Author Gioria Diliberto will present about her latest novel, Coco at the Ritz, at the the JCC’s February Literary Luncheon on Wednesday, February 14 at 12:30 PM.

Though her name is synonymous with elegance and chic, the iconic Coco Chanel had a complicated dark side, and in late August 1944, as World War II drew to a close, she was arrested and interrogated on charges of treason to France. What transpired during her interrogation, who was present, and why she was set free when so many other women who’d been involved with German men (willingly or otherwise) had their heads shaved or were imprisoned remains a mystery.

In this brilliantly insightful and compulsively enjoyable novel from the author of I Am Madame X, Gioia Diliberto explores the motivations of this complex woman and portrays the gripping battle of wits that could have been her interrogation. Was Chanel truly a collaborator?

Gioia Dilib­er­to is the author of sev­en books and a play. Her writ­ing, which focus­es on wom­en’s lives, has been praised for com­bin­ing rich sto­ry­telling, deep research, and lit­er­ary grace. Her books have been trans­lat­ed into sev­er­al lan­guages, and she has writ­ten for many pub­li­ca­tions. She also teach­es in the writ­ing pro­gram at North­west­ern Uni­ver­si­ty’s School of Pro­fes­sion­al Studies.