Kathleen Tessaro

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BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR


Title: Elegance: Description:
An enchanting novel brimming with poignancy, humour, enchantment and insight, this is a stunning debut. Imagine an Audrey Hepburn film in the present day...When Louise discovers an old book called Elegance in a second-hand bookshop, it's a blessing from above. She has long been experiencing the rumblings of discontent; her marriage is in tatters, she's become a middle-aged frump and her self-esteem is at an all-time low. So the book, an A-Z of how to be elegant and stylish by a renowned Parisian socialite, is just the boost she'd been searching for. Read a letter a time, Louise finds the life lessons she needs to restore her self-esteem and the courage to leave her unhappy marriage and move on.

Title: Elegance: Description:
An enchanting novel brimming with poignancy, humour, enchantment and insight, this is a stunning debut. Imagine an Audrey Hepburn film in the present day...It was a slim, grey volume entitled Elegance. It was buried between a fat, obviously untouched volume on the history of the French monarchy and a dog-eared paperback edition of D.H. Lawrence's Women in Love. Deep in the hushed dimness of a second-hand bookshop, Louise Canova discovers a faded hardback. It is an A-Z of how to be elegant, written many years before by a Frenchwoman, Genevieve Antoine Dariaux. As she starts reading, the book's pages whisper something elusive: a way to face up to her unhappy marriage and recapture her self-esteem. 'You can always tell the character of a woman by the care and attention she lavishes on the details of her dress.' From Accessories to Zippers, there is nothing that Madame Dariaux cannot rule upon. Her writing stirs up memories of mothers and daughters, friendships and lovers, and seems to Louise to contain a magic: a wisdom that remains timeless. But changing her wardrobe is not enough.Can Louise pluck up the courage to take the real life lessons captured in the yellowing pages, and act upon them? And, finally, to leave behind Madame Dariaux and start to trust her own wisdom? An enchanting, bittersweet novel that will touch every woman who has ever longed for a fairy godmother. 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. From the Back Cover It was a slim grey volume entitled Elegance... I reach up and carefully remove the book from its shelf. As I leaf through it, the faint fragrance of jasmine perfume floats from its yellowed pages. It appears to be a kind of encyclopaedia, with entries for every know fashion dilemma starting with A and going through to Z. At last I have found my holy grail. 'A fantastic read...Kathleen Tessaro writes beautifully.' MARIAN KEYES About the Author Born in Pittsburgh, Kathleen Tessaro studied drama before emigrating to London. She is married and lives in North London. Elegance is her first novel.

Title: The Flirt: Description:
A delicious romantic comedy from the bestselling author of Elegance 'Unique situation available for attractive, well mannered, reasonably educated young man.Hours irregular. Pay generous. Discretion a must.' In a small office in Half Moon Street, Hughie Venables-Smythe discovers the world of the professional flirt. A timeless art, it can save a marriage or lift a heart faster than any therapy. Letitia Vane runs a bespoke lingerie shop in Belgravia and understands just how to make women feel beautiful. But she cannot let her guard down and fall in love, least of all with Hughie. Olivia Bourgault de Coudray is in an unhappy marriage to a very wealthy man. When a series of beautiful notecards begins to appear, with intriguing clues handwritten on each, her interest is piqued. But the same clues are being delivered to Letitia. Who is flirting with whom? And is flirtation as innocent as it seems -- or can it lead to far more dangerous territories of the heart? About the Author Born in Pittsburgh, Kathleen Tessaro studied drama before emigrating to London. After ten years working as an actress in films, television, and theatre, she trained as a drama teacher and voice coach. During this time, she began to write seriously and produced her debut novel Elegance, which became a bestseller in both hardback and paperback. Kathleen lives in London.

Title: Innocence: Description:
"Sunday Times" bestselling author, Kathleen Tessaro returns with a stunning new novel that will be a big hit with fans of her debut success "Elegance". It's 1987 and Evie is leaving home for the first time, headed for London to study acting. Along with her fellow students and roommates, Imogene (a born again Laura Ashley poster child and frustrated virgin) and Robbie (native New Yorker, budding bohemian, and very much not a virgin), Evie's determined to make her mark both on stage and off. But then life and love, in the shape of struggling rock musician Jake Albery, intervene. And everything changes. Fourteen years later and Evie's stuck. She's now a single mother teaching drama classes, her dreams long since abandoned. Robbie's dead, killed in car accident and Imo's lost touch. Then a friendship from the past comes to haunt Evie. Literally. And suddenly everything is about to change again. About the Author Born in Pittsburgh, Kathleen Tessaro studied drama before emigrating to London. After ten years working as an actress in films, television, and theatre, she left the profession and spent several years working for the English National Opera, while training in the evenings as a drama teacher and voice coach. During this time, she began to write. Working on short stories during her lunch hour, she soon became a regular member of a writers workshop. She lives in North London with her husband and son. Kathleen Tessaro's debut novel, Elegance, was a fantastic success story, reaching No. 2 in the Sunday Times bestseller list in hardback and spending 7 weeks in the Top 10. Elegance was voted 'One of the Books of the Year' by The Times, Independent and Tatler.