
The Last Collection
A Novel of Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel
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Narrated by:
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Sarah Mollo-Christensen
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By:
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Jeanne Mackin
About this listen
An American woman becomes entangled in the intense rivalry between iconic fashion designers Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli in this vivid novel from the acclaimed author of The Beautiful American.
Paris, 1938. Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli are fighting for recognition as the most successful and influential fashion designer in France, and their rivalry is already legendary. They oppose each other at every turn, in both their politics and their designs: Chanel's are classic, elegant, and practical; Schiaparelli's bold, experimental, and surreal.
When Lily Sutter, a recently widowed American teacher, travels to Paris to visit her brother, Charlie, he insists on buying her a couture dress for her birthday - a Chanel. Lily reluctantly agrees but wants a Schiaparelli, not a Chanel. Charlie's beautiful and socially prominent girlfriend begins wearing Schiaparelli's designs as well, and soon much of Paris is following in her footsteps.
Schiaparelli offers budding artist Lily a job at her store, and suddenly, Lily finds herself increasingly involved with Schiaparelli and Chanel's personal war. Their fierce competition reaches new and dangerous heights as the Nazis and the looming threat of World War II bear down on Paris.
©2019 Jeanne Mackin (P)2019 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“A fascinating insight into a war of passion and ambition set amid the looming threat of the Nazi invasion of Paris. With elegant, vibrant writing, Mackin cleverly captures the infamous rivalry between Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli in a novel that historical fiction fans will savor.” (Hazel Gaynor, New York Times best-selling author of The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter)
"Sophisticated couture wars and looming world wars take center stage in Mackin’s latest, with a plot that buzzes with love triangles and political intrigue. A gorgeous meditation on art, fashion, and heartbreak. Stunning." (Fiona Davis, national bestselling author of The Masterpiece)
“The Last Collection brings to center stage the fascinating life of Elsa Schiaparelli in a story that is as elegantly constructed as the clothes she designed. The combination of Schiap’s fierce rivalry with Coco Chanel and the inevitable war makes for a palpable tension, and Jeanne Mackin ultimately delivers an ending that is beautiful, heartbreaking, and perfect in every way.” (Michelle Gable, New York Times best-selling author of A Paris Apartment)
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- Narrated by: Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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1951. Esther Durrant, a young mother, is committed to an isolated mental asylum by her husband. Run by a pioneering psychiatrist, the hospital is at first Esther's prison but soon surprisingly becomes her refuge. 2018. Free-spirited marine scientist Rachel Parker embarks on a research posting in the Isles of Scilly, off the Cornish coast. When a violent storm forces her to take shelter on a far-flung island, she discovers a collection of hidden love letters.
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Family Secrets
- By Carmen Gibson on 05-14-25
By: Kayte Nunn
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The First Actress
- A Novel of Sarah Bernhardt
- By: C. W. Gortner
- Narrated by: Gabrielle De Cuir
- Length: 16 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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From her beginnings as the daughter of a courtesan to her extraordinary transformation into the most celebrated actress of her era, Sarah Bernhardt is brought to life by an internationally best-selling author praised for his historical novels featuring famous women.
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Disappointed
- By Doggy Bird on 08-05-20
By: C. W. Gortner
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The Paris Bookseller
- By: Kerri Maher
- Narrated by: Lauryn Allman
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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When bookish young American Sylvia Beach opens Shakespeare and Company on a quiet street in Paris in 1919, she has no idea that she and her new bookstore will change the course of literature itself. Shakespeare and Company is more than a bookstore and lending library: Many of the prominent writers of the Lost Generation, like Ernest Hemingway, consider it a second home.
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a little much on the intimate details
- By LuckyL42 on 02-07-22
By: Kerri Maher
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The Magic Kingdom
- A Novel
- By: Russell Banks
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell, MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1971, a property speculator named Harley Mann begins recording his life story onto a reel-to-reel machine. Reflecting on his childhood in the early 20th century, Harley recounts that after his father’s sudden death, his family migrated down to Florida’s swamplands—mere miles away from what would become Disney World—to join a community of Shakers.
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Dry account of a shaker love story
- By Sylvia Pinegar on 01-02-23
By: Russell Banks
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The Night the Lights Went Out
- By: Karen White
- Narrated by: Carolyn Cook, Susan Larkin, Tiffany Morgan
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Recently divorced, Merilee Talbot Dunlap moves with her two children to the Atlanta suburb of Sweet Apple, Georgia. It's not her first time starting over, but her efforts at a new beginning aren't helped by an anonymous local blog that dishes about the scandalous events that caused her marriage to fail.
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Try Flight Patterns or The Sound of Breaking...
- By NMwritergal on 04-16-17
By: Karen White
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The Burning Island
- By: Hester Young
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
Journalist Charlie Cates has always believed in facts, in what can be proved - her career depends on it. Which is why she has never truly accepted the supernatural visions that guide her to children in danger. After her work on a high-profile missing-child case brings unwanted fame, she reluctantly flees to the lush Big Island of Hawaii with her best friend, Rae. Determined to avoid her disturbing visions, Charlie begins writing what seems to be a harmless interview of a prominent volcanologist. But soon, she's haunted by dreams of a local girl who went missing six weeks earlier.
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I enjoyed the story
- By M. Abrego on 03-04-20
By: Hester Young
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The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre
- By: Natasha Lester
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Alix St. Pierre. An unforgettable name for an unforgettable woman. She grew up surrounded by Hollywood glamor, but, as an orphan, never truly felt part of that world. In 1943, with WWII raging and men headed overseas to fight, she lands a publicity job to recruit women into the workforce. Her skills—persuasion, daring, quick-witted under pressure—catch the attention of the U.S. government and she finds herself with an even bigger assignment: sent to Switzerland as a spy. Soon Alix is on the precipice of something big, very big. But how far can she trust her German informant…?
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Excellent & Captivating
- By Steven Pugh on 02-10-23
By: Natasha Lester
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Love and Other Consolation Prizes
- A Novel
- By: Jamie Ford
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, Jamie Ford
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
For 12-year-old Ernest Young, a charity student at a boarding school, the chance to go to the World's Fair feels like a gift. But only once he's there, amid the exotic exhibits, fireworks, and Ferris wheels, does he discover that he is the one who is actually the prize. The half-Chinese orphan is astounded to learn he will be raffled off - a healthy boy "to a good home". The winning ticket belongs to the flamboyant madam of a high-class brothel, famous for educating her girls.
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Incredible listen
- By Hugh Lewis on 10-04-17
By: Jamie Ford
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The Circus Train
- By: Amita Parikh
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
1938. Lena Papadopoulos has never quite found her place within the circus, even as the daughter of the extraordinary headlining illusionist, Theo. Brilliant and curious, Lena—who uses a wheelchair after a childhood bout with polio—yearns for the real-world magic of science and medicine, her mind stronger than the limitations placed on her by society. Then her unconventional life takes an exciting turn when she rescues Alexandre, an orphan with his own secrets and a mysterious past.
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Beautiful
- By Lisa M. Jolley on 03-19-23
By: Amita Parikh
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Daughters of the Dust
- A Gullah-Geechee Novel
- By: Julie Dash
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing from the magical world of her iconic Sundance award-winning film, Julie Dash’s stand-alone novel tells another rich, historical tale of the Gullah-Geechee people: a multigenerational story about a Brooklyn College anthropology student who finds an unexpected homecoming when she heads to the South Carolina Sea Islands to study her ancestors.
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My BFF Bahni...
- By Lillian Collins on 12-31-22
By: Julie Dash
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Mercury Pictures Presents
- A Novel
- By: Anthony Marra
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Like many before her, Maria Lagana has come to Hollywood to outrun her past. Born in Rome, where every Sunday her father took her to the cinema instead of church, Maria immigrates with her mother to Los Angeles after a childhood transgression leads to her father’s arrest.
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As the NYT review says, a gorgeous book
- By fmg on 08-14-22
By: Anthony Marra
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A Season of Perfect Happiness
- A Novel
- By: Maribeth Fischer
- Narrated by: Beth Hicks
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Ten years after an unspeakable tragedy caused Claire to flee her hometown in Delaware, she finally feels content. She has a quiet, tidy life in Wisconsin, a place she picked at random for its shape on a map. Her careful existence centers on a simple plan: keep her social circle small and keep the past a secret. But when she meets Erik—a lighthearted theater nerd who gives Claire more of a chance than she’s given herself in a long time—that plan seems increasingly impossible.
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Couldn’t put it down!
- By Lawrence S. Weigand on 11-19-24
By: Maribeth Fischer
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A House Among the Trees
- A Novel
- By: Julia Glass
- Narrated by: Mary Stuart Masterson
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
When the revered children's book author Mort Lear dies accidentally at his Connecticut home, he leaves his property and all its contents to his trusted assistant, Tomasina Daulair, who is moved by his generosity but dismayed by the complicated and defiant directives in his will. Tommy knew Morty for more than four decades, since meeting him in a Manhattan playground when she was 12 and he was working on sketches for the book that would make him a star.
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Glass Fan
- By G Eliot on 07-17-17
By: Julia Glass
In the run up to WWII these three women try to maintain a normal life, to not let down their standards of fashion. The parties continue, the wealthy women compete for position and prestige.
There are so many layers to this story, love, friendship, fashion and how an artist sees the world. Lily’s words about art and color provide great insight and a way to look at the world.
One of the best WWII themed books I have read.
Insight into the World of Fashion and Friendships
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Amazing
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Interesting story
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Well done
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Good story not so good performance
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Fashionably wonderful
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I loved this book!
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I knew the history but loved this perspective.
The narrator’s voice was perfect
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Amazing story!
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Lush descriptions, full characters
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