The Chanel Sisters cover art

The Chanel Sisters

A Novel

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The Chanel Sisters

Written by: Judithe Little
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
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About this listen

A USA Today and a Globe and Mail best seller!

A novel of survival, love, loss, triumph - and the sisters who changed fashion forever

Antoinette and Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel know they’re destined for something better. Abandoned by their family at a young age, they’ve grown up under the guidance of nuns preparing them for simple lives as the wives of tradesmen or shopkeepers. At night, their secret stash of romantic novels and magazine cutouts beneath the floorboards are all they have to keep their dreams of the future alive.

The walls of the convent can’t shield them forever, and when they’re finally of age, the Chanel sisters set out together with a fierce determination to prove themselves worthy to a society that has never accepted them. Their journey propels them out of poverty and to the stylish cafés of Moulins, the dazzling performance halls of Vichy - and to a small hat shop on the rue Cambon in Paris, where a boutique business takes hold and expands to the glamorous French resort towns.

But the sisters’ lives are again thrown into turmoil when World War I breaks out, forcing them to make irrevocable choices, and they’ll have to gather the courage to fashion their own places in the world, even if apart from each other.

The Chanel Sisters explores with care the timeless need for belonging, purpose, and love, and the heart’s relentless pursuit of these despite daunting odds. Beautifully told to the last page.” (Susan Meissner, best-selling author of The Last Year of the War)

©2020 Judithe Little (P)2020 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited
20th Century Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Women's Fiction France War Inspiring Heartfelt Fashion
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What listeners say about The Chanel Sisters

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
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Engaging

This remarkable story is beautifully told. The central character in this story centers around Antoinette Chanel, her sisters, their relationships to one another and their lives.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting Story

Saskia Maarleveld makes the book come alive. It was interesting to hear how Coco Chanel became famous. The mix of fact and fiction was well done by the author. The descriptions are superb throughout the book.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

It starts off slow, gets better

I was disappointed in this book because the story of the Chanel sisters is actually very boring for the first part of their lives. I kept thinking - when is this going to get more interesting? The answer is - not until the back half of the book when the war breaks out and there are some love interests plus their venture in making hats. I was expecting more about how their business took off but that is just hinted at at the end of this book. Performance is very good. It’s just slow.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Such a great perspective

Loved the concept of this book; the early life of coco Chanel through the eyes and life of her little sister.
Narrator was also great with wonderful voices and accents for characters. Being bilingual I really appreciated the narrators ease with which she spoke the English and French in the book.

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Excellent!

Really enjoyed the story and the narration as well. I had a hard time keeping track of the names at times but it wasn’t a dealbreaker. Quite an incredible story!

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Loved it

Great story (pre WW2). Amazing narration. It end too soon for me. I will miss listening to this one

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Slow

Found story to be slow going. Picked up a bit in the end but I had hard time getting through it.

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An all-round delightful book

The narrator nailed it. Her French is perfect (as far as I could tell) and she beings life to all the characters. Little has done a wonderful job of filling in all the gaps and telling a great story. One feels their grief, their loneliness, their desire for something better.
This is a subject I knew next to nothing about so I feel very delightfully enlightened. Great hob! Great book! Even the short chapters worked really well for me!! Now I want to know how the next decades play out for Coco (Gabrielle). You can't help but love the Chanels.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Crushed my heart in the most beautiful way

This book is such a bittersweet love story. I really like that it isn't all sunshine and rainbows all the time, that struggle is part of the story right until the end. Highly recommend.

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Perfect

Beautiful story and narration. I couldn’t stop listening. So much unexpected joy and sadness in their lives.

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