LA MODISTE:
A Novel of the Young Coco Chanel

Before she became a legend, she was a girl with nothing to lose.

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Raised in a convent after being abandoned by her father, Gabrielle Chanel knows exactly what poverty costs. Standing outside the orphanage gates in borrowed clothes, she makes a vow: she will never be powerless again.

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When her gift for sewing attracts the attention of wealthy cavalry officer Étienne Balsan, Gabrielle gains entry into a world of privilege she could never have imagined. Yet comfort comes with expectations, and life as a kept woman threatens to become another prison. Then she meets Arthur “Boy” Capel—ambitious, charismatic, and one of the few men who believes her vision matters.

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Together they leave for Paris, where Gabrielle dares to challenge everything society expects of women. With Boy’s financial backing and her revolutionary eye for design, she launches a small millinery shop that quickly captures the attention of the city’s fashionable elite. Her creations are daring in their simplicity: elegant hats, relaxed silhouettes, and clothing designed for movement rather than restriction. As World War I transforms Europe, her designs help redefine modern femininity—and Gabrielle Chanel becomes Coco Chanel.

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But fame has a price.

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As her influence grows, Coco moves among artists, aristocrats, industrialists, and royalty, building a global fashion empire through sheer force of will. Yet every triumph demands a sacrifice. Love, loyalty, freedom—even the truth of who she once was—become bargaining chips in her relentless pursuit of success.

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This is LA MODISTE by Renée K. Nicholson, a sweeping work of historical fiction that peels back the legend of Coco Chanel to reveal the ambitious, complicated woman beneath. It is the story of a girl who escaped poverty, reinvented fashion, and paid a devastating personal price to become one of the most influential women of the twentieth century.

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Type Eighteen Books is tellement excité to bring you this riveting story about an incomparable legend next year.  Stay tuned for more news about this title, including a cover reveal. For now, you can show your early support by preordering the book HERE from the Type Eighteen Books store!