Product 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11447 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
'a fantastic book... funny, moving and most importantly its tongue is firmly planted in its cheek regarding fashion. Enjoy!' Cat Deeley

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

Customer Reviews

Wonderful book, even at four in the morning
I didn't intend to be finishing this at four in the morning, but it turned out to be a bit tricky to put down. I loved this, mostly because it surprised me with wit. The characters and commentary are beautifully observed. I can't believe it's a first novel.
"The English are a club not even the English can get into."

The first person narrator works very well and the idea of the book found in a bookstore - complete with exerpts from the real thing reminded me of the kind of books I used to want to find - those with a wisdom and grace I don't see much any more. It's a lovely idea. I bought this for my wife, and I know she'll love it and enjoy the rules of elegance as much as the main story.

This has class.

Promising start, left cheated by the end
This books begins with a great premise, and is based on a great idea and from the start, is written very well, with the central character giving you lots of reasons to empathise, sympathise and generally care about her.

This feeling disappears the more you get into the book - you begin to wonder if the author somehow lost sight of the character she wanted to create and turns her into a hapless Bridget Jones-type (the kind of characters I am so tired of reading) and you begin to care less and less about what she does or thinks.

The middle and the end of the book seem to lack a lot of direction and structure - which were very strong at the beginning of the book.

I confess to skipping through the last few chapters, skim-reading just to get to the end - but was very disappointed by the end, especially because it had begun so strongly.

Borrow a copy, I don't think it's worth buying.

A novel crossed with a reference book
This book grips you from page one. It's title captures your attention and the little gems of advice about how to capture that 'elegant' look keeps the pages turning faster than an industrial fan on a high speed would! it's very well written, very witty, a bit bridget-jones (a singleton dressed inappropriately like a sex-vamp on a date in the classy and stylish Ritz!!), but most of all, whilst reading, you can't help getting obsessive about your own wardrobe and deciding to re-vamp your own image from tomorrow! BUY IT!!