Bethel’s Byrd’s Books explores an enigma, Coco Chanel, December 2

On Thursday, December 2nd, 7:00pm to 8:30pm, join Bethel’s Byrd’s Books for a discussion with Woodbury CT author Gioia Diliberto of her new book, Coco at the Ritz, a riveting and prismatic novel about the eternally enigmatic Coco Channel in the aftermath of World War II. 

Registrations for this in-person, in-store event are required. Byrd’s Books will also provide viewing by Zoom for those who may prefer to attend from a distance and will adjust our in-person events as needed. If we need to move to a virtual event we will email the registrants and post on the website. To reserve a seat or to receive your Zoom link, click here

 

Though her name is synonymous with elegance and chic, the iconic Coco Chanel had a complicated dark side, and in late August 1944, as World War II drew to a close, she was arrested and interrogated on charges of treason to France.  

Many of the facts are lost to history, but this much is known: the charges grew out of her war-time romance with a German spy, and one morning two soldiers from the French Forces of the Interior led Chanel from her suite at the Ritz Hotel in Paris to an undisclosed location for questioning.

What transpired during her interrogation, who was present, and why she was set free remains a mystery. In this brilliantly insightful and compulsively readable novel from the author of I am Madame X, Gioia Diliberto explores the motivations of this complex woman and portrays the gripping battle of wits that could have been her interrogation. Was Chanel truly a collaborator?  Rich with history and filled with emotional truths, Coco at the Ritz is a story about the choices one woman made when the stakes were the highest, a cautionary tale in today’s world about the necessity of standing against evil when it stares you in the face.

Gioia Diliberto has written biographies of Jane Addams, Hadley Hemingway, Diane von Furstenberg, and Brenda Frazier, as well as two critically acclaimed novels.Her books, which center on the lives of women, have been translated into several languages. As a journalist, Diliberto has contributed to many publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, Smithsonian, and Vanity Fair.

Byrd’s Books is located at 178 Greenwood Avenue, Bethel, CT, across from the Bethel Public Library. For directions to the store or more information, call Byrd’s Books at 203-730-2973.  To review the shop’s expanded catalog of new titles, go to ByrdsBooks.com