Elegance

  • ISBN: 9780007151424
  • Author: Kathleen Tessaro
  • 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.
  • Pages: 400
  • Format: Hardback
  • Genre: General
  • Rating: Not yet rated

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Some Other Books by this Author

  • EleganceAn 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-ha...
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  • Innocence"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 Lo...
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  • The FlirtA 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 o...
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