The Designer, by Marius Gabriel: a review by Diana Milne.

About the book:

In 1944, newly married Copper Reilly arrives in Paris soon after the liberation. While the city celebrates its freedom, she’s stuck in the prison of an unhappy marriage. When her husband commits one betrayal too many, Copper demands a separation.

Alone in Paris, she finds an unlikely new friend: an obscure, middle-aged designer from the back rooms of a decaying fashion house whose timid nature and reluctance for fame clash with the bold brilliance of his designs. His name is Christian Dior.

Realising his genius, Copper urges Dior to strike out on his own, helping to pull him away from his insecurities and towards stardom. With just a camera and a typewriter, she takes her own advice and ventures into the wild and colourful world of fashion journalism ... can Copper make a new, love-filled life for herself?

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The Designer, by Marius Gabriel, is a triumph of story telling. I have read many books by this accomplished author and always been amazed at the depth of research that is put in to everything he undertakes and the enormous intelligence of the man, but this latest book takes Gabriel to new heights of professionalism and spell binding narrative.

In his customary way, Gabriel takes a simple idea and through his expert hand and with the benefit of hours of meticulous research, turns the ordinary into the extra-ordinary, leaving no stone unturned in his quest for the perfect novel.

This latest addition to his catalogue of titles, takes this technique to a whole new level, artfully blending fact and fiction in an exciting, at times challenging and deeply moving story, set at a time in our recent history which the author is particularly skilled at representing with the written word.

The impact of the story starts at the first page, just after the liberation of Paris, where we meet Copper and her seemingly cold hearted war correspondent husband, Amory, who is a about to witness the 'frontier justice' punishment of a collaborator by the Resistance.

Without bogging the reader and the narrative down in lengthy descriptions, Gabriel paints a vivid picture of post-occupation France, effortlessly transporting the reader to that place. It flows really well and is deceptively easy to read for such an intense and complex story, multilayered and searching on every level.

Copper's meeting with Christian Dior (1905-57) a shy, unprepossessing man who died far too young, and a later further encounter with him in La Vie Parisienne, a club which is so vividly portrayed that I am sure that I could smell the Gauloise and hear the jazz thumping, provides the basis for a tale of unimaginable decadence, luxury, poverty and fascination, woven artfully around the lives of the surrealists and the Parisian fashion industry. The guest list around that table reads like a 'who's who' of the leading names of the French demi-monde and the design and art industries and it was with a vivid sense of shock, perhaps tinged with grudging respect, to learn how many of them would have been considered collaborators during those dreadful war year, when they, like many, did what they needed to do just to survive.

The female protagonist, whose nickname 'Copper' is on account of her cinnamon hair, is a naive and yet surprisingly complex character and the perfect foil for the licentiousness of the surrealists. Throughout the story we see her emerge and spread her wings and as a butterfly emerges and flies, we see Copper emerge and take on difficult life choices and mature in her own glory.

Although not a comedy book, The Designer includes the most hilariously funny account of a funeral imaginable! How I would love to see this portrayed on the big screen! Gabriel's account of the coffin not fitting actually had me laughing out loud.

The dialogue throughout is realistic and fast paced, moving the story on and adding greatly to its rich tapestry: 

He glanced at Bérard who had started to snore loudly. " They're distinctly bohemian for the most part, aren't they? And I, by contrast am distinctly bourgeois. That has become something of an insult lately. In the mouth of Monsieur Giroux, for example, "bourgeois" is the vilest of epithets. But I know what I am and I am proud of it. I come from solid Norman stock. What else can I be, but solid and Norman?" 
"Your friends say you are a genius," she replied.
He hesitated. " Clothing comes between our own nakedness and the world. It can be a disgise, a fancy dress costume, a fantasy. Or it can express one's true self more acurately than any words. For men like me . . . " He didn't finish the sentence. " Are you really going to divorce your husband?"

A totally brilliant book that is hard to put down. I cried. I laughed. I despaired. I cheered the characters on and urged them to make the best decisions. They - and the book - became a part of me that will live on in my memory. Forever.

What other people say:

By b a on 4 September 2017
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

Most women have a fascination of the world of haute couture. Most of us will never experience that glamorous world first hand, but we gaze at the impossibly sumptuous creations with the thought 'one day - perhaps!'
This novel covers the 're-emergence of Paris fashion in the dying days of World War 2. The need for something new after the deprivation of the war, the political struggles for supremacy and the rising star of Christian Dior in all his ambiguous glory, form the backdrop to the emergence of Copper as a journalist and as a fulfilled happy woman.
Read it!

ByFerbson 10 September 2017
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

...found this book to be an interesting perspective of what went on in the final stages of war as it's from an American woman and focuses on fashion. I know it's fiction based on fact - but I enjoyed learning more about haute couture and it sparked further reading about Catherine Dior and the resistance. Worth a read!

About the author:

Marius Gabriel (born 13 November 1954 in Mafikeng, South Africa) is an international romance and mystery writer, and artist. Under the pseudonym Madeleine Ker, he is a popular writer of over 30 romance novels since 1983. As Marius Gabriel he has written four mystery best-sellers and two historical novels. He has also written and illustrated children's books, including Smartypig, the tale of a genetically modified piglet.

He has lived in Cairo and in London.

You can read more about Marius Gabriel in this wonderful 'Diana Talks ...' interview by clicking this link Diana Talks to Marius Gabriel 

A scribbler for bread :-)

© Diana Milne September 2017

Sharon Reviews: Duval and the Empress's Crown by Michele McGrath

Please see below for details regarding an ebook giveaway of this 

enjoyable read, kindly donated by the author

The Prize draw was made on Tuesday 22nd September. Thank you to everyone for entering and for your kind comments. And the winner is....Lauren Pullen! Congratulations Lauren.

"Police Agent Alain Duval is tasked with finding the crown but time is very short and his suspects many. Present when the crown disappeared are Napoleon's sisters, Princess Elisa, Princess Pauline and Princess Caroline. Are they involved or merely witnesses? Aided by his wife Eugenie and his friends Lefebvre and Fournier, Duval sets out to unravel the mystery." 

   Ever since I was a teenager I've had a soft spot for the Napoleonic Period.  Napoleon's story has always fascinated me; the rise of an obscure Corsican to become the most powerful man  in France (a novelist just couldn't make it up!). So when the chance came to review a novel of the period I jumped at it.Duval and the Empress's Crown is not the longest book you'll ever read. At just shy of 100 pages, it's short and sweet. But it is a little gem. From the first words you are drawn into the world of Imperial Paris, still recovering from the petrifying post-Revolutionary Terror, but looking forward to the pomp and pageantry that accompanies an Empire.

   And into this world are thrown 3 friends: Duval the former soldier, Fournier the career policeman and Lefebvre the reformed thief. They work for Napoleon's feared Chief of Police, Fouquet. With just days until the coronation of Napoleon and Josephine, the Empress's crown is stolen from the jeweler tasked with creating it. Duval and his friends are given the unenviable task of finding it - in time for the coronation.

   It's a race against time...

  To make matters worse, it soon becomes evident that the prime suspects are the Emperor's own sisters; the Princesses Elisa, Pauline and Caroline. Duval has to be both determined and diplomatic in order to recover the crown in time for the coronation, just days away. With the Terror still only a recent memory, Duval has to tread very carefully, or he could end up not only with a ruined career, but facing the guillotine! 

   Duval and the Empress's Crown is a great detective novel, full of adventure, intrigue and royal scandal. The story takes you through the investigative process in great detail, while giving you the human side of the lead characters. The three policemen enjoy a wonderful relationship, and the book is at its best during the scenes when they are together. Their banter seems natural and easy and makes the reader smile:

 [Duval] "What about my lame leg?"
[Lefebvre] "What about it? You ran at such a high speed when Monsieur Duclos was firing his pistols at you, I couldn't catch you up, lame leg and all"
[Duval] "Just as well he was such a bad shot...."

   You are also treated to glimpses of the glamour and power of the French Empire by visiting the salons of the Emperor's sisters, as Duval tries to unravel the mystery of the crown's disappearance. He has to tread carefully with the wily Elisa and pregnant Caroline. And then there is the Emperor's over-familiar sister, Pauline:

"Let us be comfortable while you tell me what my brother wants of me"

Although this is the fifth book in a series, it really doesn't matter. It is eminently readable as a standalone, with only vague references to the previous novels in the series - ensuring you don't feel like you are missing anything. The author has done a wonderful job of taking the reader on a journey through post-Revolutionary Paris. You can still feel the long shadow of the guillotine, while being treated to a glimpse of the splendour and elitism of the emerging Imperial court, where careers are made and ruined by the whim of one man...

   Duval and the Empress's Crown is a wonderful, easy, light read. The plot is not over-complicated but flows smoothly and swiftly to its conclusion. Whilst it could benefit from deeper descriptions of locations and events the characters are well-developed, amusing and capable of eliciting a range of emotions from the reader.

   It's a wonderful novel for a lazy day in the sun. A highly enjoyable read.

If you would like to get your name in the draw for this fabulous book, please leave a

comment below or on our Facebook page

About the Author:

 Award winning author, Michele McGrath, was born on the beautiful Isle of Man in the middle of the Irish Sea. She has lived in California, Liverpool, France and Lancashire before returning home. Living in Paris and Grenoble taught her to make a mean ratatouille and she learned the hula in Hawaii. Michele is a qualified swimming teacher and manager, writing self help books on these subjects. Although she writes in many genres, her real loves are historical romance and fantasy. She has won numerous writing competitions, had second places and been short-listed many times. She has had tens of thousands of sales and downloads.

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Sharon Bennett Connolly has been fascinated by history for over 30 years. She has studied history academically and just for fun – even working as a tour guide at historical sites. She is now having great fun passing on that love of the past to her 10-year-old son. Having received a blog,  History...The Interesting Bits as a present for Christmas 2014 she now enjoys sharing that love of history with her readers.

Anna reviews Floats the Dark Shadow

Floats the Dark Shadow

By Yves Fey

Reviewed by Anna Belfrage

It must be an indication of just how engrossed I was by this book that I used my expired boarding pass to bookmark it as I got ready to disembark – I was reading on my Kindle.

How to start? How does one describe a book that so vividly paints another time, another place? Maybe we should start where it all takes place, Paris in the last few years of the 19th century. The city is a greenhouse of creativity – when has Paris not been that – and poets, painters, musicians, they all converge on the French capital, reinventing the art forms, creating new ones and generally revelling in youth and life – and sin.

Paris is brought to magnificent life. Not only as it stands in the 19th century, but also as it was, with excellent descriptions in passing of one quartier or the other, the history of the Salpetrière, of Montmartre. But Paris is not a kind city, it is a city where the dark stands side by side with the light, and the author does an excellent job of depicting the decay and the poverty against which the glories of Belle Epoque Paris stand in sharp contrast.

I would be willing to bet a substantial part of my salary that Yves Fey paints; how else to explain the author’s vibrant and precise description, from the cherry blossoms on a rainy day, to the Moulin de la Galette in sunset. It is also extremely apparent just how much time and effort our author has invested in researching Paris as it was – and to my delight, this is not restricted to buildings and streets, to anecdotes about the French Revolution or the Paris Commune, but also encompasses painters and, most of all, poets. 

In reading Floats the Dark Shadow, I am reintroduced to poets such as Baudelaire and Rimbaud, Moréas and Verlaine. Ms Fey also breathes life into the fascinating – and rather macabre - story surrounding Joan of Arc and one of her most flamboyant captains, Gilles de Rais. This ancient story forms an essential background to the sinister events that unfold during two brief months in the decadent Paris of the late 19th century, and to further spice things up, we have Satanists and dabblers in the occult, we have an angry seething city, with anarchists and revolutionaries calling for death to the bourgeoisie, and then we have Theo.

Theo is a young American woman who, through a series of events, has ended up in Paris where she paints. Through her French cousin, Averill, Theo has become a member of an avant-garde group that call themselves Les Revenants. Young and driven by passion to change the world, Theo’s companions live right on the edge, drinking absinthe and attending some rather odd events, such as a concert in the catacombs of Paris, the living audience complemented by the thousands upon thousands of skulls that adorn the surrounding walls. (Very evocative, let me tell you.)

And then, the children start disappearing. Pretty boys, mostly, now and then a girl. Quite often children no one will miss – or with parents too poor to demand the attention of the police. One of these children is a boy Theo knows. Another of these children is the protégé of one of Paris’ foremost mobsters, and he does have the clout to get the police moving, which is when Michel Devaux enters the scene. Yet another child Theo knows disappears. And another. One of these children – a blind little girl – is discovered gruesomely murdered, and the only link Inspector Devaux finds is that all the children, in one way or the other, have had contact with one or more of Les Revenants.

Floats the Dark Shadow is told mainly through the eyes of Theo and Michel. One is a young woman besotted with her cousin, who now and then worries her absinthe-addicted cousin may be the culprit; the other is a determined officer of the law, a man combating demons of his own. As the book progresses, Theo and Michel grow into complete human beings – especially Michel, a man whose character has been tempered through terrible loss and staggering guilt. Theo is less complex, but this is in keeping with her youth, so it never jars. In many ways, Floats the Dark Shadow is a coming-of-age novel, because by the time the novel ends, Theo has lost her innocence, her basic belief in the goodness of man. Once lost, such innocence cannot be recaptured. “Two months and all of it was gone. The evil destroyed. Love destroyed.” 

It is to Ms Fey’s credit that she presents us with a tormented villain. Borderline insane, this modern day Gilles de Rais has lost his way. His atrocious deeds make us shudder; the despair in his actions is evident, and while I condemn him, I also find myself wishing this deformed, cruel soul will find some rest. I was also very impressed by how skilfully Ms Fey wove her plot, keeping the reader in suspense well into the last few chapters. While the book ends on a rather sad tone, it could not have ended otherwise. Besides, there is always hope, there is always a tomorrow, and we leave Theo as she prepares to embrace a new phase of her life, far from the recent horrors she has experienced.

Floats the Dark Shadow is not for the lazy reader. The first few chapters do not immediately hook, and then there are these constant literary references – a delight for those among us who have stumbled upon them before, perhaps a challenge to others. But for those that persevere beyond the first few pages, Yves Fey will prove a fantastic guide into the long-gone Paris of the Belle Epoque. The language is sensuous and rich, it weaves a tapestry of sound and scents, of events and emotions, which transports the reader to those brief weeks a long-gone May, when the trees rained cherry blossoms from above, while in the darker recesses of the city, evil prowled. 

Merci, Mme Fey, pour une expérience inoubliable. I will not, I think, ever forget just how dark the shadow can float.

Ms Fey has kindly offered an e-book giveaway, and all you have to do to be in the draw is to leave a comment here or on our Facebook page. If you just can’t live with the suspense of waiting for the giveaway, Ms Fey’s book is also available on Amazon.  

About the author:

Yves Fey has an MFA in Creative Writing from Eugene Oregon, and a BA in Pictorial Arts from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She has read, written, and created art from childhood, and is an ardent movie buff. In her varied career, she has been a tie dye artist, go-go dancer, baker, creator of ceramic beasties, illustrator, fiction teacher, and now, novelist. A chocolate connoisseur, she's won prizes for her desserts. (A woman after my own heart!) Her current fascination is creating perfumes inspired by her new novel. For more about the author and her work, see her web page.

Anna Belfrage is the author of four published books, all part of The Graham Saga. Set in the 17th century, the books tell the story of Matthew Graham and his time-travelling wife, Alex Lind. Anna can be found on Amazon, Twitter, Facebook and on her website. If you would like Anna to review your book, please see our submissions tab above.