Review of ‘The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre’ by Natasha Lester
The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre by Natasha Lester
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REVIEW
Natasha Lester’s new historical novel, The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre, is an explosion of brilliance, daringness, vulnerability, fashion and excellence. A story shaped by war, passion, privilege and power with evolving identities at its core. There are vast challenges for certain characters as they come to terms with living in their own skins, past and present: wearing their clothes like sails of silk while being glittering masters of deceit. Lies, lessons and liaisons are unveiled as the façades fall over the course of the novel.
This is such a powerful, complex, deeply layered story. Told in six parts from 1937 – 1947. Alix St Pierre is an intelligent, fiercely independent woman. Her PR wizardry is noticed by the US government and she is reeled in by an intelligence organisation during the second world war to become a spy. She is tasked with making contact with a Nazi who could offer help to Allied forces but the mission is fraught with danger, for can an alliance with such a person be trusted?
After the war, Alix moves to Paris to become the Service de la Presse for Christian Dior. This man, later hailed as the designer of dreams, revolutionised fashion and launched his first collection in 1947. He is known as the French couturier who departed from the 1920s and 1930s styles and began a new society that illuminated the extravagant and glamorous. One of my favourite things in this novel is the stunning description. I could literally see the elaborate designs and feel the sensuous fabric of these gorgeous gowns on my skin. Yet, many feminists were not happy with the return to padded hips, long gowns and bodice hugging forms for they had fought to be free from the constraints previously imposed on women in society. But Dior was offering, as one feature writer Jan Tomes said, ‘an image of radical femininity’. Dior himself once wrote that ‘it was as if Europe had tired of dropping bombs and now wanted to let off a few fireworks,’ and so his thoughts of fashion were reflecting that.
In The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre amid all the war on the mind and in the field, there is another battle. With the heart— in the realm of love. There would never be a Natasha Lester story without a grand romance at its core and this one has it in spades. Alix has had more than one love and heartbreak. But one relationship is particularly special—for it was not planned or expected. This unlikely duo has the push and pull, the hither and yon, the fear and fascination, the brains and beauty but there are trust issues. I don’t want to say too much about this beautiful dance Alix has with danger and love but it is a stunning performance that will leave your heart aching, your lips cheering and your eyes dripping with tears. And more than once, you will be reminded that ‘Power is the opposite to love.’ Words that many have quoted in one form or another including those by Carl Yung and C.S. Lewis.
Natasha Lester is a master of enchantment through words. She has taken this novel up another notch from her previous and they were pretty impressive. She seems to be climbing higher and higher in her craft. In The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre, she has not only left our stratosphere but has reached the moon, stars and beyond into another dimension! There are endless profound lines I could quote from this novel, as it is such an outstanding delivery.
If anyone wants to be transported to a place once filled with secrets, intrigue and mystery, take a trip back in time with Alix St Pierre through the clouds of smoke, explosion of bombs, magic mirrors and the mesmerising fashion of Dior. Even though there is death, betrayal and heartbreak, you can still get swept away through the magic of the imagination and put on those heavenly gowns and feel divine! I highly recommend this spectacular historical fiction story that will burrow into your mind, fasten to your heart and stay with you forever like the beauty of Dior’s designs. 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Many thanks to Hachette Australia for my review copy.
