Williamsburg Regional Library

A dangerous woman, American beauty, noted philanthropist, Nazi collaborator : the life of Florence Gould, Susan Ronald

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 339-370) and index

individual biography

platesmapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

A dangerous woman

bibliography

983559109

Susan Ronald

American beauty, noted philanthropist, Nazi collaborator : the life of Florence Gould

"A revealing biography of Florence Gould, fabulously wealthy socialite and patron of the arts, who hid a dark past as a Nazi collaborator in 1940's Paris. Born in turn-of-the-century San Francisco to French parents, Florence moved to Paris, aged eleven. 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"--, Provided by publisher

San Francisco -- From fire to flood and death -- La Parisienne -- War and the boy next door -- Young Mrs. Heynemann -- Home again, war and folies -- The man they call "Franck" -- Taming all those monsters -- Leaving the perfumed air of Bohemia -- Careless people -- An amusing intermezzo for millionaires -- Taking stock -- The Monegasque feud fit for a prince -- Hollywood calling -- The phoenix rises -- Scandal, America, and separate lives -- Dark horizons -- Fifth columns and fellow travelers -- Fall of France -- Ludwig -- The anything goes occupation -- In the garden of earthly delights -- The occupation 1942-1943 -- Florence the banker -- Liberation and treason -- No safehavens -- Paperclips and friends cast long shadows -- A fortune to give away -- Queen of the Riviera

adult