Riviera: The Rise and Rise of the Côte d'Azur: The Rise and Rise of the Cote D'Azur

Ring, Jim

ISBN 10: 0719556929 / ISBN 13: 9780719556920

Published by John Murray, 2004

About this Item

Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. A copy that has been read but remains in clean condition. All of the pages are intact and the cover is intact and the spine may show signs of wear. The book may have minor markings which are not specifically mentioned.

Seller Inventory # rev3417559932

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Riviera: The Rise and Rise of the Côte d'Azur: The Rise and Rise of the Cote D'Azur
• Publisher: John Murray
• Publication Date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0719556929
• ISBN 13: 9780719556920
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Weight: 480 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Synonymous with starlets, European royalty and the spectacle of the Cannes film festival, the Cote d'Azur has attracted the rich, the famous and the unscrupulous since it was 'discovered' by writers and artists in the late nineteenth century. However, the French Riviera had provided 'a place in the sun' for the English upper classes since the Regency period, lured by mild winters and codes of behaviour less oppressive than those demanded at home. Queen Victoria was a regular visitor at the end of the reign, and was followed by Renoir, Monet and Picasso, inspired by the magnificent scenery. The playboys and bon-viveurs of the inter-war years in turn gave way to the harshness of the Vichy regime, before recovering as the Americans who brought with them the magic -- and money -- of post-war Hollywood. In later years, high-rise hotels and gaudy fashions may have become the norm, but the French Riviera still retains its glamour and exclusivity. Jim Ring takes us on a tour of the film stars and politicians, adventurers and eccentrics who visited the coast.An entertaining mix of social and cultural history, Riviera explores the allure of this unique area -- an area that, despite continuous reinvention, remains one of the most evocative in the world.

About the Author

Jim Ring was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he was a scholar. His biography of Erskine Childers, author of The Riddle of the Sands, won the Marsh Prize for biography in 1997. It was followed by How the English Made the Alps. His study of Britain's Cold War submariners, We Come Unseen, appeared in 2001 and won the Mountbatten prize. He is married with one daughter and one son, and lives on the North Norfolk coast.