Miss Dior: A Wartime Story of Courage and Couture
£14.60£19.00 (-23%)
Miss Dior is a wartime story of freedom and fascism, beauty and betrayal and ‘a gripping story’ (Antonia Fraser).
‘Exceptional . . . Miss Dior is so much more than a biography. It’s about how necessity can drive people to either terrible deeds or acts of great courage, and how beauty can grow from the worst kinds of horror.’
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Miss Dior explores the relationship between the visionary designer Christian Dior and his beloved younger sister Catherine, who inspired his most famous perfume and shaped his vision of femininity. Justine Picardie’s journey takes her to wartime Paris, where Christian honed his couture skills while Catherine dedicated herself to the French Resistance and the battle against the Nazis, until she was captured by the Gestapo and deported to the German concentration camp of Ravensbrück.
Tracing the wartime paths of the Dior siblings leads Picardie deep into other hidden histories, and different forms of resistance and sisterhood. She discovers what it means to believe in beauty and hope, despite our knowledge of darkness and despair, and reveals the timeless solace of the natural world in the aftermath of devastation and destruction.
*A beautiful, full colour package featuring over 200 archival images.*
‘Extraordinary . . . Picardie uses her investigative reporting skills . . . the result is Netflix-worthy and the pace page-turning . . . Catherine’s story shines – the quiet Dior who preferred flowers to fashion, the unsung heroine who survived the abuse of the Third Reich to help liberate France.’
SUNDAY TIMES
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Additional information
| Publisher | Faber & Faber, Main edition (15 Sept. 2022) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 448 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0571356532 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0571356539 |
| Dimensions | 16.6 x 3 x 22.9 cm |
by Topsy
This is a very different kind of biography and if you were hoping for a book about the glamorous life of Christian Dior’s sister then this might not be the book for you. This is the story of a very brave woman who happened to be the sister of a fashion designer. Catherine Dior is brought to life using known facts about her but also by incorporating the experiences of others, which adds a different dimension to the story. Obviously, her story and Christian’s are intertwined and I liked the way in which this was dealt with in the book. I also liked the way in which things of beauty are shown not to be frivolous but essential. Even when people are suffering terribly, hope can be found in something lovely like a single flower, a beautiful blue sky, a slick of lipstick or a pretty ribbon. The book is very well illustrated throughout and though we will never truly know Catherine, Justine Picardie has captured her essence, which is what I think she set out to do. I loved this book and the characters in it have stayed with me – rather like someone’s perfume does when they leave the room. Hence the title Miss Dior is very appropriate!
by SophieRambles
if you want to learn where a lot of Christian Diors inspiration came from then here it is. His sister Cather Dior a member of the French resistance, captured and sent to ravensbruck a concentration camp. Its the remarkable tale of a incredible woman and how the war affected fashion. Also the story behind the famous Miss Dior scent and its connection the roses which Catherine grew as part of her recovery.
by Ann
Fascinating story about an extremely brave woman told compassionately and with respect.
The experiences of Catherine and her friends should be taught in schools, not only as a history lesson in the hope that the world should never allow these atrocities to be repeated but also as an example of what strong women are capable of:
I could not put this book down, such was my admiration for their heroic actions and yet at the end I felt an incredible sadness that their names and experiences are not more widely known. I would not have heard about Catherine were it not for my favourite perfume and that can not be right. Their stories should never be forgotten.
A story of outstanding bravery and courage in the face of unspeakable evil.
by JaneAhloma
Catherine Dior was a total warrior. Fascinating insight into what happened to her and some of the SOE women. Interesting to hear of Dior’s war story making dresses for collaborators and Nazis while his sister was in Ravensbruck hmmmm
Great if you like a WW2, French Resistance heroine story like I do.
by Cafelattedoris
I had read the author’s article in The Telegraph about Miss Dior and bought the book as a result. An interesting, well researched book, although I didn’t know much more about Catherine Dior having read the book, than I did after the article. Not surprising though really, as it seems Miss Dior never spoke about her experiences. They were very traumatic – not just in the German concentration camps but prior to that at the hands of fellow Parisians who worked with the Nazis. Lots of information about Christian Dior (he wrote an autobiography and has been much written about), and the latter part of the book diverts off to talk about his New Look and the British Royal family at length! There are interesting family photos included and some of the other people mentioned which bring it all to life, and there has been a lot of good research into all the people and places. The author travelled with her husband to see the places associated with Catherine when writing the book. I wasn’t that keen on these passages, though, such as describing how she felt lying in the same bedroom etc. I’m not sure they added anything.
by laura b.
This is a rare and beautiful book in every sense. The writing is brilliant, and the photos remarkable. The harrowing wartime years of Christian Dior’s sister woven against the pre and post war glamour of Paris is all the more moving for that.
by KittyKat62
I can’t put this book down. The historical content of the war, the resistance, the history of Dior. The author does not shy away from the suffering that was experienced by the women not just Catherine Dior. A book that has Been well researched and very well written.
by Monica Roberts
This was a story that lost its way.