Belle Époque

by Elizabeth Ross

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Book cover for Belle Époque

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In the fight to be the most beautful, the ugly face of bohemian Paris is revealed

When sixteen-year-old Maude runs away to Paris, her romantic dreams vanish as quickly as her savings. Increasingly desperate for money, she answers a mysterious advert: 'Young Women Wanted for Undemanding Work. Apply In Person To The Durandeau Agency.' But the work is very strange indeed. Maude discovers she is to be a repoussoir - an ugly young woman hired by Parisian socialites to enhance their beauty.

Maude is humiliated - but faced with destitution, what choice does she have? Quickly (and secretly) selected as the perfect companion for the Countess Dubern's daughter Isabelle, Maude is thrown into a decadent world full of parties, glamour and astonishing cruelty. Maude finds that academic Isabelle is equally disenchanted with the Parisian social scene, and the girls form a tight bond. But when bohemian artist Paul and the handsome Duke d'Avaray are introduced into the girls' lives, their friendship will be tested to its limits. The girls are about to discover the true meaning of being beautiful...

  • ISBN10 1471402088
  • ISBN13 9781471402081
  • Publish Date 5 September 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
  • Publish Status Out of Print
  • Out of Print 17 August 2021
  • Publish Country GB
  • Imprint Hot Key Books
  • Format Paperback
  • Pages 336
  • Language English