The Chanel Sisters is a fictional account of the life of three Chanel sisters: the famous Coco (nee Gabrielle) Chanel, her older sister Julie-Berthe and the younger Antoinette. According to the author's note, very little is known about Antoinette. She was clearly very close to Coco for most of her life, from their time in a catholic orphanage to the establishment of Chanel Modes boutiques. Because Coco always adamantly tried to hide her humble origins, biographers had to piece things together from various records and accounts of others. Judithe Little focuses her story on Antoinette. She is always a bit in the shadow of her famous sister but is never truly overshadowed. She stands on her own. Little did largely imagined what Antoinette's personality was like. She also invented key biographical aspects of her life. Nonetheless, her Antoinette made sense to me. Her story was rags to riches and both tragic and romantic. In some ways, she makes a better heroine than Coco because so little is known about her.
Overall, I thought the story was engaging. The pacing was good. I did not feel that the narrative dragged. I enjoyed the plot itself as well as all the tidbits about the fashion, culture and events of the early 1900s. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.
An e-ARC was provided by NetGalley.com
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