The Last Collection
by
Jeanne Mackin
GENRE: Historical Romance
ABOUT THE BOOK
Paris, 1938. Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli are fighting for recognition as the most successful and influential fashion designer in France, and their rivalry is already legendary. They oppose each other at every turn, in both their politics and their designs: Chanel’s are classic, elegant, and practical; Schiaparelli’s bold, experimental, and surreal.
When Lily Sutter, a recently widowed young American teacher, visits her brother, Charlie, in Paris, he insists on buying her a couture dress—a Chanel. Lily, however, prefers a Schiaparelli. Charlie’s beautiful and socially prominent girlfriend soon begins wearing Schiaparelli’s designs as well, and much of Paris follows in her footsteps.
Schiaparelli offers budding artist Lily a job at her store, and Lily finds herself increasingly involved with Schiaparelli and Chanel’s personal war. Their fierce competition reaches new and dangerous heights as the Nazis and the looming threat of World War II bear down on Paris.
--Fiona Davis, national bestselling author of The Masterpiece
“Exquisitely melding world politics and high fashion, THE LAST COLLECTION is a smart, witty, heartfelt, and riveting look at the infamous rivalry between Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli set against a gripping period in history. Mackin’s powerful novel brings these characters to life and transports the reader, juxtaposing both the gaiety and tension of Paris on the brink of war. As elegant and captivating as the designs depicted in the novel, THE LAST COLLECTION is the perfect read for both historical fiction lovers and fashion aficionados. Simply stunning.”
--Chanel Cleeton, USA Today bestselling author of Next Year in Havana
“A wonderful story of two intensely creative women, their vibrant joie de vivre, and backbiting competition played out against the increasingly ominous threat of the Nazi invasion of Paris. Seamless research makes every character leap to life and kept me totally engaged from beginning to end.
--Shelley Noble, New York Times bestselling author of Lighthouse Beach
“A vibrant portrait of two designers cut from very different cloth, Jeanne Mackin’s THE LAST COLLECTION pits bold Coco Chanel and colorful Elsa Schiaparelli against each other in a fiery feud even as the ominous clouds of World War II darken the horizon. A captivating read!”
--Stephanie Marie Thornton, author of American Princess
"As Hitler and the Nazis gather strength and the world braces for war, Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel, whose politics differ as much as their couture, wage a war of their own. Lily Sutter, the woman who finds herself in the middle of their feud, has a battle of her own as she struggles to make a new start amidst extreme grief and loss. From New York to Paris, Jeanne Mackin takes the reader on an enthralling journey, complete with such vivid descriptions of the clothing, you can practically see them on the page. Beautifully rendered and meticulously researched, THE LAST COLLECTION is a must read."
--Renée Rosen, author of Park Avenue Summer
EXCERPT
Of the three primary colors, blue is most suggestive of paradox: it is the color of longing and sadness, and yet it is also the color of joy and fulfillment. On a ship, at night, blue water merges into blue sky, so blue is the color of places with no borders, no edges.
If you throw salt into a fire, the flames will burn blue. Salt rubbed into a wound renews the pain, intensifies it. Seeing others kiss and embrace was salt in my wound, a blue flame burning the length of me.
Blue best represents the contradictions of the heart, the need to be loved and cherished at the same time that we wish for freedom.
Blue, the color of the Worth gown that the little girl Elsa Schiaparelli found in her Roman piazza attic, the color of the covers of the penny romances Coco Chanel found in the orphanage attic.
Blue is what made Elsa Schiaparelli’s daring color, shocking pink, so special: it is pink infused with blue, turning a demure blush into an electric surge. Schiaparelli turned girlish pink into the color of seduction by adding that touch of blue.
And always, there is the blue of the Paris sky on a June day.
Listen. I’m going to tell you a story about fashion, and politics. And, of course, about love. The three primaries, like the primary colors.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Do you ever wish you were someone else? Who?
First, thank you for inviting me to your page. Yes, I have wished to be someone else and quite a bit of the time! I was having zoom happy hour with a friend who had once studied drama (she has since become a psychologist) and asked her why she was drawn to acting. “So I could inhabit other lives,” she said, and I almost fell off the sofa…because that’s why I am so drawn to writing historical fiction. So I can inhabit other lives, be in other times and places. Who would I most like to be? Impossible to answer because I know how all the stories end. Marie Antoinette and her guillotine, Cleopatra and her humiliation in Rome, to say nothing of that snake. No, I’m glad to be here and now, when I’m not writing. Although working in a jazz club in Paris in 1930…that would be something.
What did you do on your last birthday?
My husband was born a week before I was, so we celebrated the two birthdays together, in June, by going to a garden store (I’m a passionate gardener) and then out to dinner after a walk together. A lovely, quiet day with a lot of hand holding.
What part of the writing process do you dread?
There’s a moment when ‘the book’ becomes ‘the damn book’ and that’s usually about half way through the first draft. My energy and attention start to lag a bit. I have to force myself to the desk, to work. The first page is always as exciting as the first date with the love of my life. So much to discover, to experience, to enjoy. And then it becomes work and commitment.
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?
I never used to, when I first began writing. I didn’t believe in it. But then I got older and terrible things began to happy to friends and family, illness, death, financial problems. Then, the writer’s block began, when life felt sometimes like a kick to the stomach. I would stop writing and allow myself the time I needed to suffer and grieve. I knew that if I tried to force it, nothing might be there, the stories might not show up. But after a while, my imagination starts to kick in again, I feel that impulse again to put a story on the page. And I begin.
My latest novel, The Last Collection – A Novel of Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel, is my love letter not so much to the fashion industry but to that impulse in us that makes us want to look good, even during war, even during grief. A little vanity is a very wonderful thing, it helps us get out of bed in the morning. So I went to my favorite city, Paris, physically and in my imagination, and wrote about the fierce, almost fatal rivalry between Paris’s two queens of fashion, Coco and Elsa. They were both astounding, powerful, creative women who happened to detest each other. When World War II broke out they made very different choices. Great fodder for a novel! I worked it around a love story involving an American woman and a German soldier, and Paris. Toujours Paris.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeanne Mackin's latest novel, The Last Collection, A Novel of Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel takes the reader to Paris, just before world war II, and the intense, dangerous rivalry between the two queens of fashion. Her previous novels include A Lady of Good Family, the award winning The Beautiful American, The Sweet By and By, Dreams of Empire, The Queen’s War, and The Frenchwoman.
Her historical fictions explore the lives of strong women who change their worlds…because we know the world always needs a lot of change! She has worked all the traditional ‘writers’ jobs’ from waitressing to hotel maid, anything that would leave her a few hours each morning for writing. Most recently, she taught creative writing at the graduate level. She has traveled widely, in Europe and the Middle East and can think of no happier moment than sitting in a Paris café, drinking coffee or a Pernod, and simply watching, while scribbling in a notebook.
https://www.JeanneMackin.com
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https://Twitter.com/JeanneMackin1
Penguin Random House - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/531859/the-last-collection-by-jeanne-mackin/
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H71Q5FQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect
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