- Paperback: 144 pages
- Publisher: Profile Books (28 Sep 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1861978545
- ISBN-13: 978-1861978547
- Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 17.9 x 1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 932,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
La Grande Therese
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Hilary Spurling's masterful biography The Unknown Matisse: 1869-1908 mentioned the little-known story of the woman who brought financial disgrace on his family. Now she has seen fit to devote an entire book--slim though it is--on this fascinating subject. A hundred years ago the fabulously wealthy Therese Humbert and her husband lived like royalty on a fashionable street in Paris where they were waited on by Matisse's parents-in-law. Therese let it be known that she had had an even wealthier American lover and paid for everything by borrowing money on the expectation that she would receive a legacy from his will. Annoyingly, his children kept disputing the will and the case dragged on for years. But the Humberts kept on living it up, socialising with the great and the good and running up debts all the while. In this wittily piquant morality tale Spurling describes the spectacular rise and fall of a cunning French peasant girl with a wicked imagination and irresistible powers of persuasion who worked up a hoax that fooled an entire society. Therese sadly died in disgrace and without a penny, but her story is as rich and entertaining as anything by Dickens or Zola. --Lilian Pizzichini
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Hilary Spurling has not only found an extraordinary story, but has also settled upon exactly the right way to tell it." Daily Telegraph "An irresistible mixture of farce, folly and gigantic deception" Brian Masters, Spectator "The joy of this beautifully written book is that the story reads like a novella." Observer"
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Therese Daurignac was born in 1856 in the far southwest of France in the province of the Languedoc, once celebrated for its troubadours and their romances. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Therese Daurignac was born in 1856 in the far southwest of France in the province of the Languedoc, once celebrated for its troubadours and their romances. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
Hilary Spurling has described the bold and outrageous life of Therese and the impact her outlandish, extravagant lifestyle had on Henri Matisse, giving a different perspective on the public attitude and opinion to Matisse at the time, his connection with this woman's deception. If you have read her biography of Matisse this excellent book adds to the story.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I had no idea what this book was going to be about, or even whether it was fact or fiction before I started it. However, I can probably say that had I not read it, I would have remained ignorant of the intriguing and incredible tale of La Grande Therese's rise from rags to riches, largely it seems on the backs of greedy investors.
The value of this book is in entirely it's historical account of a French Folk Legend, which remains hidden to the English-speaking world. This isn't great literature, and at times it's easy to get lost in Therese's complicated family tree, however it does chronicle what appears to be a historical occurrence, unique in sheer scale and daring. I'm not sure if she did commit the greatest swindle of the century, but it must certainly be among the greatest.
For the curious, this book certainly deserves 4 stars, although it's not something that would ever deserve to be read twice.
The value of this book is in entirely it's historical account of a French Folk Legend, which remains hidden to the English-speaking world. This isn't great literature, and at times it's easy to get lost in Therese's complicated family tree, however it does chronicle what appears to be a historical occurrence, unique in sheer scale and daring. I'm not sure if she did commit the greatest swindle of the century, but it must certainly be among the greatest.
For the curious, this book certainly deserves 4 stars, although it's not something that would ever deserve to be read twice.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
The Misconception Stall Aids France's Ultimate Con Game
24 Sep 2004
Format:Hardcover
One of the ways that we develop misconceptions is to believe what we see, without further inquiry. This book provides a classic example of the folly of that approach. Therese Humbert acted and spoke as though she was the wealthiest and most influential woman in Europe, and people treated her that way even though she was totally penniless. She either spent borrowed money (with annual interest rates as high as 60 percent) or the bills were never paid. Yet she was able to keep it all going for years, mortgaging properties that didn't exist and making promises that she wouldn't and couldn't keep.
Although I majored in French history of the 19th century in college, I only ran into passing references to the affaire Humbert as a student. Having read this book, I can see why it has been deeply buried away from mainstream French texts. This story is as embarrassing as the Dreyfus Affair of a few years earlier, because it was only possible due to support from members of the government (one of whom was Therese's uncle) and the bar. This details of this story are so amazing that the author felt compelled to keep providing evidence that she hadn't made it all up.
The story is all the more remarkable because it is connected to one of the greatest painters of modern times, Matisse (through his wife, who was the daughter of Therese's best friend and later housekeeper), and an esteemed finance minister of the early days of the Third Republic (the same uncle mentioned above).
Based on imaginary inheritances, the Humbert family conspired to borrow tens of millions of francs, buy estates all over France, purchase and operate a newspaper, and entertain the leading lights of French society in their salon and at their dinner table. Claiming to be worth hundreds of millions of francs, they constantly lived one step ahead of hostile creditors (who occasionally took a shot at them) while living the life of billionaires. It was all a hoax.
This was kept up for many years, as is beautifully illustrated by the many photographs, cartoons, and portraits of the people involved in the hoax.
When their bluff was finally called, their lawyers were all disbarred. Some creditors committed suicide. Therese and her husband were eventually sentenced and served five years of solitary confinement, and were never heard from again after having been released. Further investigations and reporting on the story were discouraged by the government, and the story fell into the shadows until this book resurrected the tale.
The next time you assume that things are as they seem, remember Therese Humbert. You'll probably be better off for the extra caution!
Although I majored in French history of the 19th century in college, I only ran into passing references to the affaire Humbert as a student. Having read this book, I can see why it has been deeply buried away from mainstream French texts. This story is as embarrassing as the Dreyfus Affair of a few years earlier, because it was only possible due to support from members of the government (one of whom was Therese's uncle) and the bar. This details of this story are so amazing that the author felt compelled to keep providing evidence that she hadn't made it all up.
The story is all the more remarkable because it is connected to one of the greatest painters of modern times, Matisse (through his wife, who was the daughter of Therese's best friend and later housekeeper), and an esteemed finance minister of the early days of the Third Republic (the same uncle mentioned above).
Based on imaginary inheritances, the Humbert family conspired to borrow tens of millions of francs, buy estates all over France, purchase and operate a newspaper, and entertain the leading lights of French society in their salon and at their dinner table. Claiming to be worth hundreds of millions of francs, they constantly lived one step ahead of hostile creditors (who occasionally took a shot at them) while living the life of billionaires. It was all a hoax.
This was kept up for many years, as is beautifully illustrated by the many photographs, cartoons, and portraits of the people involved in the hoax.
When their bluff was finally called, their lawyers were all disbarred. Some creditors committed suicide. Therese and her husband were eventually sentenced and served five years of solitary confinement, and were never heard from again after having been released. Further investigations and reporting on the story were discouraged by the government, and the story fell into the shadows until this book resurrected the tale.
The next time you assume that things are as they seem, remember Therese Humbert. You'll probably be better off for the extra caution!
Very opportune
16 Aug 2009
Format:Paperback
A good and well written book, published at a very opportune time, after the affair Madoff.
Great Story, Mediocre Writing
19 Sep 2005
Format:Hardcover
Who was Thérèse Humbert? She was part Heidi Fleiss, part Frank Abagnale, part Don Juan, part politician, part Nelson Rockefeller, part Jackie O, part social Niccolo Machiavelli and part dumb lucky.
The tale of Thérèse Humbert's ability to build a career of fame and fortune out of completely nothing is better than Spurling's ability to tell it. A better writer would taken this intriguing story and made it into a great book.
To credit Spurling, she did her research well, but she writes with the method of a common feature journalist. The story is strong enough and compelling enough to keep any reader interested.
The story, in the end of it all, is a historic tragedy -- a sad docudrama put to print. Quickly read, it totals roughly 150 pages with ample leading and margins.
Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com
The tale of Thérèse Humbert's ability to build a career of fame and fortune out of completely nothing is better than Spurling's ability to tell it. A better writer would taken this intriguing story and made it into a great book.
To credit Spurling, she did her research well, but she writes with the method of a common feature journalist. The story is strong enough and compelling enough to keep any reader interested.
The story, in the end of it all, is a historic tragedy -- a sad docudrama put to print. Quickly read, it totals roughly 150 pages with ample leading and margins.
Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com
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