- Hardcover: 306 pages
- Publisher: Long Barn Books; UK open market ed edition (15 Mar 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1902421523
- ISBN-13: 978-1902421520
- Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 12.4 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 217,602 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Madame Rachel had everything: a Mayfair address, the title of purveyor to Her Majesty the Queen, and a catalogue of exotic creams and potions. Her clientele were aristocratic, rich, and most importantly, gullible. They came in their droves to her shop in New Bond Street, lured by the promise of eternal beauty, but what they found there was something far darker - a con-woman and fraudster who made a career out of lies, treachery, and the false hopes of her victims. Beautiful for Ever is the true story of a woman who found both fame and infamy peddling products which claimed almost magical powers of restoration and preservation. From the mysterious origins of the woman known as Madame Rachel, through the teeming markets, filthy prisons and high society drawing rooms of Victorian London, it has all the elements of a thrillingly scandalous tale - blackmail, fraud, and high-profile trials; stolen names and false promises; love affairs, suicide and bankruptcy. And at the centre of it all, Madame Rachel. From the author of the critically acclaimed Ekaterinburg: The Last Days of the Romanovs, Beautiful For Ever is about an extraordinary woman who preyed upon the eternal quest of her sex to be beautiful - no matter what the cost.
About the Author
Helen Rappaport read Russian Special Studies at Leeds University and was an actress in TV and films before moving into publishing. She worked as a freelance editor for academic publishers such as Blackwell and OUP, becoming a full time writer in 1998 and specializing in Victorian social history and the Russian Revolution. Helen is the author of No Place for Ladies: The Untold Story of Women in the Crimean War (Aurum Press 2007), Ekaterinburg: The Last Days of the Romanovs (Hutchinson 2008), Conspirator: Lenin in Exile (Hutchinson 2009). She is currently working on a book about the death of Prince Albert for publication in 2011, the 150th anniversary of his death. Helen lives in Oxford. You can visit her website at www.helenrappaport.com
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Truly nothing is ever new. The premise of all beauty products is the harping on the perennial female anxiety about aging and losing one's looks. Madame Rachel was a past mistress of this art and her saturation advertising and persuasive sales patter cornered the market in Victorian England as she peddled her exotic "Middle-Eastern" beauty products. She advocated a form of detox and face peeling(very modern) and cleanliness but most of all her clientele went to her to achieve the perfect lily-white complexion so desired by high-society women.
So far, so lucrative. But much more was on offer than Madame's Arabian Baths: bored society women could also discreetly avail themselves of the services of a handsome young stable-boy or out-of work footman. Plenty of opportunities for blackmail here.
But then Madame met her nemesis in the form of the widowed Mary Tucker Borradaile who was foolish enough to believe Madame Rachel's claims that at 50 and with a "chin that had fallen in" Lord Ranelagh had fallen passionately in love with her juvenile ringlets and tiny feet. Instead she exhausted all her fortune in pursuit of this fantasy, ended up in debtor's prison and sued Madame Rachel. Rachel's life and business never recovered.
Notorious though she was in her day, indeed the public was sick of the sound of her name, the story of Madame Rachel has long been totally forgotten until Helen Rappaport painstakingly teased out the threads of her story from the news reports and trials of the day( fortunately there was no shortage of the latter as Rachel was a bit of a vexatious litigant).
But there is nothing dry-and-dusty legal about this book - the narrative proceeds at a cracking pace, since there was never a dull moment in the subject's life.
In a final brilliant bit of sleuthing Helen Rappaport reveals the true identity of Madame Rachel- something the Victorians never knew.
This is an absolutely brilliant book and one I have marked to re-read in the not too distant future.
So far, so lucrative. But much more was on offer than Madame's Arabian Baths: bored society women could also discreetly avail themselves of the services of a handsome young stable-boy or out-of work footman. Plenty of opportunities for blackmail here.
But then Madame met her nemesis in the form of the widowed Mary Tucker Borradaile who was foolish enough to believe Madame Rachel's claims that at 50 and with a "chin that had fallen in" Lord Ranelagh had fallen passionately in love with her juvenile ringlets and tiny feet. Instead she exhausted all her fortune in pursuit of this fantasy, ended up in debtor's prison and sued Madame Rachel. Rachel's life and business never recovered.
Notorious though she was in her day, indeed the public was sick of the sound of her name, the story of Madame Rachel has long been totally forgotten until Helen Rappaport painstakingly teased out the threads of her story from the news reports and trials of the day( fortunately there was no shortage of the latter as Rachel was a bit of a vexatious litigant).
But there is nothing dry-and-dusty legal about this book - the narrative proceeds at a cracking pace, since there was never a dull moment in the subject's life.
In a final brilliant bit of sleuthing Helen Rappaport reveals the true identity of Madame Rachel- something the Victorians never knew.
This is an absolutely brilliant book and one I have marked to re-read in the not too distant future.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
A very enjoyable book, once started I couldn't put it down, and would thoroughly recommend it.
Although it may be classified as a historical book, it is certainly NOT a dusty old tome. It makes one realise that life is indeed a circle, nothing is new. There are women today who are just as gullible, who go to extreme lengths to be "beautiful forever" just as in the Victorian era.
The book is extremly well researched, interesting illustrations and well packaged - the cover is colourful and draws you to look.
All in all a great read!
Although it may be classified as a historical book, it is certainly NOT a dusty old tome. It makes one realise that life is indeed a circle, nothing is new. There are women today who are just as gullible, who go to extreme lengths to be "beautiful forever" just as in the Victorian era.
The book is extremly well researched, interesting illustrations and well packaged - the cover is colourful and draws you to look.
All in all a great read!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Beautiful For Ever is a well-researched, well-narrated historical account by the eminent historian Helen Rappaport. The malicious yet undeniably ingenious Madame Rachel is a fascinating figure of Victorian London and the story of her life illustrates the vanities and insecurities of women in those times. In fact, it serves to illuminate the age-old tendency of women to obsess about their looks and their beauty, which goes back to the dawn of history and has by no means depleted today.
This book will appeal to those interested in the story of Madame Rachel on a historical level, but also for those interested in cosmetics and beauty in general. Unquestionable parallels can be drawn between the cosmetics industry in the Victorian era and its equivalent in the 21st century. It appears that, even after over 100 years have passed, the concerns of women in a society obsessed with good looks remain the same. Above all else, Rappaport's book is an exciting, well-told story and a full and brilliant historical biography.
This book will appeal to those interested in the story of Madame Rachel on a historical level, but also for those interested in cosmetics and beauty in general. Unquestionable parallels can be drawn between the cosmetics industry in the Victorian era and its equivalent in the 21st century. It appears that, even after over 100 years have passed, the concerns of women in a society obsessed with good looks remain the same. Above all else, Rappaport's book is an exciting, well-told story and a full and brilliant historical biography.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Cunning Madame Rachel
This book was very difficult to trace from various sources but finally Amazon came up trumps and it was well worth the wait. Read more
Published 9 months ago by goblin
The right ingredients
I came across Madame Rachel (aka Madam Rachael and many other spellings/names) in the Chesney book 'The Vicotian Underworld' and was pleased to find that a more detailed account... Read more
Published 18 months ago by A Ryder
True For Ever
I read this book recently, at the time when there was uproar in the press about a young girl being burnt on a sun bed and how celebrities are setting a bad example by being... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Gini Smith
beautiful forever
Excellent book.
Well written and researched.
Good value for money.
Delivery time was good.
Well written and researched.
Good value for money.
Delivery time was good.
Published on 17 May 2010 by William G. Connor
Beautiful For Ever
A chilling Victorian true life story of an audacious conwoman who ransacked fortunes and ruined lives without a shred of conscience and all in the name of eternal beauty. Read more
Published on 13 April 2010 by L. S. King
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