Top Five Reads
Books about Cap d’Antibes
I asked Fenella from the English bookshop in Antibes to recommend her top five books about Cap d’Antibes and below are the ones she suggested. Next time you visit Antibes why not pop in to Fenellas’ shop and pick one of them up. All are great reads for the beach.
Everybody was so young by Amanda Vale.
This is essentially a biography of Gerald and Sarah Murphy who were wealthy Americans who spent a great deal of time in Cap d’Antibes during the 1920’s. They were known as part of a social set called the lost generation This book centres on those people, the Murphys and their friends the Hemmingways, Fitzgeralds, Picassos and so on. Gerald Murphy was a painter and he is remembered fondly by all those who enjoy the beaches on Cap d’Antibes because he created Garoupe beach. Previously it was just a seaweed covered piece of coast line. Gerald Murphy started raking it every day and getting rid of the stones turning it into a beach so it was almost his private beach, anyway it’s fascinating reading and a true story.
It’s out of print now so it’s one of the books which I spend quite a lot of my time sourcing from second hand book dealers around the world because it’s of so much interest to people here. At the moment I have about half a dozen copies, sometimes I am down to one or two in various conditions. It’s an absolutely fascinating biography, first published in 1998.
Villa America by Liza Klaussmann
Villa America is about all the same people featured in Everybody was so young. It centres on Villa America which was the Murphys’ house on the Cap. A centre for partying shall we say. They threw lavish parties there and, as I mentioned before, the Hemingways, Fitzgeralds, Picassos, Cole Porter, Dorothy parker…lots and lots of the names of the time and mostly Americans partied there.
This is a novel, it’s fiction. Most of the characters are real people but the book is written as fiction. There is no truth whatsoever in the actual story apart from the name of the house and the names of the characters. Introduced into the story is the character of Owen Chambers, a pilot. At this point the story bears no resemblance to the life of the Murphys at all. However, it’s a great read. It’s a beach read and it’s fun to read about Antibes and the Cap when you are actually here.
I love this book and I always have this one in stock.
The Riviera Set by Amanda Vaill
As it says on the cover this book covers the period from 1920-1960 on the Riviera not just here in Antibes. Of course an awful lot of it does deal with Antibes and the surrounding area. In particular the chateau del’Horizon which is just in Golfe Juan. This was the home of Maxine Elliot who was an American actress. She hosted Winston Churchil many many times at her home. The story centres on that villa particularly and the lives of the people that stayed there. The book is factual, absolutely. Eventually the house was bought by Prince Ali Khan who lived there with his wife Rita Hayworth. They also owned a home on the Cap but later they bought the Chateau l’Horizon.
This book covers a much later period than the previous two books. Yes it covers the 20’s as well but it extends much further into the century.
It’s not so centred on the Americans either. It’s beautifully written and very well researched. Mary Lovell is an excellent writer.
Riviera Dreaming by Maureen Edminston
This is an absolutely lovely book and I adore it. I Love the cover it’s a beautiful book. Maureen Edminston writes about an American Architect Barry Dierks who designed a lot of the art deco belle epoch villas along the Riviera. He became very much part of the jet set here. He was unusual in that he was overtly homosexual which was extremely rare in those days. Back then homosexuality was very much kept under wraps. His partner was an English garden designer by the name of Eric Sawyer. They were quite an eccentric couple and very part of the jet set.
Again the book is absolutely fascinating and again it’s biographical. The story is set in the 1920’s but going into the second world war too. It depicts how these wealthy glamorous people dealt with the deprivations of war and the hardships that came to this area at that time.
For the love of the rose by Antonia Ridge
This is the story of the creation of the famous and very beautiful Peace rose , The book is essentially about two families, the Meillands from Lyon and the Paolinos from southern Italy. Both were professional rose growing families in the area who turned the Cap from an unused wild peninsular into a famous rose growing centre. It’s a dreamy story really because not only did they share the love of roses but they were also united through marriage. It’s passionate, it’s sweet and it’s lovely.
Sadly the book is out of print so I again buy up second hand copies from around the world so that people can enjoy it. The book is very evocative of Cap d’Antibes and the development of the Peace rose. The rose became famous throughout the world as it was produced and named to commemorate the end of the second world war. It is still one of the most popular hybrid roses in existence today. This book is for anybody that loves roses, loves a love story and loves Cap d’Antibes!
Substitute Child by Jane Ellyson
Yes I know I said top five books but I wanted to also share this novel by a follower of the I Love Cap d’Antibes blog. The author wrote to me a few months ago to ask if I would like to feature her book on the blog. She lives in Australia but spent time living in Antibes a few years ago. It was her time here which inspired the story. Cannes and Antibes walking tours are also included at the end of the book.
Substitute child is a Thriller-romance set between Brisbane, Australia and the Cote d’Azur.
A deckhand in France discovers a bottle with a eulogy and letter inside. The bottle has floated all the way from Byron Bay in Australia to the south of France. The discovery prompts a whirlwind journey for Charlotte Wyatt into the world of paparazzi, European royalty and the criminal underworld.
Charlotte Wyatt’s story includes a: journey across the world to collect a bottle with a message inside. Living vicariously as a ‘substitute’ and getting swept up in someone else’s story. Love interests from three potential suitors. A search for identity and future career direction. The story is an analysis of what makes a story go viral and the exploration of Charlottes’ relationship with her mother and best friend.
There are also fabulous fashions, beautiful places and a few famous folk in walk-in and run-in roles.
It’s the story of a student travelling to the other side of the world to collect a bottle with a love letter to a brother she never knew and a journey to discover who she is and what she wants from her life.
To buy any of these books about Cap d’Antibes go to:
Antibes Books
13 rue Georges Clemenceau,
06600 Antibes
Open 7 days a week from 10am- 7pm
Tel: 04 93 61 96 47
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