Filled with unexpected photographs and stories, this carefully curated book ties Paris and Audrey Hepburn beautifully together.
It is not an easy thing to do: tying a city to a person – particularly when that person is Audrey Hepburn, but Meghan Friedlander with the help of Audrey’s son Luca Dotti does so effortlessly here.
So much has already been written about the actress that this felt like a refreshing experience in the way in which it uncovers stories that I wasn’t (and I have read a lot about her) aware of as well as photographs that I hadn’t seen before. Both aspects have been really carefully curated to showcase the many different aspects of Audrey Hepburn: wife, mother, friend, humanitarian and actress of course.
Separated into clear and concise chapters, Audrey Hepburn in Paris feels as much a love letter to the city as well as Audrey herself. The vividness of the descriptions (even including some of the outfits that she wore around the city) makes the reader feel exquisitely as though they are wondering around Paris with her.
The book also has the sense to not linger to long on certain aspects that many Audrey fans will be aware of through the many other books that have been written about her – but rather uses them as a ways to add even more colour and context to a different story. This is a story about her love of the city and the reasons she felt able to continuously return to it.
It feels intimate, but the way in which the anecdotes are told are done so in a completely respectful way. Throughout it is an immensely enjoyable read, with its clear and to the point writing (but always with warmth) that ensures that the reader gets to know Audrey Hepburn and the Paris that she knew in a very different way.
Luca Dotti’s introduction is wonderfully honest and heartfelt as he talks about learning the point that Audrey’s public life was as much a part of her as her private one (the side of course he was familiar with). As the reader delves into this book this is a point that is made time and time again: Paris played an important part in both sides of her life.
Overall, whether you love Paris, Audrey Hepburn or both this book is a wonderful narrative of Hepburn’s life and the way in which Paris played a big part in it.
By Emma Clarendon
Audrey Hepburn in Paris is available to buy now.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐