Nelly Alard

"Ambitious, subtle, engrossing" (LES ECHOS)"An unforgettable novel" (PARIS MATCH)Ever since childhood, Nelly Alard has had two passions: Empress Elizabeth of Austria -the legendary Sisi- and Hollywood movie stars. When she discovers the story of Elissa Landi, a 1930s film star whose mother, Countess Karoline Zanardi Lands, claimed to be the empress's secret child, Alard decides she needs to know more. After years of digging into the mystery, she manages to find Elissa Landi's daughter, who tells her she believes her grandmother's tale and hands Alard the keys to a behemoth of a family archive, within which lies -or so Aland hopes, along with the reader- the definitive proof that Karoline was telling the truth. While recounting her investigation and retracing the amazing lives of Karoline and Elissa, Alard takes us through the ups and downs of her own career as an actress, from her promising debuts in Hollywood to her first literary efforts, all related to the empress in one way or another. As we follow the author's long search for her true calling, we become aware of an intricate web of coincidences and echoes between her own existence and those of her three heroines -Elisabeth, Karoline, and Elissa. Set in Paris, New York, Los Angeles, London and Vienna among other places, and in spite of its rich historical subject matter, award-winning author Nelly Alard's third novel intertwines different epochs and characters with such fluidity that they all come to life, vivid and authentic. Full of surprising twists and witty personal insights, it is as brilliant in its formal aspects as it is thought-provoking and surprising in content. Published in France by Gallimard in 2020, it was enthusiastically received by both audience and press: "A gripping investigation shot through with cheerful humor" (ELLE MAGAZINE) "An enthralling quest that is also a superb self-portrait in which the personal lives and destinies of the heroines intermingle and mirror one another." (LE FIGARO) "A fascinating investigation where fiction merges with reality. Surprising - different from anything you've read before" (L'OBS) "Portraits of two glamorous women, drawn with great psychological finesse. A subtle storyline worthy of the most exciting thrillers" (BIBA MAGAZINE)"An investigation at once personal and dramatic " (POINT DE VUE)

"Ambitious, subtle, engrossing" (LES ECHOS)"An unforgettable novel" (PARIS MATCH) In October 1930, a young actress named Elissa Landi, touted by Fox Studios as the next Greta Garbo, sets foot in Hollywood. She has talent, striking looks and a mysterious background her mother, Karoline Zanardi Landi, has always claimed to be the hidden daughter of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Fantasy or reality ? Fascinated by the mystery surrounding the two women, Nelly Alard investigates the case. Did the famously free-spirited, eccentric Empress Sisi really go as far as raising a child in secret, away from the stuffy Viennese court? If not, why on earth did Karoline make up this outlandish story, years before the collapse of the Austrian Empire, exposing herself to retaliation from the emperor's police ? As she tries to answer these questions, Alard takes us through the ups and downs of her own career as an actress, from her childhood dreams of glory to her first literary efforts, all related to the empress in one way or another. Her search - and her writing - take a new turn when Alard starts to wonder if Karoline's motive could have been to hide her Jewish ancestry from an antisemitic fianc ... In this third novel, award-winning author Nelly Alard thrusts us into the lives of three glamourous, fiercely independent women, intertwining epochs and characters with such fluidity that they all come to life, vivid and authentic. Full of surprising twists and witty personal insights, it is as brilliant in its formal aspects as it is thought-provoking and surprising in content. Published in France by Gallimard, it was enthusiastically received by both audience and press. "A gripping investigation shot through with cheerful humor" (ELLE) "An enthralling quest that is also a superb self-portrait in which the personal lives and destinies of these uncommon heroines intermingle and mirror one another." (LE FIGARO) "A fascinating investigation where fiction merges with reality. Surprising - different from anything you've read before" (L'OBS) "A subtle storyline worthy of the most exciting thrillers" (BIBA MAGAZINE)

At once sexy and feminist, this is a story of a woman who decides to fight for her marriage after her husband confesses to an affair with a notable politician Juliette, a computer engineer, and Olivier, a journalist, have two young children and the busy lives of a modern Parisian couple. On a beautiful spring day, while sitting by the river watching her children play, Juliette s cell phone rings. "It is her husband. "When Olivier confesses to having an affair, Juliette s world is shattered. How do you survive betrayal? Can a couple ever be united again? What lengths would you go to in order to save your marriage? These are the questions that this novel, with great intelligence, honesty, and humor, tries to answer. In its acute depiction of intimacy, "Couple Mechanics" exposes the system of forces at work in a marriage, the effects of the inevitable ebb and flow of desire, and the difficulty of being a man today."