Elegance

by Kathleen Tessaro

Book Overview

Now reissued with a beautiful and modern new cover, the debut novel from the bestselling and beloved author of THE PERFUME COLLECTOR.

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, the slim volume by formidable French fashion expert Madame Dariaux promises to...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060522275
• ISBN13: 9780060522278
• Release Date: January 2019
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Length: 319 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

one of the best of British chic lit!

This is one of my favorite chic-lit novels set in London and I love it all the more because it's about an American in London and her search for true style, and in doing so - her search for her true self. Love it!

This book captured my heart

I was looking in Harrod's book department and came across this gem. I saw that it won a best book award from the London Times last year and thought it might keep me occupied on the long flight home.It was so much better than I expected. It takes you on a journey similar to others in the British Chick Lit genre, but the low notes in the story, the jaw-dropping pain she sometimes endures makes her eventual rise all the sweeter.I loaned the book to my best friend upon my return and she loved it as much as I did. I'm thinking of starting a book club...this would definitely be the first selection.

Enjoyable

I read a lot of chick-lit and was surprised by the quality of this one! It was much better than it's peers. I'm a fashion junky so I enjoyed the "Elegance" excerpts. I know we all tend to throw fashion rules out the window anymore...BUT...there's a lot to be said for guidelines. (The average person - with no taste - needs SOME help.) I thought the exerpts added a lot of humour.Since I'm a 5+ book/week reader, any book's plot that surprises me gets an automatic 5 stars.If you are wanting something frothy, this book may surprise you with it's darkness. But, yes Virginia, there is a happy ending.If you like Jane Green, Marian Keyes, or Katie Fforde, try this book.

First rate read!

I rarely read fiction. But I was attracted to the this book when I saw it in the book store because of its title, "Elegance". I own an older non-fiction book by Genevieve Dariaux also called, "Elegance". So I decided to see what the book was about.To my surprise much of the book is based on the non-fiction book by Dariaux.The main character in the book finds a dusty copy of "Elegance" in the used book store. Using the books advice she slowly transforms herself from an unhappy housewife with a dull job and a packed closet but nothing to wear into a woman of style and substance.Each chapter begins with quotes from the Dariaux book (most of which are in the original book, a few have been made up by the author or changed.) And as each chapter goes along our heroine learns something that relates to the quote about style or elegance. For example, weight, men, restaurants, underwear are among the topics covered. I especially enjoyed the chapter on lingerie. As I thought of my own worn DKNY nighties, our heroine Louise is learning that "everything you own should do its job with some semblance of grace and dignity." and that we tend to dress and look better for complete strangers than our loved ones. Hmmm time for a little shopping for me!Our heroine also learns that a sparse closet with very fine clothes that you wear and wear and always look fresh in is far better than a wardrobe jam packed with tawdry items that don't last,or look good.The book is a learning tool for the character, Louise and for the reader.And of course the book is not only a tool that teaches elegance but it plots the ups and downs of Louise's life.I love the book. Though I have read many pure fashion books, this fiction book rivals them. It had me pulling out my Dariaux book and rereading for what I missed.A super read!