Alexandra Joel

The author of The Paris Model captures the glamour, style, excitement, and romance of a bygone era in this sumptuous novel--set in the Sydney and London of the 1960s--about an up-and-coming young Australian reporter with a deadly secret. Breaking into the newspaper business in 1960s Sydney--a competitive world dominated by hard-edged men--isn't easy for a woman. But Blaise Hill is far from ordinary. The only female in The Clarion's newsroom, her long-held dream of being a reporter has come true. Blaise isn't chasing stories just to make a name for herself; she's helping support her family and her beloved sister Ivy, whose life has been transformed by polio. But the ambitious young journalist's confidence is shaken when she secretly witnesses the murder of a top crime boss--a death that rocks the Sydney underworld. One of the few people who knows what really happened--and what Blaise knows--is the handsome, enigmatic Adam Rule, who helps cover up the murder. When she gets a plum assignment--moving to England to cover the British royal family--Blaise hopes to put it all behind her. Carving her own path among the scandal and intrigue of the Swinging Sixties in London, life is just about perfect--until the night she attends Queen Elizabeth's gala in honor of the upcoming nuptials of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones. Among the exclusive crowd is the last man she ever wanted to see--Adam Rule. Is Blaise's dark secret coming back to hurt her--or is this the beginning of something far more dangerous? In this mesmerizing novel, Alexandra Joel brings to life the thrilling, colorful world of 1960s Sydney and London, when fashion, music, society, and even the royal family rode the waves of change--and a spirited, ambitious heroine dared to make her way in a man's world.

A Novel

The Royal Correspondent

A lush debut novel in the vein of Kathleen Tessaro's international bestseller, Elegance, about a beautiful woman working as a model for Christian Dior in postwar Paris, who discovers astonishing secrets about herself and the fabulous people around her. Raised on a vast Australian sheep farm, the beautiful Grace Woods is compelled to travel to tumultuous, postwar Paris in order to start a new life. While working as a glamorous model for Christian Dior, the world's newly acclaimed emperor of fashion, Grace mixes with counts and princesses, authors and artists, diplomats and politicians. Amongst those she befriends are Pablo Picasson, Julia Childs, and the future Jackie Kennedy. But when Grace falls in love with the handsome Phillippe Boyer, she doesn't know that he is leading a double life, nor that his past might hold secrets and lies that will turn her life upside down. Based on a true story, The Paris Model by debut fiction author Alexandra Joel, is an unforgettable tale of glamour, family secrets, and heartbreak.

The Paris Model

The scandalous Australian woman who enchanted British society Headstrong and beautiful, in 1905 Rosetta escaped her safe Melbourne life, deserting her respectable husband and five-year-old daughter to run away with Zeno the Magnificent, a half-Chinese fortune teller and seducer of souls. The pair reinvented themselves in London, where they beguiled European society and risked everything for a life of glamour and desire. Rosetta said she was American; Zeno claimed to be a brilliant Japanese professor. Together they attracted the patronage of famous writers, inventors and scientists, lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses. Empress Eugenie, the widow of Napoleon III, and Princess Charlotte, sister of Germany's last Kaiser, were among their greatest devotees. Rosetta revelled in a life few women of her time would have dared to embrace, yet all the while she hid her secret shame: the daughter she had left behind. This is the compelling story of Alexandra Joel's quest to uncover the truth about her scandalous great-grandmother, and the shocking century-old secret she would discover at the heart of her family.

A Scandalous True Story

Rosetta

'Captivating and evocative' Tania Blanchard, author of The Girl from Munich Sometimes you have to lose everything to find yourself ... A stunning novel of love, betrayal and family secrets for all fans of Fiona McIntosh and Natasha Lester. After a shocking discovery, Grace Woods leaves her vast Australian sheep station and travels to tumultuous post-war Paris in order to find her true identity. While working as a mannequin for Christian Dior, the world's newly acclaimed emperor of fashion, Grace mixes with counts and princesses, authors and artists, diplomats and politicians. But when Grace falls for handsome Philippe Boyer she doesn't know that he is leading a double life, nor that his past might inflict devastating consequences upon her. As she is drawn into Philippe's dangerous world of international espionage, Grace discovers both the shattering truth of her origins - and that her life is in peril. Inspired by an astonishing true story, The Paris Model is a tale of glamour, family secrets and heartbreak that takes you from the rolling plains of country Australia to the elegant salons of Paris. 'A wonderful, immersive historical novel' New Idea 'A charming tale rich with family and fashion' Belinda Alexandra 'The cracking plot and the general glamour carry the reader along' Sydney Morning Herald 'This gorgeous historical is the perfect summer escape. Post-World War 2 Paris literally drips from the page. Grace is a wonderful protagonist and surrounded by well-drawn and often fabulous characters, and Joel's prose is rich and descriptive. Highly enjoyable' Better Reading

"The scandalous Australian woman who enchanted British society Headstrong and beautiful, in 1905 Rosetta escaped her safe Melbourne life, deserting her respectable husband and five-year-old daughter to run away with Zeno the Magnificent, a half-Chinese fortune teller and seducer of souls. The pair reinvented themselves in London, where they beguiled European society and risked everything for a life of glamour and desire. Rosetta said she was American; Zeno claimed to be a brilliant Japanese professor. Together they attracted the patronage of famous writers, inventors and scientists, lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses. Empress Eugenie, the widow of Napoleon III, and Princess Charlotte, sister of Germany's last Kaiser, were among their greatest devotees. Rosetta revelled in a life few women of her time would have dared to embrace, yet all the while she hid her secret shame: the daughter she had left behind. This is the compelling story of Alexandra Joel's quest to uncover the truth about her scandalous great-grandmother, and the shocking century-old secret she would discover at the heart of her family."

Headstrong and beautiful, in 1905 Rosetta escaped her safe Melbourne life, deserting her respectable husband and five-year-old daughter to run away with Zeno the Magnificent, a half-Chinese fortune teller and seducer of souls. The pair reinvented themselves in London, where they beguiled European society and risked everything for a life of glamour and desire. Rosetta said she was American; Zeno claimed to be a brilliant Japanese professor. Together they attracted the patronage of famous writers, inventors and scientists, lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses. Empress Eugenie, the widow of Napoleon III, and Princess Charlotte, sister of Germany's last Kaiser, were among their greatest devotees. Rosetta revelled in a life few women of her time would have dared to embrace, yet all the while she hid her secret shame- the daughter she had left behind. This is the compelling story of Alexandra Joel's quest to uncover the truth about her scandalous great-grandmother, and the shocking century-old secret she would discover at the heart of her family.

Alexandra Joel

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