Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky

Soon to be a major motion picture

Coco Chanel and Composer Igor Stravinsky.
Their love affair inspired their art.
Their art defined an era.

In 1913, at the premiere of Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, the young couturiere Coco Chanel witnesses the birth of a musical revolution- one that, like her designs, rips down the artifice of the old regime and ushers in something profoundly modern. Seven years later, she invites Stravinsky and his family, now exiled from their Russian homeland, for a summer at her villa, and the powerful charge between them ignites into a deep love affair. As Stravinsky enjoys a new burst of creativity and Chanel brings forth her own revolutionary creation-the perfume Chanel No. 5-their love threatens to overtake work, family and life.

English poet Greenhalgh's debut novel about Coco Chanel and Igor's Stravinsky's short, fiery affair provides an intense look at love, passion and heartbreak. Coco first became aware of Stravinsky in 1913 when the young designer, who was beginning to make her place in French society, attended the debut performance of the Russian composer's Rite of Spring. Seven years later, when the two meet at a dinner party, an immediate and undeniable connection is forged, and soon Coco invites Stravinsky; his sickly wife, Catherine; and their children to stay at her summer home outside of Paris. She isn't without her motives, however, and proceeds over time to seduce Stravinsky. As their affair deepens, the reader's heart breaks for Catherine as she struggles with Igor's emotional abandonment. This finely wrought study in artistic and romantic passion is remarkable for its explicit depiction of the devastation left in the wake of selfishness. (Dec.)

• Published by

  Riverhead

• Publish Date

  November 30, 2009 

• Print ISBN

  1594484554

• eBook ISBN

  9781101162941

• Imprint

  Riverhead

• Filesize

  279.98 KB

• Number of Print Pages*

  336

* Number of eBook pages may differ. Click here for more information.