Riviera - The Rise and Rise of the Cote dAzur

Ring, Jim

ISBN 10: 0719556961 / ISBN 13: 9780719556968

Published by John Murray, 2005

About this Item

Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. Though second-hand, the book is still in very good shape. Minimal signs of usage may include very minor creasing on the cover or on the spine. Aged book. Tanned pages and age spots, however, this will not interfere with reading.

Seller Inventory # CHL10812931

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Riviera - The Rise and Rise of the Cote dAzur
• Publisher: John Murray
• Publication Date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0719556961
• ISBN 13: 9780719556968
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Used; Very Good

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 her 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, followed later by 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. A study of Britain's Cold War submariners, We Come Unseen, appeared in 2001. This won the Mountbatten prize. He is married with one daughter and one son, and lives on the North Norfolk coast.