Judithe Little

I've encountered the famous fashion designer Coco Chanel in fiction before, but typically the focus is on the 1930s-40s period. This novel is set earlier and is largely narrated by Antoinette, Coco's younger sister, a figure I'd never known of previously. A more human Coco Chanel emerges in this novel as she is seen maturing from a girl abandoned at a convent to a woman determined to make her own way in the world, although one can glimpse at times the character she would later harden into. show more Overall, this book made for fascinating reading and I appreciated the author's work in taking the few known facts about Antoinette Chanel and crafting a believable story of her life. show less

The Chanel Sisters is told from Antoinette’s point of view which gives the reader an altogether different insight into Coco Chanel and how their childhood gave them both a fierce determination to prove themselves worthy. Antoinette and Gabrielle (Coco) are abandoned by their family at a young age. The nuns at the orphanage in Aubazine are preparing them for a simple life as wives of tradesmen or shopkeepers. Needless to say, they have no interest in this kind of a life. They spend many show more hours cutting out pictures from magazines of the “elegants” for them to keep and study their style, attitude, expressions and everything else about them. They started by taking their ill-fitting uniforms apart and resewing them so that they fit perfectly. “We didn’t look well-off, but we looked like Something Better, and for the first time, we felt that way too.”

After they leave the orphanage they start up a small hat shop in Paris where it grows into a boutique and expands to the glamorous French resort towns. However, when World War I breaks out, their lives are thrown into turmoil and they will have to forge their own places in the world apart from each other. This is a touching rags to riches story based on determination, courage and luck.

“All those years on the rue Cambon, in Deauville, in Biarritz, people thought they were buying Chanel, glamour, Parisian sophistication. But what they were really buying were the ornaments of our childhood, memories of the nuns who civilized us, the abbey that sheltered us.”

This is a wonderful book for fans of historical fiction who will appreciate the early struggles of the sisters, the glamorous settings and the complicated romances. I really enjoyed this book! show less

I read Mademoiselle Chanel by C.W. Gortner in 2017, and I loved that book. I was a little hesitant to read this one because the first one had gripped me so much, and I didn't want to spoil my memories. This book did not do that, and that was mainly as it was written from the point of view of Antoinette Chanel, Coco's younger sister. This book concentrated more on Coco Chanel's earlier life and we get a quite detailed description about that up to the end of WWI. Mademoiselle Chanel covered show more her earlier life, but not in as much detail, and more time was spent on that book with the timeline mostly being after WWII and up to and including WWII and beyond, when Coco Chanel got into some diplomatic isses because of her alleged coercion with the Germans during WWII. Coco Chanel, the woman, has always fascinated me and it was certainly not time wasted reading this book in conjunction with the first one I read. Chanel was a very complex woman, and her and her designs are very much a product of her earlier life in orphanage after orphanage. Seeing her through the eyes of her beloved younger sister has added a whole new dimension for me. I recommend anyone that is interested in historical fiction built up around haute couture, read both books. This is why I love historical fiction. This is why I keep coming back to this genre in various forms and covernin different time frames and countries. show less

I loved this book! World War 2 fiction is one of my favorite genres, and I am always drawn to books that take place during this time period. Wickwythe Hall is a clear stand-out. The book is beautifully written and a joy to read from beginning to end. Judithe Little has such a way with words, and I quickly was invested in the lives of the three main characters: Mabry, Annelle and Reid. Little covers a wide range of aspects of the war deftly, and her writing is so descriptive I felt that I was show more waiting on the dock in Dunkirk as the soldiers arrived, walking with the French people as they fled German-occupied France, and in Mers el-Kebir, Algeria as the British bombed the French ships during Operation Catapult.

My two favorite things about this book were the characters and learning about Operation Catapult. Little’s characters are well-drawn and authentic, and I felt immediately drawn into their lives. With respect to Operation Catapult, I love reading historical fiction because I learn about events and things of which I was unaware. The bombing of French ships by the British during World War 2 was something I had never heard about and was intrigued to learn about the event and understand what had happened and why. What a sad story.

I highly, highly recommend Wickwythe Hall. Go get a copy as soon as possible and start reading! And make sure you have tissues handy. I cannot wait for Little’s next book- I hope she is madly working on it. show less