In her stunning ninth novel, The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard, Natasha Lester paints a dynamic portrait of three fashion icons--mother, daughter, and granddaughter--and highlights what is lost when women are relegated to the roles of model and muse.
Astrid Bricard arrives at Parsons School of Design in the 1970s, ready to make her mark on the fashion world. Her birth mother, Mizza, best known for being Christian Dior's assistant and muse, has been an occasional presence at best in Astrid's life. When Astrid meets fellow rising star Hawk Jones, their romance and the resulting designs become instant tabloid fodder, but the publicity may scupper Astrid's chances of building her own career. In the present day, Astrid and Hawk's daughter, Blythe, finds herself at a French villa with her ex-husband's family, facing a crossroads in her life and career.
Lester takes readers deep into all three women's stories, detailing Astrid's highs and lows (including her iconic silver lamé dress); Mizza's triumphs and privations in Nazi-occupied Paris; and Blythe's modern-day struggles with solo parenting, her own ambitions, and unanswered questions about her past. Readers gradually learn the truth behind Astrid's disappearance following a "Fashion Battle" at the Palace of Versailles, and the ways in which all three women fought to hold onto their identities and have their work recognized. Lester's novel, like its heroines, is many things at once: a juicy fashion-insider story, a lushly described couture journey, a blazing indictment of sexism in the fashion industry, and a tribute to bold, tenacious, creative women. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams