Beyond White Shoes After Labor Day
Louise Canova is unhappy with her life. Then she finds a 40-year-old encyclopedia of style titled ?Elegance?, by French fashion expert Madame Genevieve Antoine Dariaux. In her novel, based on this actual book, Ms. Tessaro gives us a heroine that we might recognize all too well.
Madame Dariaux?s book has a dramatic impact on Louise?s life. The experience of discovery is one that will be familiar to many book lovers.
Excerpt:
It was a slim, gray volume entitled ?Elegance?. Longer and thinner than the other books on the shelf, it rose above its modest surroundings with a disdainful authority, the embossed letters of its title sparkling against the silver satin cover like a glittering gold coin just below the surface of a rushing brook.
My husband claims I have an unhealthy obsession with secondhand bookshops. But either you intrinsically understand the attraction of searching for hidden treasure amongst rows of dusty shelves or you don?t; it?s a passion, bordering on a spiritual illness, which cannot be explained to the unafflicted.
End of excerpt.
The ups and downs Louise goes through as she tries to change her style and the challenge of being truly ?elegant? are inspiring and frustrating to read. Is becoming an elegant lady as easy as it seems or is it too overwhelming?