The Threat Level Remains Severe – by Rowena Macdonald

The Threat Level Remains Severe – by Rowena Macdonald, is an astute and acutely observed contemporary drama, which starts spectacularly on a flashy note. House of Commons secretary Grace crosses the lushly carpeted corridor to see the white on green words – ‘The Threat Level Remains Severe’ – flash intermittently from the annunciator televisions, hooked high-up on the wall, busily annunciating the business of the House and the bustling activity in the Chamber.

The estimated terror threat to the House always disturbs Grace, although she is well aware that no severe threat can penetrate the multiple layers of protection, the Palace being guarded round the clock by heavily-armed policemen, ready at a moment’s notice to fight the faceless conspirators plotting against Britain.

Elsewhere, faceless state servants, hunched over computers, decode these electronic plots for Scotland Yard to send to the House of Commons, to feed them at regular intervals into the annunciators, to terrify Grace that an unknown faceless person wants to kill her.

A brand new colleague, newly recruited Brett, on an unusual mission to shake up the dusty corridors of power, brightens up mundane office routines for Grace, when she receives an intriguing email from a mysterious admirer, endued with musical and poetic talents. There is only one problem. Is soulful, enigmatic Reuben really who he claims to be? Is everything really as it appears on the exterior?

Grace, Brett and Reuben, with little in common between them, negotiate the mysteries of metropolitan life, to find their fates inexplicably intertwined in rare moments of illumination.

The novel ends with a cream envelope appearing on Grace’s office desk, her name handwritten on it. Her heart always misses a beat when confronted with private correspondence at the office. Slicing it open, she sees a cream sheet of paper, embossed with a green crest and a note written in a smooth, fluidly flowing handwriting. Grace smiles. Handwriting is far more meaningful than seemingly faceless texts and strange, business-like emails.

Outside, as Big Ben agitatingly strikes the last hour of the working day, Grace, reflective of her office secretary status, feels as warm as freshly photocopied paper, adding a poignant end to an insightful, confident, honest and reassuringly humane tale set in the House of Commons in all its vainglorious reality, exquisitely designed to draw readers in irresistibly.

Miriam Jacob

GOODREADS – The Threat Level Remains Severe – Rowena Macdonald – review by Miriam Jacob

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Helena Rubinstein: La Femme Qui Inventa La Beauté – Michèle Fitoussi

GRASSET ET FASQUELLE edition (2010)

Helena Rubinstein: La Femme Qui Inventa La Beauté – Michèle Fitoussi

Elle a inventé la beauté, a compris les femmes et a créé une révolution.

Helena Rubinstein, l’une des créatrices les plus extravagantes et de plus grande envergure, a construit un empire cosmétique qui s’étendait sur le globe. Son approche créative, professionnelle et scientifique de la beauté couplée avec des conseils novateurs sur les soins de la peau ont été une sensation instantanée dans le monde entier. Cette femme d’affaires visionnaire et entrepreneur a vécu et a respiré son propre travail de la vie. Helena Rubinstein était un original à couper le souffle, stupéfiant. Elle a lutté, a presque abandonné, et a triomphé. Il s’agit de son rive, des chiffons à la richesse histoire de la vie, un compte vif emballé avec des détails fascinants, les choses que la fiction romantique est faite de.

Une véritable héroïne au cœur, Helena croyait en elle-même et dans son extraordinaire pouvoir de conquérir le monde. Elle a transformé tous ses désavantages en forces. Son caractère était forgé dans le fer et l’acier. Animée par un grand courage, une intelligence extraordinaire et une volonté indomptable de réussir, elle a inventé les cosmétiques modernes, les rendant accessibles à tous. Pour Helena, la beauté était un nouveau pouvoir pour affirmer l’indépendance. Son sens inné du marketing l’a aidée à promouvoir son empire de cosmétiques avec succès. Elle a constamment inventé de nouvelles techniques de vente pour fixer des normes professionnelles élevées, en utilisant la publicité créative à son avantage.

Helena travaillait sans relâche. Le travail était son meilleur traitement de beauté. Elle croyait au pouvoir énergisant du travail acharné. Il gardait son jeune, lissant les rides de son esprit et son esprit. Elle est devenue l’une des femmes les plus riches du monde, accumulant une fortune presque à part, par le pouvoir du travail acharné et dur. Elle était visionnaire et méritait son succès durement gagné. Madame, comme tout le monde l’a appelée, est devenue une femme d’affaires milliardaire et un entrepreneur très prospère. Elle a même acquis un titre royal en devenant une princesse plus tard dans la vie. Helena Rubinstein a regardé la démocratisation dramatique de la beauté, l’avènement du consumérisme et les femmes marchant vers la liberté et la liberté.

Qu’est-ce qui est si intéressant sur Helena Rubinstein? Les premières rencontres sont souvent mystérieuses. Nous ne savons pas exactement comment les choses se passent. La plupart du temps c’est une question de hasard. L’histoire d’une personne nous touche de manières que nous ne pouvons pas exprimer. Avec son nom emblazoned audacieux sur les produits de beauté, les lignes d’ouverture de son histoire de vie sont assez dramatiques. Née en 1872 à Cracovie, en Pologne, elle avait sept sœurs plus jeunes. Agée de vingt-quatre ans, elle a navigué en Australie comme un pionnier, armé avec seulement un parasol, douze pots de crème, et l’énergie inépuisable. Elle a débarqué à Melbourne, au cœur d’un pays étranger, où elle a lutté, a presque abandonné, puis a triomphé.

Helena Rubinstein devint une sorte d’héroïne romantique qui méprisait le passé. Sa devise semblait être «En avant!». Elle était conquérante. Son caractère était forgé dans le fer et l’acier. Helena s’est mise à prouver une seule chose: «Donner à une fille les bons cosmétiques et elle peut conquérir le monde.» Sa vie extraordinaire et tumultueuse a duré presque un siècle et sur quatre continents. Inspirée par le courage et imprégnée d’intelligence et d’une volonté de réussite, elle a construit un empire industriel et financier.

Plus impressionnante, elle a réinventé les cosmétiques modernes, les rendant accessibles à tous. Ce n’était pas une tâche facile pour une femme. Mais elle méprisait hautement les désavantages, les transformant souvent en forces. Son premier institut de beauté a été ouvert à Melbourne en 1902, lorsque les femmes australiennes ont obtenu le droit de vote. Helena était un fervent défenseur de l’égalité des femmes, ce qui signifiait lutter pour leurs droits et leur libération.

Pour Helena, la beauté était un nouveau pouvoir par lequel les femmes pouvaient affirmer
Leur indépendance, en utilisant les atouts dont ils disposent pour conquérir le monde. Cosmétiques existaient avant Helena Rubinstein mais elle était la visionnaire qui a créé la science de la beauté moderne. Sa vie extraordinaire et tumultueuse s’étend sur presque un siècle et sur quatre continents. Inspirée par le courage et imprégnée d’intelligence et d’une forte volonté de réussite, elle a construit un empire industriel et financier. Elle a vécu de nombreuses époques et est décédée en 1965, âgée de 93 ans.

Miriam Jacob

The Red Notebook – by Antoine Laurain

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The Red Notebook is an excellent story by an exemplary storyteller with an exceptional gift for weaving the extraordinary out of the humdrum, mundane routines of everyday lives.

Sometimes only the Sublime can help us to face the Ordinary in life.

The story begins with a taxi dropping Laure off near her home, the lighted streetlamps casting an eery orange glow across the road. The light from the hotel opposite floods the pavement but nothing halts the snaking fingers of fear, ruthlessly clutching at Laure’s heart, like a bone-chilling burst of icy rain.

It was almost 2 am. Her handbag had been stolen, greedily snatched from her hand, after her assailant had shoved her head back into the metal door frame, causing her to bleed profusely, although she only discovers this much later. Her apartment keys, identity card, the vast bulk of her memories, and to her horror, what seemed her entire life, was lost in the bottomless depths of that handbag.

As her tears helplessly welled up, Laure shook like a leaf from pent-up fear and anger. At such an unearthly hour, caught between the dire distress and horrendous difficulty of trying to distinguish between the rational and the irrational, Laure decides to spend what remains of the night at the hotel opposite, across the road. The next day, the hotel staff find Laure lying unconscious in her bed, her head soaked in a pool of blood. She is taken to hospital, where she lies in a coma.

Gallant and heroic bookseller Laurent Letellier, out for a walk and not particularly happy with his own life, discovers a discarded, apparently abandoned handbag on a street in Paris, with nothing in it to indicate its owner. Suspecting that it was stolen, he takes it home, where among the contents, he finds a necklace with hieroglyphics on it, a red notebook, a signed book, and some assorted odds and ends.

Laurent opens the red notebook and instantly realizes that it is a woman’s diary. Unable to resist the persistent urge to read someone else’s diary, Laurent eagerly starts to read it,  only to discover the portrait of a kind, witty, extremely creative, passionate woman,  whom he feels he would really like to know. A strong impulse spurs Laurent on to locate this lady. Without even knowing her name, and with only a few items in her handbag to assist his search, how on earth is he to locate her in a sprawling metropolis city with a populace of teeming millions?

Even more determined to find Laure, Laurent tracks down the author of the signed book in Laure’s handbag, who unfortunately does not remember her name, but remembers what she looks like. He asks another author who reads hieroglyphics to translate the necklace in Laure’s bag. Laurent is ecstatic to learn that it is indeed her full name and he can now try to find her with all the imagination he can muster.

Much to his chagrin and dismay, he finds her in a coma in hospital. When he arrives, a man called William is there, apparently a colleague of Laure’s, who has been watching her cat. William obviously thinks that Laurent is Laure’s boyfriend, and he doesn’t contradict him. When William asks Laurent to stay at Laure’s house to watch her cat, he eagerly jumps at the chance, in a peculiar twist of destiny.

The real world slowly drifts in, like shadows flitting in and out, of Laure’s consciousness. Hearing the nurses talking, Laure realizes that she is in a hospital but she still does not come out of her coma.

Laurent stays at Laure’s house for many days, happily looking through all her personal photo albums, books, and collections. It helps him get to know her more fully, but it also makes him feel very guilty about the clandestine nature of it all.

When Laure wakes up from her coma, William is there, but Laurent had gone. When Laure eventually goes home, she discovers a note from Laurent apologizing for what he did. Far from being upset about it, Laure is deeply moved that he went through all that trouble just to find her. This inspires her to start her own search to find him.

Laurent is sadly melancholy and morose, and his daughter, Chloe understands why. Laurent has told her all about Laure. Chloe decides on an ingenious plan. A picture frame needs to be touched up. Laurent has told her that Laure was a framer in town. After going in and out of various framing stores, Chloe finally finds the one where Laure works, and tells her exactly where to find Laurent’s bookstore. Laure is stunned to hear this.

After many futile starts and stops, Laure finally gets the courage to go to Laurent’s bookstore. Approaching the counter, she creatively asks Laurent about an imaginary book, featuring a woman whose handbag was stolen, and a man who runs all over town to locate her. Quick as a wink, Laurent realizes that it is Laure, and true to the fairy tale, they fall in love at first sight and live happily ever after.

This book is creatively and imaginatively written, but its hasty ending gives one the impression of being a bit rushed, as the author wraps up all the loose ends to give a fitting conclusion.

Miriam Jacob

GOODREADS – THE RED NOTEBOOK – by Antoine Laurain

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THE INFINITE AIR by Fiona Kidman

THE INFINITE AIR
by Fiona Kidman
Gallic Books
Aardvark Bureau
ISBN 978-1-910709-08-5
© March 6, 2016

Dame Fiona Kidman’s captivating novel, ‘The Infinite Air,’ portrays the enigmatic life of the very epitome of aviation, Jean Batten, one of the world’s greatest aviators, with her record-breaking solo flights around the world. This is the incredible story of an icon of the 1930’s, the ‘Garbo of the Skies,’ a fascinating account of worldwide fame, enshrouded and entombed in secrecy. The Second World War ended Jean’s daring flights. She disappeared to the Caribbean, died in obscurity in Majorca, to be buried in a pauper’s grave. This is her winged story of flight.

Flying in the panoramic expanse of the skies, to explore the immensity of the infinite air, Jean would conquer the world at her feet. She and her mother shared destinies inexorably and inextricably linked together. At her birth in 1909, Nellie placed a picture of Louis Blériot above Jean’s baby cot. He flew across the English Channel, in 36 minutes and 30 seconds, the first person to achieve this feat. Louis Blériot epitomized Nellie’s dream of flying, which Jean brought to life, as they weaved their way “Through Difficulties to Greatness.” Jean was determined to fly to Australia faster than anyone else. ‘Once my mind’s set on anything, it’s useless to swerve me from my purpose. I’m going to finish what I set out to do.’

For Jean, there was no turning back. Out in the sky, she was flying to her destiny, overtaken by delirious joy. The sense of speed and power thrilled her. She was enraptured at the pure sensation of flight. Jean did all the aerial tricks and manoeuvres — flying inverted, circling and looping, slow rolling, tossing the plane, diving, twisting and weaving, flinging it against the skies. At five thousand feet in the air, a sense of exhilaration invigorated  Jean. She flew to Italy. At Rome, she was the first woman to fly non-stop solo from England. A new record for a world class aviator on a peculiar mission, alone in the sky.

On 8 May 1934, Jean set out to fly to Australia. Success was within her grasp. No turning back. On the far horizon, a small dark cloud arose. Australia! She broke the solo record for women by four and a half days. A telegram from King George VI: “Please convey to Miss Batten the congratulations of the Queen and myself on her wonderful flight. George R. I.” In Sydney, sixteen planes flew out in formation to meet her. She made her first public speech. Jean did the largest live radio station broadcast ever organized from Sydney, with a broadcast to the United States. “I’m living in a dream. But it’s a dream of my own making.”

Brazil conferred on Jean the Order of the Southern Cross, for her record-breaking flight linking England with Brazil in the fastest time in history. France bestowed upon Jean the French Légion d’Honneur, the first British airwoman to be honored. Jean was made a Commander of the British Empire. Louis Blériot who had said, ‘The medals are important, but they are not the journey,’ had died of a heart attack in Paris, aged sixty-four. Jean cried, in bitter heartache. ‘Why him?’

Jean Batten’s Record-breaking Flights were: 1934. England-Australia solo flight (women’s record), 1935. Australia-England solo flight, First woman to make return flight, England-Brazil solo flight (world record), First woman to fly solo across South Atlantic Ocean and make England-South America flight, 1936. England-New Zealand solo flight (world record), First direct flight between England and New Zealand, England-Australia solo flight (world record, established on same flight), 1937. Australia-England solo flight (world record), First person to hold both England-Australia and Australia-England solo records at the same time.

Jean Batten died in Palma, Majorca, in 1982. Bitten by a dog while walking, the wound became infected. She declined medicines until her last hours but it was too late. Jean lay dead. She was buried in a paupers’ common grave. Five years elapsed before the details of her death surfaced in 1987. She had vanished into infinity. ‘I’m young at heart,’ Jean once said, ‘because I’ve never really grown up.” An extremely brave, daring and courageous lady, who inspired others to dream of daring exploits, Jean Batten was one of the greatest aviators of all time.

Miriam Jacob

Helena Rubinstein: The Woman Who Invented Beauty by Michèle Fitoussi

helena-rubinstein-the-woman-who-invented-beauty-by-michelle-fitoussi

Helena Rubinstein: The Woman Who Invented Beauty – by Michèle Fitoussi

Helena Rubinstein: La Femme qui inventa la beauté – Translated from the French –
by Kate Bignold and Lakshmi Ramakrishnan Iyer

Gallic Books, Belgravia Books Collective
eBook ISBN 9781908313553,
London, 2013.

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She invented beauty, understood women and created a revolution.

Helena Rubinstein, one of the most extravagant and wide-ranging style-makers, built a cosmetics empire that spanned the globe. Her creative, professional and scientific approach to beauty coupled with innovative advice on skincare were an instant worldwide sensation. This visionary businesswoman and entrepreneur lived and breathed her own life’s work. Helena Rubinstein was a breathtaking, stunning original. She struggled, nearly gave up, and triumphed. This is her riveting, rags-to-riches life story, a vivid account packed with fascinating detail, the stuff that romantic fiction is made of.

A true heroine at heart, Helena believed in herself and in her extraordinary power to conquer the world. She turned all her disadvantages into strengths. Her character was forged in iron and steel. Driven by great courage, extraordinary intelligence and an indomitable will to succeed, she invented modern cosmetics, making them accessible to all. To Helena, beauty was a new power to assert independence. Her innate sense of marketing helped her to promote her cosmetics empire successfully. She constantly invented new sales techniques to set high professional standards, using creative advertising to her advantage.

Helena worked tirelessly. Work was her best beauty treatment. She believed in the energizing power of hard work. It kept her young, smoothing the wrinkles from her mind and spirit. She became one of the richest women in the world, amassing a fortune almost singlehandedly, by the power of sheer, hard work. She was a visionary and deserved her hard-won success. Madame, as everyone called her, became a billionaire businesswoman and a highly successful entrepreneur. She even acquired a royal title by becoming a princess later in life. Helena Rubinstein watched the dramatic democratization of beauty, the advent of consumerism and women marching towards freedom and liberty.

What is so interesting about Helena Rubinstein? First encounters are often mysterious. We do not know exactly how things happen. Mostly it is a matter of chance. A person’s story touches us in ways we cannot express. With her name boldly emblazoned on beauty products, the opening lines of her life story are dramatic enough. Born in 1872 in Kraków, Poland, she had seven younger sisters. Aged twenty-four, she sailed to Australia as a pioneer, armed with only a parasol, twelve jars of cream, and inexhaustible energy. She disembarked in Melbourne, in the heart of a foreign land, where she struggled, nearly gave up, then triumphed.

Helena Rubinstein became a sort of romantic heroine who despised the past. Her motto seemed to be ‘Onwards!’. She was a conqueror. Her character was forged in iron and steel. Helena set out to prove one thing alone: ‘Give a girl the right cosmetics and she can conquer the world.’ Her extraordinary and tumultuous life spanned almost a century and across four continents. Inspired by courage and imbued with intelligence and a will to succeed, she built an industrial and financial empire.

More impressively, she re-invented modern cosmetics, making them accessible to all. It was not an easy task for a woman. But she loftily disregarded disadvantages, often turning them into strengths. Her first beauty institute was opened in Melbourne in 1902, when Australian women obtained the right to vote. Helena was a strong supporter of women’s equality, which meant fighting for their rights and their liberation.

For Helena, beauty was a new power through which women could assert
their independence, using the assets at their disposal to conquer the world. Cosmetics existed before Helena Rubinstein but she was the visionary who created the science of modern beauty. Her extraordinary and tumultuous life spanned almost a century and across four continents. Inspired by courage and imbued with intelligence and a strong will to succeed, she built an industrial and financial empire. She lived through many eras and died in 1965, aged 93.

© Miriam Jacob