Elegance - Hardcover

3.43

5,185 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 000200545X ISBN 13: 9780002005456

Louise C. wants what Jackie O had ...

Unhappy with her looks, her life, and her empty marriage, Louise Canova needs help -- and she finds it in a secondhand bookstore. A forty-year-old encyclopedia of style titled Elegance, this slim volume by formidable French fashion expert Madame Dariaux promises to transform even the plainest of women into creatures of poise and grace. It is a fairy godmother in print, an A-to-Z manual with essential advice that Louise vows to take to heart. But within its pages lie not only clues from her past, but also powerful lessons for the future. And as the old Louise gives way to the stunning new, she's about to find out that there's more to every life than what appears on the surface ... and that everything, even elegance, has its price.

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Review:

"Witty.proves that confidence never goes out of fashion." -- Glamour

"A deeply nuanced work." -- Pittsburgh Tribune

"A brilliant read with fashion advice thrown in!" -- New Woman

"Funny and witty.devilishly fun to read." -- Romantic Times, four-star review

A deeply nuanced work. --Pittsburgh Tribune

"Through vivid descriptions, lively mishaps and devastating details, Tessaro serves up a witty, original, fast-moving debut."--USA Today

"Funny and witty...devilishly fun to read."--Romantic Times, four-star review

"Fabulous fiction. Expect to laugh and maybe pick up some Grace Kelly -- Jackie O-esque tips."--Arizona Republic

"Witty...proves that confidence never goes out of fashion."--Glamour

"A brilliant read with fashion advice thrown in!"--New Woman

From the Author:

Several years ago now, I had the good fortune to stumble across an extroadinary book in a second-hand bookshop entitled Elegance by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux. Years later, when I decided to write a book myself, it became the guiding inspiration for this novel.

By generous permission of the original author, I have been allowed to use a selection of the original headings and have adapted them to suit my story. (Only the entry for B for Beauty remains wholly my own.) However, much of the tone and certainly the most brilliant gems of advice belong entirely to Madame Antoine Dariaux herself.

It is with enormous gratitude that I wish to acknowledge her contributions to this book and to thank her for being both my muse and the touchstone of all that is elegant for these past two and a half years. She is, I can assure you, even more gracious and enchanting in person than her wonderful words of wisdom reveal.

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