COCO AT THE RITZ

One morning in late August 1944, as World War II draws to a close, Coco Chanel is arrested in her suite at the Ritz Hotel in Paris on charges of treason to France, stemming from her romance with a Nazi spy. Her two-hour interrogation at the Prefecture of Police offers a gripping battle of wits between the famously acerbic designer and a hostile soldier of the Resistance, who attacks her as a German collaborator. Flashback scenes of Chanel’s life during the Paris Occupation explore her motivations and her betrayal of her Jewish partners and a close Jewish friend. Though Chanel epitomizes the treachery of France during World War II, at heart this is a novel about the choices one woman made when the stakes were the highest and the perilous, even deadly, consequences to those around her. In today’s world, a time when antisemitism and hatred in general have exploded anew, it’s a cautionary tale about the necessity of standing against evil when it stares you – seductively – in the face.

Gioia Diliberto is the author of four biographies and three historical novels. Her books, which center on the lives of women, have been praised for combining rich storytelling and literary grace with deep research and have been translated into several languages. Gioia also teaches writing and has taught at the Savannah College of Art and Design and universities in Chicago.

You may order Coco at the Ritz  by Gioia Diliberto from:

• Flashlight Books in Walnut Creek: https://flashlightbooks.handseller.com/home/bookdetailsin/1643138413
• Rakestraw Books in Danville: https://www.rakestrawbooks.com/book/9781643138411
• Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore in Berkeley: https://www.mrsdalloways.com/book/9781643138411
• Your preferred local bookstore or online retailer 

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Sponsored by Contra Costa JCC, Cong. B'nai Shalom and Jewish Book Council. Co-sponsor: Diablo Valley Hadassah.