THE RIVIERA SET: 1920-1960 The Golden Years of Glamour and Excess.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,5th imp. [Complete number line 5 7 9 10 8 6.] FINE/FINE-. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip (£25.00) to dw/dj.bright,crisp,clean,matt,montaged/superimposed imaged monochrome photograph with colour tinting illustrated dw/dj panels,front panel with capitalised blue lettered part title and lower case green lettered sub-title,capitalised white lettered author name and other lower case,white lettered author information,spine/backstrip with monochrome+tinted colour thumbnail detail from front illustration,with capitalised green lettered author name,blue lettered title+sub-title and white illustrated+lettered publisher's colophon to foot of same,rear panel with critics' reviews. Negligible shelf-wear,bumpimg,creasing to edges and corners - no nicks,tears or splits present and head+foot of spine/backstrip minisculely bumped with reciprocal creasing. Top+fore-edges generally bright and clean; contents bright,tight and clean - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips. Publisher's bright,crisp,unblemished,sharp-cornered,original plainblack cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt lettered spine/backstrip,a green+black flecked headband and immaculate palin pale green endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,5th imp,viiipp+1-434pp [paginated] includes verso of contents list/table,Pts 1-32,comprising 4, 4 and 10 chapters respectively, an Epilogue and a Postscript,16pp contemporary b/w biographical photographs in 2 blocks of 8pp apiece,between pp152/53 and pp280/81 respectively,and the middle pages of the second block's lower edges once stuck together,now have been separated and are lightly affected by small missing portions of caption and facing photograph with minimal loss; Source Notes,a Bibliography,an Index and Credits.Plus [unpaginated] half-title+ title pages,a dedication,recto of contents list/table,individual Pts separator pages,and to the rear,separate Author's Note and author's potted biography both with a blank verso and a further 2pp blanks as last pages of the book. Visually the exterior appearance is more than exceptional,and even internally,the book is in a more than acceptable condition/ state of preservation and presentation. It is only the minimal faults described that prevents a slightly higher grading. Despite them,it really is still a more than n acceptable copy for its cleanliness and brightness. In this dazzling story of a remarkable place - a perfectly proportioned white art deco villa on the Cote d'Azur - Mary Lovell uncovers the glittering lives and loves of those at the centre of extraordinary luxury. Built by the American actress Maxine Elliott in 1930,the Chateau de l'Horizon provided the perfect setting for entertaining on an epic scale,with a cast of glamorous guests of extreme wealth and privilege enjoying first her own legendary hospitality and then the equally enthralling charms of its subsequent owner,the notorious playboy Prince Aly Khan. Undaunted by the intimations of looming war,the creme de la creme of high society - including infamous temptresses Daisy Fellowes and Doris Castlerosse,the exiled Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Winston Churchill,for whom the Riviera provided sanctuary during the wilderness years of his political career - mingled with movie stars,drank champagne and danced to the songs of Noel Coward and Cole Porter. After the grim hiatus of the Second World War,the Riviera set reconvened,with Aly Khan ushering in a new age of decadence, surrounded by aristoccratic friends including Pamela Churchill; Debo,Duchess of Devonshire; and Hollywood icons Greta Garbo, Maurice Chevalier,Clark Gable,Tyrone Power and - not least - his new bride Rita Hayworth. Vivid and deeply absorbing,'The Riviera Set' offers unprecedented insight into the private dramas and public scandals that kept gossip columnists - and the divorce courts - busy for nearly forty years. Please contact seller for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.