American Beauty, Noted Philanthropist, Nazi Collaborator – The Life of Florence Gould
by Susan Ronald
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Readers' rating:
Published Feb 2018
400 pages
Genre: Biography/Memoir
Publication Information
A revealing biography of Florence Gould, fabulously wealthy socialite and patron of the arts, who hid a dark past as a Nazi collaborator in 1940's Paris.
Born in turn-of-the-century San Francisco to French parents, Florence moved to Paris, aged eleven. Believing that only money brought respectability and happiness, she became the third wife of Frank Jay Gould, son of the railway millionaire Jay Gould. She guided Frank's millions into hotels and casinos, creating a luxury hotel and casino empire. She entertained Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Joseph Kennedy, and many Hollywood stars, like Charlie Chaplin, who became her lover. While the party ended for most Americans after the Crash of 1929, Frank and Florence refused to go home. During the Occupation, Florence took several German lovers and hosted a controversial salon. As the Allies closed in, the unscrupulous Florence became embroiled in a notorious money laundering operation for fleeing high-ranking Nazis.
Yet after the war, not only did she avoid prosecution, but her vast fortune bought her respectability as a significant contributor to the Metropolitan Museum and New York University, among many others. It also earned her friends like Estée Lauder who obligingly looked the other way. A seductive and utterly amoral woman who loved to say "money doesn't care who owns it", Florence's life proved a strong argument that perhaps money can buy happiness after all.
"Ronald provides an unvarnished account of the life of avant-garde socialite Florence Lacaze Gould, whose dazzling, gilded lifestyle belied her dark side as a libertine, Nazi collaborator, and war profiteer ... History lovers will welcome this impressive book about a captivating, flawed woman." - Publishers Weekly
"A light, lively narrative about a singular, narcissistic woman." - Kirkus
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Susan Ronald was born and raised in the United States, and has lived in England for more than twenty-five years. She is the author of several books, including Hitler's Art Thief and Heretic Queen.
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