Download or read book I Am Madame X written by Gioia Diliberto and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2003-03-18 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An intriguing and absorbing novel about the life of Virginie Gautreau, the subject of John Singer Sargent's most famous portrait Madame X, which scandalized the 1884 Paris Salon—perfect for fans of the bestselling Girl with a Pearl Earring. When John Singer Sargent unveiled Madame X—his famous portrait of twenty-three-year-old American beauty Virginie Gautreau—at the 1884 Paris Salon, its subject's bold pose, bare shoulders, and provocative dress shocked the public and the critics, who found the portrait displaying Virginie's blatant sexuality bizarre, artificial, and unwholesome. The scandal destroyed Sargent's dreams of a career in Paris, forcing him to flee to England. In this remarkable novel, Gioia Diliberto imagines Virginie's side of the story, drawing on the few known historical facts to re-create Virginie's tempestuous personality and the captivating milieu of nineteenth-century Paris. Born in New Orleans and raised on a lush plantation, Virginie fled to France during the Civil War, where she was absorbed into the fascinating and wealthy world of grand ballrooms, dressmakers' salons, and artists' ateliers. Even before Sargent painted her portrait, Virginie's reputation for promiscuity and showy self-display made her the subject of vicious Paris gossip. Immersing the reader in Belle Epoque Paris, I Am Madame X is a compulsively readable and richly imagined novel illuminating the struggle between Virginie and Sargent over the outcome of a painting that changed their lives and affected the course of art history.

Download or read book Strapless written by Deborah Davis and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2004-05-03 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The subject of John Singer Sargent's most famous painting was twenty-three-year-old New Orleans Creole Virginie Gautreau, who moved to Paris and quickly became the "it girl" of her day. A relative unknown at the time, Sargent won the commission to paint her; the two must have recognized in each other a like-minded hunger for fame. Unveiled at the 1884 Paris Salon, Gautreau's portrait generated the attention she craved-but it led to infamy rather than stardom. Sargent had painted one strap of Gautreau's dress dangling from her shoulder, suggesting either the prelude to or the aftermath of sex. Her reputation irreparably damaged, Gautreau retired from public life, destroying all the mirrors in her home. Drawing on documents from private collections and other previously unexamined materials, and featuring a cast of characters including Oscar Wilde and Richard Wagner, Strapless is a tale of art and celebrity, obsession and betrayal.

Download or read book My Notorious Life written by Kate Manning and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2013-06-06 with total page 608 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'In the end, they celebrated. They bragged. They got me finally, was their feeling. They said I would take my secrets to the grave. They should be so lucky.' Defiant and daring, Axie Muldoon claws her way from the streets up to the dizzying heights of New York society. But as her fame grows and her name hits the headlines, her reputation as the most scandalous midwife of her time begins to threaten everything she holds dear. And one crusading official will not rest until he has brought about the downfall of 'Madame X'. It will take all of Axie's cunning to save both herself and those she loves from ruin...

Download or read book Madame X written by Jasinda Wilder and published by Berkley. This book was released on 2015 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Madame X invites you to test the limits of control in this provocative new novel from New York Times bestselling author Jasinda Wilder. My name is Madame X. I'm the best at what I do. And you'd do well to follow my rules... Hired to transform the uncultured, inept sons of the wealthy and powerful into decisive, confident men, Madame X is a master of the art of control. With a single glance she can cut you down to nothing, or make you feel like a king. But there is only one man who can claim her body--and her soul. Undone time and again by his exquisite dominance, X craves and fears his desire in equal measure. And while she longs for a different path, X has never known anything or anyone else--until now.."--

Download or read book ArtCurious written by Jennifer Dasal and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A wildly entertaining and surprisingly educational dive into art history as you've never seen it before, from the host of the beloved ArtCurious podcast We're all familiar with the works of Claude Monet, thanks in no small part to the ubiquitous reproductions of his water lilies on umbrellas, handbags, scarves, and dorm-room posters. But did you also know that Monet and his cohort were trailblazing rebels whose works were originally deemed unbelievably ugly and vulgar? And while you probably know the tale of Vincent van Gogh's suicide, you may not be aware that there's pretty compelling evidence that the artist didn't die by his own hand but was accidentally killed--or even murdered. Or how about the fact that one of Andy Warhol's most enduring legacies involves Caroline Kennedy's moldy birthday cake and a collection of toenail clippings? ArtCurious is a colorful look at the world of art history, revealing some of the strangest, funniest, and most fascinating stories behind the world's great artists and masterpieces. Through these and other incredible, weird, and wonderful tales, ArtCurious presents an engaging look at why art history is, and continues to be, a riveting and relevant world to explore.

Download or read book Exposed written by Jasinda Wilder and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-03-01 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times bestselling author Jasinda Wilder presents the second novel starring the mysterious Madame X. My name is Madame X. My life is not my own. But it could be... Everything Madame X has ever known is contained within the four walls of the penthouse owned by her lover—the man who controls her every move and desire. While Caleb owns her body, someone else has touched her soul. X’s awakening at the hands of Logan’s raw, honest masculinity has led her down a new path, one that is as exciting as it is terrifying. But Caleb’s need to own X completely knows no bounds, and he isn’t about to let her go. Not without a fight that could destroy them all...

Download or read book Lessons from Madame Chic written by Jennifer L. Scott and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-11-06 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inspired by Paris, this lighthearted and deceptively wise contemporary memoir serves as a guidebook for women on the path to adulthood, sophistication, and style, perfect for any woman looking to lead a more fulfilling, passionate, and artful life. Paris may be the City of Light, but for many it is also the City of Transformation. When Jennifer Scott arrived in Paris as an exchange student from California, she had little idea she would become an avid fan of French fashion, lifestyle, and sophistication. Used to a casual life back home, in Paris she was hosted by a woman she calls “Madame Chic,” mistress of a grand apartment in the Sixteenth Arrondissement. Madame Chic mentors Jennifer in the art of living, with elegance and an impeccably French less-is-more philosophy. Three-course meals prepared by the well-dressed Madame Chic (her neat clothes covered by an apron, of course) lure Jennifer from her usual habit of frequent snacks, junk food, sweatpants, and TV. Additional time spent with “Madame Bohemienne,” a charming single mother who passionately embraces Parisian joie de vivre, introduces readers to another facet of behind-closed-doors Parisian life. While Francophiles will appreciate this memoir of a young woman’s adventure abroad, others who may not know much about France will thrill to the surprisingly do-able (yet chic!) hair and makeup lessons, plus tips on how to create a capsule wardrobe with just ten useful core pieces. Each chapter of Lessons from Madame Chic reveals the valuable secrets Jennifer learned while under Madame Chic’s tutelage—tips you can master no matter where you live or the size of your budget. Embracing the classically French aesthetic of quality over quantity, aspiring Parisiennes will learn the art of eating (deprive yourself not; snacking is not chic), fashion (buy the best you can afford), grooming (le no-makeup look), among other tips. From entertaining to decor, you will gain insights on how to cultivate old-fashioned sophistication while living an active, modern life. Lessons from Madame Chic is the essential handbook for a woman that wants to look good, live well, and enjoy that Parisian je ne sais quoi in her own arrondissement.

Download or read book Coco at the Ritz written by Gioia Diliberto and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-12-07 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A riveting and prismatic novel of the eternally enigmatic Coco Chanel in the aftermath of World War II. Though her name is synonymous with elegance and chic, the iconic Coco Chanel had a complicated dark side, and in late August 1944, as World War II drew to a close, she was arrested and interrogated on charges of treason to France. Many of the facts are lost to history, partly through Chanel's own obfuscation, but this much is known: the charges grew out of her war-time romance with a German spy, and one morning two soldiers from the French Forces of the Interior—the loose band of Resistance fighters, soldiers and private citizens who took up arms in the wake of the Liberation of Paris—led Chanel from her suite at the Ritz Hotel in Paris to an undisclosed location for questioning. What transpired during her interrogation, who was present, and why she was set free when so many other women who’d been involved with German men (willingly or otherwise) had their heads shaved or were imprisoned, remains a mystery. In this brilliantly insightful and compulsively readable novel from the author of I am Madame X, Gioia Diliberto explores the motivations of this complex woman and portrays the gripping battle of wits that could have been her interrogation. Was Chanel truly a collaborator? Though the Occupation of France offered a stark contrast between good and evil, few people are wholly heroes or villains in wartime. Most citizens, as the writer André Gide noted, were like old shoes floating in murky waters: battered and torn, riding the turbulent flow, just trying to survive. By turns raw and vulnerable, steely and flawed, Chanel emerges from these pages as a woman who owns her decisions, no matter the consequences. Rich with history and filled with emotional truths, Coco at the Ritz is a story about the choices one woman made when the stakes were the highest. In today’s world, it is a cautionary tale about the necessity of standing against evil when it stares you in the face.

Download or read book Sargent s Women Four Lives Behind the Canvas written by Donna M. Lucey and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2017-08-22 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection “[Lucey] delivers the goods, disclosing the unhappy or colorful lives that Sargent sometimes hinted at but didn’t spell out.”—Boston Globe In this seductive, multilayered biography, based on original letters and diaries, Donna M. Lucey illuminates four extraordinary women painted by the iconic high-society portraitist John Singer Sargent. With uncanny intuition, Sargent hinted at the mysteries and passions that unfolded in his subjects’ lives. These women inhabited a rarefied world of wealth and strict conventions—yet all of them did something unexpected, something shocking, to upend society’s rules.

Download or read book The Collection written by Gioia Diliberto and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-09-02 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A tale based on the highly competitive world of Coco Chanel follows the experiences of 1920s orphan Isabelle Varlet, who in early adulthood recovers from the death of her fiancé by developing her seamstress talents and struggling through the cutthroat world of high fashion. By the author of I Am Madame X. Reprint. 40,000 first printing.

Download or read book Paris Without End written by Gioia Diliberto and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-07-05 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A bittersweet modern love story [that] reads as easily as a novel.” —Vogue “Fascinating. . . . A detailed, grittier portrait of the woman Hemingway loved and left.” —Newsday Hadley Richardson and Ernest Hemingway were the golden couple of Paris in the twenties, the center of an expatriate community boasting the likes of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, and James and Nora Joyce. In this haunting account of the young Hemingways, Gioia Diliberto explores their passionate courtship, their family life in Paris with baby Bumby, and their thrilling, adventurous relationship—a literary love story scarred by Hadley’s loss of the only copy of Hemingway’s first novel and ultimately destroyed by a devastating ménage à trois on the French Riviera. Compelling, illuminating, poignant, and deeply insightful, Paris Without End provides a rare, intimate glimpse of the writer who so fully captured the American imagination and the remarkable woman who inspired his passion and his art—the only woman Hemingway never stopped loving.

Download or read book La Luministe written by Paula Butterfield and published by Regal House Publishing. This book was released on 2019-03-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fictional novel that focuses upon the turbulent life and times of one of the founders of the Impressionist movement: Berthe Morisot. This novel was awarded a first prize in historical fiction from the Chanticleer Reviews writing contest.

Download or read book John Singer Sargent and His Muse written by Karen Corsano and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-08-07 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This sensitive and compelling biography sheds new light on John Singer Sargent’s art through an intimate history of his family. Karen Corsano and Daniel Williman focus especially on his niece and muse, Rose-Marie Ormond, telling her story for the first time. In a score of paintings created between 1906 and 1912, John Singer Sargent documented the idyllic teenage summers of Rose-Marie and his own deepening affection for her serene beauty and good-hearted, candid charm. Rose-Marie married Robert, the only son of André Michel, the foremost art historian of his day, who had known Sargent and reviewed his paintings in the Paris Salons of the 1880s. Robert was a promising historian as well, until the Great War claimed him first as an infantry sergeant, then a victim, in 1914. His widow Rose-Marie served as a nurse in a rehabilitation hospital for blinded French soldiers until she too was killed, crushed under a bombed church vault, in 1918. Sargent expressed his grief, as he expressed all his emotions, on canvas: He painted ruined French churches and, in Gassed, blinded soldiers; he made his last murals for the Boston Public Library a cryptic memorial to Rose-Marie and her beloved Robert. Braiding together the lives and families of Rose-Marie, Robert, and John Sargent, the book spans their many worlds—Paris, the Alps, London, the Soissons front, and Boston. Drawing on a rich trove of letters, diaries, and journals, this beautifully illustrated history brings Sargent and his times to vivid life.

Download or read book Madame Badobedah written by Sophie Dahl and published by Candlewick Press. This book was released on 2024-09-17 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who is Madame Badobedah? Mabel sets out to prove that an eccentric new hotel guest is really a supervillain in this witty storybook about an intergenerational friendship. There’s a strange new guest at the Mermaid Hotel — a very old lady with a growly voice, bags stuffed with jewelry and coins and curiosities, and a beady-eyed pet tortoise. Mabel, whose parents run the hotel, is suspicious. Who is this “Madame Badobedah” (it rhymes with "Oo la la") who has come to stay indefinitely and never has any visitors? To find out, Mabel puts on her spy costume and observes the new guest. Conclusion? She must be a secret supervillain hiding out from the law. The grown-ups think Madame Badobedah is a bit rude — and sad — but when she invites “dahlink” Mabel for a cup of forbidden tea and a game of pirates, the two begin a series of imaginary adventures together, and Mabel realizes that first impressions can sometimes be very wrong. Conjuring two quirky heroines that young readers will love, Sophie Dahl adds her talented voice to a grand tradition of books that celebrate the alliance of the old and young in the face of humdrum adults, while Lauren O’Hara’s illustrations are as packed with intriguing details as Madame Badobedah’s suitcases.

Download or read book Happy Birthday Madame Chapeau written by Andrea Beaty and published by ABRAMS. This book was released on 2014-09-02 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An eminently stylish tale” from the creators of Ada Twist, Scientist, the #1 New York Times bestseller that’s now a Netflix series (Publishers Weekly). In a three-story house with a shop down below, lived the world’s finest hat maker, Madame Chapeau. Like the Lady herself, all her hats were refined. Brilliantly singular. One of a kind. So begins the tale of a lonely hat maker who matches customers to the perfect hat but lacks her own perfect match in life. Once a year, on her birthday, Madame Chapeau ventures out in her favorite bonnet to dinner. This time, a crow snatches her hat and flies away. Mon dieu! As she chases the crow through the streets of Paris, a baker, a policeman, a cowboy, and others offer her their own hats to wear. None of them are quite right, though, until one special little girl offers her a hat “knitted with love and [her] best birthday wish.” From the bestselling team behind Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer comes this delightful and very stylish story about love, community, and friendship, with some fancy hats thrown in for good measure. “Beaty carries the bounces and lilts to the very last page. Roberts’ colorful, exaggerated hats (many of which are modeled on real designs) whimsically adorn the multicultural Parisian public . . . The underlying suggestion that no one is as alone as they believe is lovely enough, but the fun of reading this aloud elevates it even more.” —Kirkus Reviews

Download or read book Madam 90210 written by Alex Adams and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Madame Xanadu written by Matt Wagner and published by Vertigo. This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by Matt Wagner Art by Amy Reeder Hadley & Richard Friend Cover by Amy Reeder Hadley "The fast pace [is] instantly immersive, as is Amy Reeder Hadley's finely detailed, complicated art, which is almost shockingly pretty. B+"- The Onion "This features lots of the fairies, magicians and medieval-style witchcraft in a style that evokes at least a little bit the classic Midsummer Night's Dream issue of THE SANDMAN. The book looks lovely and reads well." - Variety The first ten issues of the hit series from writer Matt Wagner and rising star artist Amy Reeder Hadley are collected in this new trade paperback! Madame Xanadu's powers of sight can change the course of human history, but her vision is clouded when she looks into herself. Thrown into worlds of war and men, she encounters a dark stranger who knows both her past and future. This debut volume reveals Madame Xanadu's centuries spanning origin from Camelot to the court of Kubla Khan to 1940s New York City and beyond... Featuring an introduction by James Robinson (STARMAN). Advance-solicited; on sale July 15 - 240 pg, FC, 12.99 US MATURE READERS