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A Dangerous Woman

American Beauty, Noted Philanthropist, Nazi Collaborator - The Life of Florence Gould

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A Dangerous Woman

Written by: Susan Ronald
Narrated by: Carol Monda
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From Susan Ronald, author of The Pirate Queen, comes a revealing new audiobook biography.

With each sensational chapter, A Dangerous Woman documents the life of Florence Gould, a fabulously wealthy socialite and patron of the arts, who hid her dark past as a Nazi collaborator in 1940s Paris. Born in turn-of-the-century San Francisco to French parents, Florence moved to Paris, aged 11. 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, New York University, and Cornell Medical School, 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.

©2018 Susan Ronald (P)2018 Macmillan Audio
Entertainment & Celebrities Historical Military Wars & Conflicts Women War Celebrity Money Imperialism Middle Ages Happiness New York
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I picked this book because I just finished another biography by the author and found it very well researched. I am particularly interested in art history from this time, and Nazi plundering. I don’t think I would have otherwise picked a biography of a rich socialite, and I can’t say I liked her, but she was right at the centre of it all. Also, great history of the roots of the casino and hotel scene in the French Riviera and Monte Carlo.

Exceptional insights into Paris pre- and post-WWII

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