How I love reading a gripping historical fiction to find out in the acknowledgments that some characters really existed and/or some others are based off real people. This is exactly what happened with this book. Mizza was born in the beginning of the 20th century. Her father dies when she is still young, and her mother remarries. She quickly sends her off to a convent where Mizza has to figure out life on her own. Mizza knows that the convent life is not for her, and she starts hanging out with the elite of Paris. She turns into a fashion superstar, but was never acknowledged as such, just like the vast majority of women at that time. Her work was diminished, she was considered just a muse, just a starlet trying to get attention.. During the second WW, nobody knows what happened to her, but she managed to get a baby. Little Astrid. Astrid was not raised by her mother, but she had fashion running in her veins. A passion for designing. She wanted to graduate from Parsons, but she met Hawk, and then started a whirlwind of a friendship/partnership/romance.. Hawk destroyed her without even realizing it. They ended up having a love child. They named her Blythe. This story is told by those 3 ladies' POVs. It was heartbreaking to see how the story kept repeating itself from one generation to the next. They each suffered the same heartaches and injustice, without being able to stand up for themselves and be able to voice their side of the story, the real story, because of this patriarchal society we live in. It was quite a beautiful novel. I knew that the world of fashion was ugly, but I still learned quite a lot thanks to authors Natasha Lester. And I look forward to doing some research on the 1973 fashion event discussed in detail in the novel, which really happened, and I never heard of it! A single female designer was featured in the event, Anne Klein, in the midst of all those big-egos male designers. She was shred to pieces, just like Astrid did in the story. We still have a long way to go before women can finally feel like they are being treated like equals.
A great multi-generational historical fiction in the world of fashion.

Short synopsis: Multi-generational story following three women and their experiences in fashion, pushing gender roles, and empowering women.

My thoughts: Natasha Lester quickly became a favorite of mine a few years ago after reading The Riviera House. Her writing is compelling and she writes a past/present timeline so well with such amazingly developed characters it’s hard to remember they are fictional.

I particularly liked the discussion regarding womens rights in this one, especially in the fashion industry. Her book the Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre also touched on this concept (which Alix makes a cameo here) but this one dives a little bit deeper into how men were given a lot of the credit for the fashions that women created. And women were simply a muse.

There is such a great balance between historical facts, fiction, and romance that you’ll have a hard time putting this one down!

Read if you love:
- Historical fiction based of real people and time
- Women’s rights
- Multi-generational stories
- The fashion industry
- multiple POV

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard

By: Natasha Lester
5🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

I always enjoy Lester’s books and her love of fashion always shines through in the books she writes.
🤍
This sweeping novel follows three women with multiple timelines over decades.
🤍
Gender bias was evident in this novel when Astrid’s cannot show her own designs. They were only thought of as muses.
🤍
If you enjoy fashion, a light romance and powerful women who fight for their rights this is the perfect novel for you. Intriguing and powerful!
🤍
Thank you Forever Pub for this advanced copy. I was also gifted a Netgalley copy. Available NOW!

#thedisappearanceodastrufbricard, #natashalester, #foreverpub, #bookreview, #bookstagram, #bookreview, #stamperlady50

Astute, heartbreaking, and mysterious!

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard is a tender, intriguing tale that takes you on a journey into the lives of three generations of Bricard women. Mizza, a young Paris assistant and muse to Christian Dior who spends the wartime helping the resistance; Astrid, a bold, headstrong designer who uses all her energy to try to step out of the shadow left by her mother and prove the journalists wrong once and for all by showcasing her true talent at the 1973 Battle of Versailles Fashion Show, and Blythe a mother of two who, after being abandoned by both her famous parents, dreams of making a success of her own sustainable-fashion brand and perhaps finally discovering what really happened on that night so long ago when her mother seemingly disappeared without a trace.

The prose is vivid and expressive. The characters are talented, tormented, and resilient. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel into a poignant, simmering tale of familial dynamics, drama, emotion, secrets, love, loss, lies, heartbreak, introspection, passion, inequality, injustice, and the misogynistic world of fashion.

As most of you know, I am a huge fan of Natasha Lester and have read almost every novel she has ever written, and The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard is without a doubt another compelling, romantic, affecting tale by Lester but one with perhaps a little more grit, depth, and layers than we’ve had the pleasure of seeing from her before.

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard
by Natasha Lester

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Natasha Lester pulls back the curtain on the world of fashion in The Disappearnce of Astrid Bricard and subverts the female muse/male creator construction. A historical mystery following three generations of women, each attempting to find their way in an industry ruled and dominated by men. The titular, Astrid Bricard, lives in 70’s New York at the peak of disco and the dawning of American modish fashion. She is a student at Parson’s when she meets Hawk Jones. Together they are about to turn the American fashion scene on fire. Fashion is in Astrid’s blood. Her mother Mizza, was the creative genius behind the House of Dior. Mizza may have survived the German invasion of Paris, but she couldn’t escape the male establishment who labeled her a notorious demi-horizontal. Decades later, Astrid’s dream of designing clothes, that will make women feel powerful, is slipping away, as the press diminishes her to nothing more than Hawk’s sexy muse. Determined to prove herself, Astrid breaks away from Hawk, to build her own brand - Mizza. They meet again to compete with a select group of American designers in The Battle at Versailles. Astrid is the only female designer invited, and her career is about to sky rocket when she mysteriously disappears.

Fast forward to 2012, Blythe is divorced and the mother of two young children. Blythe has set aside her career as a designer. Marked by the absence of her mother early in life, she has chosen to focus on motherhood
. But she is presented with an opportunity, and she has the potential to be great, greater than either Mizza or Astrid could ever have imagined if given the chance.

The Disappearnace of Astrid Bricard was a nostalgic plunge into the world of 70’s fashion and I was happy to dive in head first. If you like a mystery, enjoy exploring the lives of women history has forgotten, or are curious about the world of fashion, this should be your next read.

Many thanks to the author @NatashaLesterAuthor, @ReadForeverPub and @NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

At the height of her fashion career in the 1970s, Astrid Bricard disappears from the fashion event of the century never to be heard from again. While Astrid was a student in design, she was always better known as a muse, just like her mother Mizza, who was famous for scandalous dress and behavior. In the present day countryside in France, Astrid’s adult daughter, Blythe, is vacationing with her ex-husband and his family, managing her children, and trying to figure out her career as a designer. As Blythe delves into her mother’s and grandmother’s complicated histories as both muse and designer, she discovers untold secrets, giving the Bricard legacy a new chance to revolutionize women’s fashion.

This book has three main characters and plot-lines, following each of the Bricard women as they navigate war, love, vocation, and patriarchy. I think the author did a good job not glossing over the tragedies depicted, and allowing each woman to struggle. I preferred reading about Astrid and Mizza the most, particularly the intersection of politics and pop-culture that seemed to surround life in the 1970s. A few elements of Blythe’s story did not appeal to me, however, her discoveries really helped conclude everything nicely!

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and the author for the chance to read and review this book!

I'm a huge historical fiction fan so I really wanted to love this book. Unfortunately I'm in the minority as I've seen a lot of great reviews. I just didn't like it. The premise was intriguing and I was excited to see how the lives of the three generations of women would somehow intertwine. Their stories were mostly individual and although that's fine, the bouncing back and forth between the three characters and timelines was confusing at first. I thought the book itself was way too long as it felt really drawn out. I was also disappointed by the reasoning of Astrid's disappearance. I won't go further for fear of spoiling for others but I wish this aspect had been different

I liked Mizza's storyline the most and enjoyed the fashion industry plot, even though the sexism was maddening. I think a lot of people will love this one, it just wasn't for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Pub Day Book Review: The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard 💐

Author: @natashalesterauthor
Publisher: @readforeverpub
Date: Out Today!

⁉️: if you could identify a person who can represent an era for you, who would it be? Or do you have a favorite fashion brand?

🌺 Natasha Lester’s latest novel is a testament to the inter-generational story of a family set in the 1970s New York City and Versailles, France. Told in alternative narratives, the focus of the novel is on the lives of three women: Mizza, Astrid, and her daughter, Blythe Bicard. Loosely based on the story of a real person, Mizza was born Germaine Louise Neustadt as shared by Lester in a news article. Mizza who was the muse of Christian Dior - a household name around the world. Her history is the most fascinating, especially in the 1920s and 1930s. Lester shares in her article that Mizza was a demimondaine (the French word for sex worker). However, she was able to socially navigate and become a name in the fashion industry in France. Known as Madam Biano, she was the head designer of a French brand called House of Doucet in 1920s and 30s. When the Second World War started, she also became part of the resistance. To learn more about her, Natasha has written an article about her.

🌺 In the novel, emerging American designer Astrid Bicard and fellow designer Hawk Jones take over feminism and fashion’s scene in the 1970s. However, she is unable to escape her mother’s shadow. Then, she suddenly and mysteriously disappears. After her disappearance, her daughter, Blythe takes over trying to recreate what remains of her mother and grandmother’s legacies.

💭 This was my second Natasha Lester novel after reading The Three Lives of Alex St.Pierre. As a fan of historical fiction, I love Lester’s novels as they transport me to a different era. As you can tell, I was most fascinated by Mizza’s life and how three generations of women make a name for themselves in a very competitive industry. I have never been a follower of the latest fashion trends but I do enjoy learning about how clothes, shoes, and other things become show stoppers, and the amount of work that goes into creating a fashion show. The themes explored here include media, celebrity, intergenerational family trauma, and war, it is clear that Lester has done substantial research for this story and it comes alive with each page.

Thank you @readforeverpub and @grandcentralpub for the gifted e-arc.

#NatashaLester #TheDisappearanceOfAsterBicard #ReadForeverPub #GrandCentralPub #shnidhi

I loved this book! It tells the story of Astrid Bricard, her mother Mizza and her daughter Blythe. Mizza was famous for being the muse to famous fashion designer, but no one knows her real story, especially about her activities in Paris during the WWII German occupation.

Astrid wasn’t raised by her mother, but wanted to go into fashion as a designer. She joined forces with another designer, named Hawk, and he went on to become famous. Eventually the two became parents to Blythe. After the famed Battle of Versailles fashion show, Astrid disappeared leaving Blythe with her father. Blythe is also a designer but she approaches fashion differently, but her famous family precedes her.

I loved the way the book spans timelines. The characters are fascinating and the their stories are gripping. This is one of my favorite books of 2024, 5 stars

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard is a masterpiece again by one of my favorite authors, Natasha Lester. In this book, the author has set a story reimagining the life of Mizza Bricard and her family, a muse to Christian Dior as the world knows her.

Set in three different timelines, the story of this book involves Mizza, Astrid, and Blythe Bricard. These women are extremely talented, innovative, inventive, beautiful, and creative. They want to make a name in the fashion industry. But in a world where women are known for their looks and are thought only as muses, will they get credit?

This novel is amazing. I looked up Mizza after I read this book, and her famous photo is stunning. Natasha Lester's story, though fictional, is so plausible because there's still so much misogyny even now. This book, though fiction, is very real in the difficulties that women go through in their life. I am in awe with Mizza even now!

Thank you, Forever and Grand Central Publishing, for this book.

CW: Mother wound, postpartum depression, misogyny

Real Rating: 3.75* of five

The Battle of Versailles, 1973, has long been a subject of great interest for me. Many things shifted as a result of this event, not least the French conception of US fashion designers as lesser lights, or derivative copycats riding the wave of French chicté and eternal design leadership.

At stake was far more than bragging rights...the international luxury-goods market was even then worth billions. As the event progressed, it was clear that the New York contingent was well and truly a creative design force on its own, handing the French designers their first effective challenge for world leadership...and the profits therefrom.

What former L’Oreal executive, and current New York Times bestseller, Natasha Lester did that was truly inspired was to remodel several real peoples’ lives to better present a generational saga of the fashion universe of the twentieth century. The heavily made-up Bricards, from World War One Paris to twenty-first century world citizenship as they arise and create beauty as well as havoc, represent an amalgam of factual individuals and business dynasties.

Driven, high-powered people seldom make good parents. The Bricards, to a woman, were not good parents as they sought to achieve things other people really could not even see. They were, like the real folks their lives were based on, frequently abused emotionally and taken advantage of financially and creatively, as the hunger for glory is the outward-facing surface of money-hunger. What raises this above the run-of-the-mill story of sexist betrayal is that the men perpetrating the thefts are not the men the Bricard women love, but the ones who run the businesses that the women stand as public faces for, and the mass of media types in search of a hook to hang the story they want to tell...not the story of the Bricards, but "The Story of The Bricards"—if you get my drift.

Author Lester is a very well thought of storyteller, and she has a genuinely interesting story to tell here. Her focus on the Bricards and their creative ambitions and abilities led her not to tell a story, even in part, that was of great consequence indeed: the Black models whose performances on the catwalks of this hugely consequential show broke, at last, the color barrier in fashion. True, it was not part of the Bricard story as written, but I felt it could and should have been.

That misfire, and Author Lester’s serviceable, but never more than that, prose, led me to give the book what seems an ungenerous under-four-star rating. I read the book with pleasure, but was always aware that a very big part of the real story it is based upon was just...missing. In today’s world, not telling the whole story involving Black creatives is more troublesome than at any time in the past. It isn’t as though this reality is some specialist knowledge, the kind of knowledge that only a scholar would reasonably be expected to have...after all, *I* know it.

So, while this is a reading pleasure that will involve and entertain readers of what I don’t know what else to call except the cringe-y label "women’s fiction", it comes with some big asterisks for the standard 2024 reader.

Where is the editing? Why is this book so long? This could have been a concise, beautifully-written multigenerational drama about 3 women in the male-dominated fashion industry, but instead it just dragged and dragged and felt like a frustrating letdown. I was trying to read the physical book for WEEKS before I gave up and went for the audio on 2x speed.
I had big TJR dreams with the overall vibes, so maybe my expectations were just unrealistic. I wanted so badly to like this with the premise and cover and the multiple timelines. The locations in NYC and Paris are some of my favorite and the examination of motherhood is always a top of interest, but this book was just too long and boring.

I am really struggling on how to rate this book. I thought the storyline was intriguing, and as I got farther into the book, I honestly wondered if the characters were real life people. I actually had to look it up. Mizza Bricard was the real life muse of Christian Dior in the late1930s. But her daughter and granddaughter are fictional characters. I was definitely interested in where the story was headed. I thought the three generation timeline was good and I was beginning to care what happened to the characters. I got about the third of the way in the book and I just couldn’t do it anymore. The swearing and sexual descriptions were more than I wanted to read. I also felt like it was becoming more drawn out, and I was starting to lose interest. My rating is three stars, and I hope those that can look past those things can enjoy the story. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Fashion, sparkle, generations, intrigue. This was an interesting book that cuts across multiple generations and dives into the fashion industry. Interesting and engaging characters--highly recommend!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC.

Blythe Bricard is the daughter of fashion icons and designers Hawk Jones and Astrid Bricard. But Blythe has felt abandoned by her parents, especially her mother Astrid who mysteriously went missing during a fashion show at the palace of Versailles. But when Blythe goes on a family trip to France everything comes to a head. She’s asked to resurrect her mother’s old fashion label, causing her to dig deeper into her parent’s relationship and Astrid herself. What Blythe uncovers is nothing she expects, and she slowly puts together the pieces of who Astrid really was as a person, not just the icon. As several generations of stories weave together a complex past, Blythe comes to terms with who she is and where she has come from.

This is a spectacular book and suggest reading The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre as it has connections to that book as well that will connect things as well.

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard is an outstanding historical novel by Aussie author Natasha Lester. Narrated in three time frames, we have Mizza from 1917 at sixteen years old, Astrid in the 70s Vietnam war, protests and women's rights; and Blythe in the current day, still reeling from her divorce and determined to get to the bottom of her famous mother’s disappearance, and wondering if what she knew was truth, or lies. As the story moves through each chapter, you begin to see the bigger picture and get closer to solving the mystery of where Astrid Bricard is. I was completely engrossed in the challenges that each character faced, and the book kept me curious about the reason Astrid vanished. With a backdrop spanning nearly a hundred years of fashion, a subject I knew little about, this was a compelling story of the three generations of strong Bricard women. Excellent read with a satisfying ending.

I am so thankful a friend picked this book as our buddy read for January - because I’d been putting off for too long!

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester has all the hallmarks of a great story with the added benefit of learning about other places and times and women’s place in history.

We begin with the central mystery of what happened to Astrid Bricard who disappeared at the 1973 Versailles competition between French and American designers. Although this is a novel, many of the subplots are rooted in actual events. We move from Paris during the two world wars to the disco age in New York City in the seventies to the present day strife of third generation fashion designer, Blythe Bricard.

I was completely engrossed in the challenges that each MC faced as well as curious about the reason Astrid vanished.

Meticulously researched, it was great fun to visit the times of Balanciaga, Dior, and Halston. But, there is also the theme of how women are often scapegoats and rewritten as parenthetical figures in history. They are often the geniuses behind men. or, as the novel describes, “Ophelia dies and Hamlet rules.”

This was a most satisfying read with a fabulous and victorious ending. The book will appeal to fans of fashion design, historical fiction, and women’s fiction.

A far-out 5 Star read! This multi-generational tale is about 3 very talented and strong women that take on the fashion industry from the 1920's through present day. This book has feminism and fashion, romance, mystery, family drama, and healing. It is a testament to the struggles that women have faced when trying to succeed in ANY industry where men typically reign. From Europe to NYC you will be transported to various times in history and get an inside look at the fashion industry and its key players. This book has vivid imagery of the times and a heart that will have you rooting for the success of all three women.
This is a great book for those new to historical fiction, and a great one to create a 70's playlist for!

I received an ARC of this book. I enjoyed this historical fiction novel. It follows 3 generations of women in the fashion industry with some mystery included. Good book!

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester

So many people and such a long road to tell the reader about inequality in the fashion industry even in the 1970s. Fantastic female fashion designers had a hard time moving ahead in the industry without a male to vouch for them.

I may have missed something along the way, but I saw no growth or change in the characters, nor was there any drama or action-highs or lows- to speak of. The absent Astrid was constantly referred to, yet no one actually investigated where she might have gone.

This Grand Central Publishing story offered by Net Galley was not the one for me and boredom set in early on. I’ll rate this book 2.5 stars with a push to 3, just because.