Of the many people who have helped me with this book, I owe the first debt of gratitude to my agent, Clare Alexander, whose idea it was. My initial doubts were soon transformed into an obsession. And, while Clare failed to curb this, she has my heartfelt thanks for her unfailing encouragement and professionalism. These were given with habitual good grace during the writing of this most difficult of lives.
Marie Louise de Clermont-Tonnerre, director of external relations at Chanel, kindly gave her support to the writing of the book, making my research at the Chanel Conservatoire possible.
The prime source for Gabrielle Chanel is Paul Morand’s L’Allure de Chanel (copyright © Editions Hermann), and I am most grateful to Arthur Cohen, at Editions Hermann, who so readily gave me permission to quote freely from Gabrielle’s extraordinary memoir. Edmonde Charles Roux was Gabrielle’s first and supposedly exhaustive biographer, but no one can now think of writing anything on her without Morand’s book, published two years after Charles Roux’s.
An apparently endless stream of writing on Gabrielle has appeared since these publications. Pierre Galante’s Mademoiselle Chanel, Marcel Haedrich’s Coco Chanel and Claude Delay’s Chanel Solitaire (particularly insightful with regard to Gabrielle’s inner life) are all notable for their perception and sensitivity. These authors were all Gabrielle’s friends, and I have drawn heavily on their work. Lilou Marquand’s insightful Chanel m’a dit has been helpful.
Mary Davis’s Classic Chic: Music Fashion and Modernism; Valerie Steele’s Paris Fashion: A Cultural History; the contributors to Modern Woman Revisited; Judith Thurman’s magnificent biography of Colette, Secrets of the Flesh; Francis Steegmuller’s indispensable Cocteau; and Eugen Weber’s magisterial Peasants into Frenchmen were of great help in the development of my ideas.
I am much indebted to those below, who kindly gave me interviews and whose knowledge, memories and thoughts have informed this book.
Marika Genty, director of the Chanel Conservatoire, courteously dispensed her encyclopaedic knowledge of Gabrielle the couturier and also contributed her thoughtful and perceptive observations on Gabrielle the person. Jacques Polge, Director of Parfums Chanel, was immensely gracious, and I thank him for a fascinating and thought-provoking conversation about perfume and the mysteries of Chanel № 5. This was aided by Christopher Sheldrake, director of research and development. Patrick Doucet at the Chanel and Bourjois Perfume Conservatoire showed me the earliest Chanel cosmetics and № 5 bottles and ably described № 5’s possible chronology. Julie Dey-dier, of the Chanel Conservatoire, helped me look through the remarkable collection of Gabrielle’s designs, stored away on the outskirts of Paris; Odile Babin was always helpful; and Cecile Goddet-Dirles familiarized me with the large Chanel image database.
Claude Delay generously expanded on her memoir of Gabrielle, Chanel Solitaire, for me; Lady Sybille Derwent (previously of French Vogue) emphasized the unconcerned French attitude toward Gabrielle’s sexual penchants. Lady Derwent also recommended me to Susan Train, of American Vogue, who described Gabrielle’s 1954 comeback with great immediacy; in Ireland, Michel Déon collected me from Galway airport with his large hound and, while we ate shellfish by the sea, talked inspiringly about Gabrielle.
Madame Gabrielle Labrunie was most kind in sharing her memories of her great-aunt Gabrielle; Amanda Mackenzie Stuart’s help was critical. Suggesting Francine du Plessix Gray’s memoir, Them, Amanda also gave me much information on the Balsan family, and introduced me to William Lee. To William, my debt is considerable; for his painstaking translations of Dmitri Pavlovich’s diaries and for helping me to understand better this poignant man. Dmitri’s grandson, Prince David Chavchavadze, has my warm thanks for allowing the first publication of Dmitri’s diary excerpts regarding his relationship with Gabrielle.
Etienne Balsan’s grandson and great-nephew, Antoine Balsan and Philippe Gontier, respectively, told me about their delightful forebear, and have kindly permitted me to reproduce one of the few photographs of him still in their possession. Olivia de Havilland kindly wrote to me about what she knew; the Honorable Harry Fane’s timely contribution is much appreciated; Philip Norcross Gross provided the most up-to-date information on Antoinette Chanel; and Lilou Marquand’s astute observations to me were instructive.
I am very grateful to Comte Jean d’Harcourt for his memories, which were an informative and unsettling addition to the puzzle of Gabrielle’s wartime activities, and to Hubert de Givenchy, who mourned Gabrielle’s shabby treatment of their long-standing mutual friend Cristóbal Balenciaga, who yet brought himself to attend her funeral. On more than one occasion Danniel Rangel was the perfect ambassador on my behalf; Willy Rizzo’s reminiscences of his friendship with Gabrielle are reflected in the quality of observation and sympathy evident in his photographs of her, some of the best that anyone made. Jean-Noël Liaut’s recommendations, anecdotes and vignettes were valuable, and amusing.
My thanks to Father Tom McCoog, who directed me to Bernardo Caparrini’s crucial scholarship, and to Bernardo in turn, who recommended me to the archivist at Stonyhurst, David Knight. David was most assiduous on my behalf, ferreting out school logs and photos of Arthur Capel, and thus I was set on Arthur’s trail. This led to Arthur’s son-in-law, Sir Jeremy Hutchinson, whom I warmly thank for his memories of Diana Capel née Lister, and his insistence on introducing me to his stepson and Arthur’s grandson, Christopher Osborn. Christopher was extremely generous in lending me Arthur’s letters; allowing me to publish them here for the first time; discussing Arthur, Gabrielle and Diana’s dimly remembered story; and assisting me in sensitive negotiations.
The staff of the London Library were, as always, unfailingly helpful. I thank Lisa Dowdswell at the Society of Authors for her clear-headed advice; Lynsey Robertson at the Churchill Center Archives; Kerry Bennet at the Scottish Civic Trust; the Association Sainte-Agnès, France; Chantal Bittan, directrice générale, Polo de Paris; Christine Lauener, collaboratrice scienti-fique, Département Fédéral de l’Intérieur (DFI), Archives Fédérales Suisses (AFS); Christine de Metz, Municipal Archives, Mairie de Garches; Monique Beaufils, Municipal Archives, Mairie de Biarritz; Laura Potter at V&A Publications; and John Gray at Dancing Times.
I should like to thank the following for permission to quote excerpts from the cited works: Lady Polly Feversham, for Extracts from the Diaries of Viscountess d’Abernon; the Honorable Laura Ponsonby for Lady Dorothy Ponsonby’s unpublished diary; the Chanel Conservatoire for the Pierre Reverdy dedication (in Rousselot and Manol) in their collection; and François Capon at the Maeght Foundation for the same; Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Figueres, for the excerpts from Salvador Dalí’s letters to Gabrielle; Christopher Osborn for Diana Capel’s letters in the Churchill Archives Center, and Arthur Capel’s letters to Diana; Pan Macmillan and Alfred A. Knopf for Misia, copyright © Gold and Fizdale, 1980; Random House and M. Gabriel Jardin (English language copyright) for Lewis et Irène, originally Editions Grasset, 1924; for Marcel Haedrich’s Coco Chanel, Editions Robert Lafont, copyright © 1971, English language translation copyright Little, Brown and Company, 1972; Editions Jean-Claude Lattès for Lilou Marquand’s Chanel m’a dit, copyright © 1990; Mercure de France, for Pierre Galante’s Mademoiselle Chanel, copyright © 1973. Every effort has been made to discover copyright holders. I will gladly make good in future editions any omissions brought to my attention.
In the early stages Clement Bosque was my able assistant. He was followed by Adelia Sabatini, whose ability to carry out research of all kinds, act as ambassador and fulfill numerous other tasks with intelligence, independence and good humor — including several discerning readings of the manuscript — have made working with her a great pleasure. I thank her for her tremendous contribution.
To my editor at Fig Tree, Juliet Annan, who commissioned the book, I am deeply grateful, both for her assured and reassuring editorial guidance and her great tact and forbearance. I also thank Jenny Lord for her helpful editorial contribution, and Sophie Missing for picture collecting. I thank my first U.S. editor, Alessandra Lusardi, who maintained her enthusiasm for the project. To Joy de Menil, who took over after Alessandra’s departure and has seen the book through to press, I am most thankful. Her final pruning was done with a deftness and graciousness that left the author grateful and the book undoubtedly improved.
My daughter Jessica brought her lucid and professional visual skills to bear as she expertly shepherded me through the difficult process of selecting pictures. She and her sister, Olivia, were also, as always, unfailingly wise and humorous advisers. My brother, Saul, was his characteristically hospitable self in France, as was Sira in London. While conversations with my father, Keith, were often critical, he also waded through a very long pre-edited manuscript. My other valiant readers were my sister Anna; my daughter Jessica; sister-in-law Vanessa; and friends Josephine Baker and Professor Jane Moody. Cheng Hao Zhou often kept me going. I owe them all a great deal for their thoughtful and astute observations, deletion of various howlers and sensitive recommendations. Jane’s authoritative and judicious suggestions for trimming made the book more transparent. My exemplary copy editor, Sarah Day, skillfully urged me on, spotted errors and suggested improvements, and I am very grateful. Meanwhile, any remaining flaws and errors are my responsibility.
This book took considerably longer than anticipated, and in the process I have neglected friends and family appallingly. Nevertheless, they continued to provide me with their support and good counsel, without which I could not have finished. They have my loving thanks. To Marcus I owe more than I can say.