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Natasha Lester

Autor(a) de The Paris Seamstress

15 Works 1,700 Membros 94 Reviews 4 Favorited

Obras de Natasha Lester

The Paris Seamstress (2018) 561 cópias
The Paris Orphan (2019) 277 cópias
The Paris Secret (2020) 257 cópias
The Riviera House (2021) 170 cópias
The French Photographer (2019) 84 cópias
A Kiss From Mr Fitzgerald (2016) 65 cópias
Her Mother's Secret (2017) 32 cópias
What Is Left Over, After (2010) 18 cópias
A beautiful dare (2016) 7 cópias
If I should lose you (2012) 5 cópias
To Lillie from Paris 1 exemplar(es)

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Sexo
female
Nacionalidade
Australia

Membros

Resenhas

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester is a multiple time line story of three generations of exceptionally strong women in the world of fashion with a mystery. A heart wrenching story of the Bricard women trying overcome the barriers in the fashion world dominated and managed by men.

Lester’s incredible research, and superb blending of fact and fiction, made all three of the Bricard women truly unforgettable. Mizza Bricard, the only main character based on an actual person, was famous for being Christian Dior's muse. Mizza, birth name Germaine Louise Neustadt, with many other names as time and circumstances warranted, was never acknowledged in her time for her design contributions to fashion. Mizza’s daughter Astrid and granddaughter Blythe, the other two main characters, were blended into the story so artfully by Lester one could not tell that they were fictional.

Beautifully told, Lester pulled me into this must read story from page one, as she took on issues that are unfortunately still happening to this day. The ending is an emotional roller coaster and yes I cried. Highly recommend The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard, truly one not to be missed.

Many thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) via NetGalley for the opportunity read and review an advance copy of this wonderful book. I was under no obligation whatsoever to write a favorable review and all opinions are my own.
… (mais)
 
Marcado
ladyharris | outras 11 resenhas | Mar 11, 2024 |
The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester
Historical fiction. Multiple time line within the same family.
Blythe Bricard is the daughter of a famous fashion icon and the granddaughter of the famous Mizza Bricard. The story follows Blythe as she tries to find the true story of what happened to her mother, as well both Astrid and Mizza as each become part of the fashion industry. None of their lives are uncomplicated or private.

Women trying to make a difference in a world dominated and managed by men for women's fashion decided on by men. Glass ceiling, obligations of war and surviving, and undiagnosed medical issues devastate the three generations as each simply wants a successful career. And each wants the love and best life for their children.
It’s devastating. It’s poignant. It’s uplifting. It’s truth. It’s history.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley. I purchased copies to read again.
… (mais)
 
Marcado
Madison_Fairbanks | outras 11 resenhas | Feb 1, 2024 |
Rating: 3.75* of five

The Publisher Says: Three generations. One chance to prove themselves. Can the women of the Bricard fashion dynasty finally rewrite their history?

French countryside, Present Blythe Bricard is the daughter of famous fashion muses but that doesn't mean she wants to be one. She turned her back on that world, and her dreams, years ago. Fate, however, has a different plan, and Blythe will discover there is more to her iconic mother and grandmother than she ever knew.

New York, 1970: Designer Astrid Bricard arrives in bohemian Chelsea determined to change the fashion world forever. And she does―cast as muse to her lover, Hawk Jones. And when they're both invited to compete in the fashion event of the century―the Battle of Versailles―Astrid sacrifices everything to showcase her talent. But then, just as her career is about to take off, she mysteriously vanishes, leaving behind only a white silk dress.

Paris, 1917 Parentless sixteen-year-old Mizza Bricard has made a to be remembered on her own terms. Her promise sustains her through turbulent decades and volatile couture houses until, finally, her name is remembered and a legend is born―one that proves impossible for Astrid and Blythe to distance themselves from.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review
: The Battle of Versailles, 1973, has long been a subject of great interest for me. Many things shifted as a result of this event, not least the French conception of US fashion designers as lesser lights, or derivative copycats riding the wave of French chicté and eternal design leadership.

At stake was far more than bragging rights...the international luxury-goods market was even then worth billions. As the event progressed, it was clear that the New York contingent was well and truly a creative design force on its own, handing the French designers their first effective challenge for world leadership...and the profits therefrom.

What former L’Oreal executive, and current New York Times bestseller, Natasha Lester did that was truly inspired was to remodel several real peoples’ lives to better present a generational saga of the fashion universe of the twentieth century. The heavily made-up Bricards, from World War One Paris to twenty-first century world citizenship as they arise and create beauty as well as havoc, represent an amalgam of factual individuals and business dynasties.

Driven, high-powered people seldom make good parents. The Bricards, to a woman, were not good parents as they sought to achieve things other people really could not even see. They were, like the real folks their lives were based on, frequently abused emotionally and taken advantage of financially and creatively, as the hunger for glory is the outward-facing surface of money-hunger. What raises this above the run-of-the-mill story of sexist betrayal is that the men perpetrating the thefts are not the men the Bricard women love, but the ones who run the businesses that the women stand as public faces for, and the mass of media types in search of a hook to hang the story they want to tell...not the story of the Bricards, but "The Story of The Bricards"—if you get my drift.

Author Lester is a very well thought of storyteller, and she has a genuinely interesting story to tell here. Her focus on the Bricards and their creative ambitions and abilities led her not to tell a story, even in part, that was of great consequence indeed: the Black models whose performances on the catwalks of this hugely consequential show broke, at last, the color barrier in fashion. True, it was not part of the Bricard story as written, but I felt it could and should have been.

That misfire, and Author Lester’s serviceable, but never more than that, prose, led me to give the book what seems an ungenerous under-four-star rating. I read the book with pleasure, but was always aware that a very big part of the real story it is based upon was just...missing. In today’s world, not telling the whole story involving Black creatives is more troublesome than at any time in the past. It isn’t as though this reality is some specialist knowledge, the kind of knowledge that only a scholar would reasonably be expected to have...after all, *I* know it.

So, while this is a reading pleasure that will involve and entertain readers of what I don’t know what else to call except the cringe-y label "women’s fiction", it comes with some big asterisks for the standard 2024 reader.
… (mais)
½
 
Marcado
richardderus | outras 11 resenhas | Jan 31, 2024 |
The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester is Historical Mystery fiction set in the 20th century fashion world. What happened to a young woman rising to a life of fame and fortune? A story of fashion, the designers, with all the struggles, glamour, family, love, and tragedy in life. While I thought the book was a little slow at the very beginning it quickly became very interesting. I highly recommend this book for the fascinating characters and the mysteries in their lives. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. 5 Stars… (mais)
 
Marcado
CassiesBooksReader | outras 11 resenhas | Jan 29, 2024 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
15
Membros
1,700
Popularidade
#15,099
Avaliação
4.2
Resenhas
94
ISBNs
147
Idiomas
9
Favorito
4

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