Phoebe always dreamt of opening her own vintage dress shop. She imagined every detail, from the Vivienne Westwood bustiers hanging next to satin gowns, to sequinned cupcake dresses adorning the walls. At the launch of Village Vintage, Phoebe feels the tingle of excitement as customers snap up the fairytale dresses. Her dream has come true, but a secret from her past is casting a shadow over her new venture. Then one day she meets Therese, an elderly Frenchwoman with a collection to sell, apart from one piece that she won't part with... As Therese tells the story of the little blue coat, Phoebe feels a profound connection with her own life, one that will help her heal the pain of her past and allow her to love again.
Across a continent still reeling from World War I, a “ravishingly beautiful” (Paula McClain) story about a love affair between two Americans and the lie that changes everything. France, 1921—Tom, a young American orphaned in World War I, is helping comfort the grieving families who travel through Verdun, seeking answers about their loved ones. But nothing in his past—not his rough Chicago childhood nor his experiences driving ambulances across French battlefields—can prepare Tom for the arrival of Sarah Hagen. From the moment he meets her, a disarmingly magnetic woman looking for news of her missing husband, he knows he will help her in any way he can—even if that means crossing an unforgivable line. As their affair takes them across a fractured Europe careening toward World War 2, Tom and Sarah learn how love can be both a cure for—and a distraction from—the realities of a world turned upside down. But they can only hide from the truth for so long. When news of an amnesiac soldier in Bologna reaches Tom in Paris, he sets off as a journalist to uncover the story, only to find Sarah at the soldier’s bedside, hopeful as ever. Both are surprised to encounter an Austrian journalist named Paul with his own interest in the amnesiac. As they confront the past, Tom’s actions come back to haunt him, and each is forced to make a choice that will change their lives forever. A deeply transporting novel about love and identity, truth and consequences, The Verdun Affair is a page-turning and vividly imagined “literary romance… [that] unravels a love triangle and its players’ secrets” (Los Angeles Times).
This is the ultimate illustrated guide to the most exquisite vanity cases from the nineteenth century onward; an unmissable opportunity for lovers of jewelry and fashion. This elegant and richly illustrated volume, featuring a slipcase and gilded page edges, showcases a rare private collection of vanity cases and includes an exquisite array of luxury accessories from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century. These vanity cases, carefully designed and mostly handmade, became covetable accessories with the advent of beauty products. The vanity case, the ultimate jeweled fashion accessory, was designed and made mostly in Paris by skilled designers and craftsmen who understood that the fashionable modern woman needed a practical solution for carrying lipstick, powder compact, cigarettes, lighter, theater tickets, keys, and other small paraphernalia. Tiny, made of precious metals, including platinum and gold, with inlays of lacquer, gemstones, mother-of-pearl, jade, or enamel, these reticules took hundreds of hours of patient craftsmanship to complete.
Live the luxe life on less You're a Modern Girl embarking on a fabulous life in the city, working hard and playing even harder. Money may be an object, but you refuse to let it be an obstacle. That's because what you may lack in funds you make up for in daring and desire. Completely revised with more tips and tricks than ever, City Chic is your practical insiders' primer on how to creatively cheat at being chic. From food and drink to personal maintenance, and from fashion to home décor, City Chic covers everything a Modern Girl needs to know. Big idea decorating for small spaces Cash-saving culinary tips The best websites for scoring deals Go green: save the environment and your checking account Maximize your iPod for full party potential Establish your perfect signature cocktail PRAISE FOR CITY CHIC 'City Chic is constantly inventive, amazingly granular, and a blast to read.' Dany Levy, founder/chairman | Daily Candy, Inc. 'I love the book. If only I'd had it for the past ten years—it would've saved me lots of heartache, bad furniture, and most importantly, money... It gives you license to scrimp and pinch—and makes you feel more empowered to do so.' Gigi Guerra, brand marketing director of Madewell | former editor of Lucky magazine 'City chicks no longer need to turn tricks or sell dope in order to have a glamorous lifestyle— just read Nina's brilliant book.' Simon Doonan, creative director for Barneys New York | author of Confessions of a Window Dresser 'Being an 'it' girl has never been about how much cash you had in the bank, and now is the time to embrace your inner recessionista. Willdorf's book proves that being frugal and being fabulous are not mutually exclusive.' Lara Cohen, news director | Us Weekly
Longarm builds a saloon to spring a trap… When Longarm’s old friend, Helen Morrow, asks for his help, the lawman doesn’t hesitate. Now a successful madam running several bordellos, Helen informs him that someone is trying to run her out of business, sending threatening letters to her working girls. To catch the culprit, Longarm sets up his own business—the Star Saloon—which offers anything a man could desire, from beer and whiskey to cards and female companionship. It isn’t long before the town’s most powerful man—along with a corrupt sheriff and a brutal enforcer—takes a strong interest in the new saloon. But if these scoundrels don’t mind their own business, they’ll soon be the ones seeing stars…
Originally published in 1995. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was paralyzed from the waist down, but he concealed the extent of his disability from a public that was never permitted to see him in a wheelchair. FDR's Secretary of State was old and frail, debilitated by a highly contagious and usually fatal disease that was as closely guarded a state secret as his wife's Jewish ancestry. The undersecretary was a pompous and aloof man who married three times but, when intoxicated, preferred sex with railroad porters, shoeshine boys, and cabdrivers. These three legendary figures—Franklin Roosevelt, Cordell Hull, and Sumner Welles—not only concealed such secrets for more than a decade but did so while directing United States foreign policy during some of the most perilous events in the nation's history. Irwin Gellman brings to light startling new information about the intrigues, deceptions, and behind-the-scenes power struggles that influenced America's role in World War II and left their mark on world events, for good or ill, in the half-century that followed. Gellman had unprecedented access to previously unavailable documents, including Hull's confidential medical records, unpublished manuscripts of Drew Pearson and R. Walton Moore, and Sumner Welles's FBI file. Gellman concludes that while Roosevelt, Hull, and Welles usually agreed on foreign policy matters, the events that molded each man's character remained a mystery to the others. Their failure to cope with their secret affairs—to subordinate their personal concerns to the higher good of the nation—eventually destroyed much of what they hoped would be their legacy. Roosevelt never explained his objectives to his vice president, Harry Truman, or to anyone else. Hull never groomed a successor, and Welles kept his foreign assignations as classified as his sexual orientation. Gellman tells the dramatic story of how three Americans—despite private demons and bitter animosities—could work together to lead their nation to victory against fascism. —William T. Walker, Presidential Studies Quarterly
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Mary Balogh's The Secret Mistress. Born a commoner, Hannah Reid has been Duchess of Dunbarton since she was nineteen years old. Now her husband is dead and, more beautiful than ever at thirty, Hannah has her freedom at last. To the shock of a conventional friend, she announces her intention to take a lover—and not just any lover, but the most dangerous and delicious man in all of upper-class England: Constantine Huxtable. Constantine’s illegitimacy has denied him the title of earl, so now he denies himself nothing. Rumored to be living the easy life of a sensualist on his country estate, he always chooses recent widows for his short-lived affairs. Hannah will fit the bill nicely. But once these two passionate and scandalous figures find each other, they discover that it isn’t so easy to extricate oneself from the fires of desire—without getting singed.
A provocative reassessment of a popular narrative that connects museums, the antiquities trade, and theft. In this thought-provoking new work, historian Justin M. Jacobs challenges the widely accepted belief that much of Western museums’ treasures were acquired by imperialist plunder and theft. The account reexamines the allegedly immoral provenance of Western collections, advocating for a nuanced understanding of how artifacts reached Western shores. Jacobs examines the perspectives of Chinese, Egyptian, and other participants in the global antiquities trade over the past two and a half centuries, revealing that Western collectors were often willingly embraced by locals. This collaborative dynamic, largely ignored by contemporary museum critics, unfolds a narrative of hope and promise for a brighter, more equitable future—a compelling reassessment of one of the institutional pillars of the Enlightenment.
