Eileen Gray und die Villa E.1027 – eine gebaute Liebeserklärung
JOSÈPHINE NICOLAS
Das Haus am Meeresufer / The House on the Seashore
A Novel, ca. 416 pages
Spring 2023
A novel about designer and architect Eileen Gray and the construction of her villa, E.1027, on the French Riviera
Deeply atmospheric and moving
“Joséphine Nicolas brilliantly captures the spirit of the time.” Katharina Mahrenholtz, NDR INFO
The declaration of love of two people for each other and for architecture
Eileen Gray and Villa E.1027 –a Declaration of Love Built in Stone
Paris in the early twentieth century: ambitious art student Eileen Gray is training to be an interior designer, adeptly interpreting the formal language of art deco with lacquered objects. The commissions books at her gallery, which enjoys city-wide renown, are already filling up with the names of famous fashion designers and art collectors. Against the backdrop of the emerging women’s movement, Eileen makes the most of the freedoms of the time, becoming one of the first women drivers and travelling to distant countries alone. An affair with capricious singer Damia leads her to the legendary salon on the Left Bank, into the company of Natalie Barney and Gertrude Stein. Eileen comes to know Jean Badovci, a Romanian fifteen years younger than herself, and her life takes an abrupt turn around 1925. Badovci, an architectural critic and publisher of a specialist journal recognises Eileen’s extraordinary talent, giving her an insight into the construction industry, and introduces her to Le Corbusier and members of the Dutch group of artists, De Stijl. Eileen falls for Jean and they become a couple despite their vastly differing characters. Eileen decides to design a building. After an intense search along the southern French coast, Eileen purchases a patch of land near Monaco. In 1926, Eileen, an autodidact, begins to realise her plans for a villa, not suspecting that building her first house will see her go down in architectural history.
Rights to previous book sold to: RAO Distributie (Romanian)
Das Haus am Meeresufer / The House on the Seashore
A Novel, ca. 416 pages
Spring 2023
A novel about designer and architect Eileen Gray and the construction of her villa, E.1027, on the French Riviera
Deeply atmospheric and moving
“Joséphine Nicolas brilliantly captures the spirit of the time.” Katharina Mahrenholtz, NDR INFO
The declaration of love of two people for each other and for architecture
Eileen Gray and Villa E.1027 –a Declaration of Love Built in Stone
Paris in the early twentieth century: ambitious art student Eileen Gray is training to be an interior designer, adeptly interpreting the formal language of art deco with lacquered objects. The commissions books at her gallery, which enjoys city-wide renown, are already filling up with the names of famous fashion designers and art collectors. Against the backdrop of the emerging women’s movement, Eileen makes the most of the freedoms of the time, becoming one of the first women drivers and travelling to distant countries alone. An affair with capricious singer Damia leads her to the legendary salon on the Left Bank, into the company of Natalie Barney and Gertrude Stein. Eileen comes to know Jean Badovci, a Romanian fifteen years younger than herself, and her life takes an abrupt turn around 1925. Badovci, an architectural critic and publisher of a specialist journal recognises Eileen’s extraordinary talent, giving her an insight into the construction industry, and introduces her to Le Corbusier and members of the Dutch group of artists, De Stijl. Eileen falls for Jean and they become a couple despite their vastly differing characters. Eileen decides to design a building. After an intense search along the southern French coast, Eileen purchases a patch of land near Monaco. In 1926, Eileen, an autodidact, begins to realise her plans for a villa, not suspecting that building her first house will see her go down in architectural history.
Rights to previous book sold to: RAO Distributie (Romanian)
Rights inquiries
Joséphine Nicolas
Joséphine Nicolas was born in northern Germany and holds several arts and culture degrees with a focus on the 20th century. She travels to Provence...
Joséphine Nicolas was born in northern Germany and holds several arts and culture degrees with a focus on the 20th century. She travels to Provence regularly for work. The author has a penchant for the Roaring Twenties. The Great Gatsby is one of her favourite novels and inspired her to research the myth of the Fitzgeralds. Nicolas developed her fascination with Zelda through reading not only her love letters to Scott but also her short stories, which reflect Zelda’s multifaceted personality...