Synopsis
This is the true story of a woman who began life as a poor fish fryer in a disease-ridden, grubby corner of Victorian London. Madame Rachel had everything: a Mayfair address and the title of 'Purveyor to Her Majesty The Queen'. Her shop was full of exotic, expensive creams and potions. Her clientele were aristocratic, rich, gullible and came in their droves, lured by the promise of eternal beauty. What they found there was a con-woman and fraudster who made a career out of lies, treachery and the desperate hopes of women wanting to be 'beautiful for ever'.
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About the Author
HELEN RAPPAPORT read Russian Special Studies at Leeds University and was an actress in TV and films before moving into publishing. She worked as a freelance editor for academic publishers before becoming a full time writer in 1998, specialising in Victorian social history and the Russian Revolution. She is the author of No Place for Ladies: The Untold Story of Women in the Crimean War, Ekaterinburg: The Last Days of the Romanovs and Conspirators: Lenin in Exile. Helen Rappaport lives in Oxford.
Review
"A remarkable story... Rappaport handles her scandalous Victorian melodrama with energy and aplomb, and produces a richly entertaining portrait of the seamy side of 19th century society." --Daily Mail
"Admirable... Madame Rachel's story, which has been superbly researched by Rappaport, is intriguing in itself [and] sheds a fascinating light on the ladies of Victorian society." --Daily Telegraph
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