncy lavender concoctions. No 5 dealt a blow to the ubiquity of those old Edwardian bouquets. Behind Chanel’s exquisitely modern creation, however, lurked less pleasant odours.
