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Chanel: A Woman of her Own | 
 enlarge | Author: Axel Madsen
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $22.00
Buy New: $12.81
You Save: $9.19 (42%)
New (17) Used (19) Collectible (3) from $10.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 13649
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 1.2
ISBN: 0805016392
Dewey Decimal Number: 746.92092
EAN: 9780805016390
ASIN: 0805016392
Publication Date: September 15, 1991
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Ships immediately! Perfect and New! Has a publisher remainder mark. Reprint. 1991 Paperback.
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Product Description
Alex Madsen brings to life Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, the queen of fashion who revolutionized women's styles forever.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Chanel forever January 14, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
What an interesting life, as interesting as her clothes... and the empire she built around her name.
 Chanel Bio is everything it should be. September 21, 2006
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
I found it strange that some readers gave negative or highly critical reviews of this biography. Someone even commented on the difficulty in reading the French names! It's a little late to change Chanel's nationality and thank God! This biography is successful on a number of levels but primarily two: it recounts the fascinating life, in great detail, of the late Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel and it puts her professional contribution to the world in context. On a personal level, her life-story reads as a Dickens novel. Her's is a truly "rags-to-riches" story. Chanel was a woman who created a life and a legend against the odds. She was one of those rare and stunning creatures rising from practically nothing to become a household name. Her family was destitute. Her father abandoned her at an orphanage. Her attempts in music and theatre came to nothing. Her sewing skills were atrocious! Only after a young gentleman named Balsan recognized her talent through her unconventional beauty did her true potential begin to emerge. Chanel knew all of the greatest people of her age: Stravinsky, Cocteau, Dali, Misia Sert, and the Duke of Westminster, among others. Many of these people she knew intimately. How tragic that even after these acquaintances and global successes as a designer, Chanel never really found success in love. Professionally, the impact of her designs are still with us today and influencing generations of new designers and artists. From a perspective of fashion, Chanel almost single-handedly pulled the 19th century world into the modern age by pulling women out of corsets and sliding them into pants. The "little black dress" and classic Chanel suit are not only articles of clothing, they are timeless works of art. Madsen has succeeded in writing a biography that does not fall short as other books on Chanel have in the past. His biography begins BEFORE her birth and continues on AFTER her death. He explores her roots and discusses the ongoing impact of her life, while filling in all the opulent details in between. If you want to know who Chanel was and why she is still so important today, pick up this book. Now if they would only do a feature film treatment!
 Chanel book review September 22, 2005
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
I agree with the other 2 reviewers. This book is very difficult to follow and the author jumps from character to character and topic to topic too frequently. The pictures are nice, but I feel the author could have done a better job at creating more excitement and interest for the reader.
Not Captivating! January 2, 2005
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
I did not enjoy this book and wished I did my own research on a better author to portray Coco Chanel. It was lengthy in boring details and never developed a true feeling for the subject matter. Coco lead an extremely captivating life - so I find it difficult to believe that someone could write such a book lacking in depth!
tough read March 2, 2002
9 out of 27 found this review helpful
I'm still reading but wanted to mention that if you have never taken a French class, it is very hard to pronounce most of the names in the book.Although very insightful finding it a hard read.
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