The Paris Model by Alexandra Joel

Australian author and past editor of the country’s edition of Harper’s Bazaar, Alexandra Joel has a knack for turning sparse historical facts into engaging fiction.

Her last book, Rosetta, took the family’s limited knowledge of her maternal great-grandmother and spun it into an interesting story, and now Joel has set her sights on a friend’s relative who spent time in Paris as a model for Christian Dior.

The Paris Model follows this relative, Grace Woods, from her humble beginnings on a New South Wales sheep farm at age 12 in 1934, to grown-up Paris mannequin (model) in 1951.

Grace grows up under the loving yet strict guidance of her parents, with many expectations that she will marry a certain boy, have a family and be involved in the community just as her mother is.

While obedient to these expectations, Grace becomes increasingly unhappy as her marriage falls apart and her career passions lay elsewhere.

When she makes a shocking discovery about her heritage, it’s the last straw and Grace leaves for Paris to become a Christian Dior mannequin – where she falls in love with Philippe Boyer and gets entangled in his complicated double life.

The plot switches frequently between Grace’s younger years near Sydney in the 1930s and her current life in Paris in the 1940s, which takes some getting used to but adds an element of curiosity for the reader.

The inspection of life as a woman in this era is intriguing and educational, as is life as a model in a high-end fashion house.

However, The Paris Model should be read without the expectation of any surprise reveals, regardless of Grace being described as making ‘a shocking discovery’ in the book synopsis, as all elements are absurdly obvious to everyone except the main character.

Whether this is a purposeful narrative tool on the author’s behalf to impress upon the reader that Grace never thinks at all or simply a lack of desire to dedicate to plot twists, remains to be seen.

Aside from this aspect, the novel is an intriguing look into history and both Australian and Parisian culture in the past and Grace is both a complex and enjoyable character.

The Paris Model by Alexandra Joel is published by Harpercollins Australia. RRP $32.99. Available now.