--- product_id: 3574098 title: "Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War" brand: "hal vaughan" price: "AED 87" currency: AED in_stock: true reviews_count: 10 url: https://www.desertcart.ae/products/3574098-sleeping-with-the-enemy-coco-chanels-secret-war store_origin: AE region: United Arab Emirates --- # Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War **Brand:** hal vaughan **Price:** AED 87 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War by hal vaughan - **How much does it cost?** AED 87 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ae](https://www.desertcart.ae/products/3574098-sleeping-with-the-enemy-coco-chanels-secret-war) ## Best For - hal vaughan enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted hal vaughan brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War ## Images ![Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81z+HcZD9LL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars Coco Chanel’s rags to riches story of her traitorous life *by K***S on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 7, 2023* Overall this was a very good biography about iconic clothes designer, Coco Chanel. It specifically focused on her collaboration with the German Nazi occupiers of France during World War 2, but it was an overall biography as well. The book was very readable and informative with a generous number of photos to accompany it throughout.There are some weaknesses to this book. It started out slowly immediately highlighting Chanel’s traitorous relations in the War — something that was jarring to read right from the start — with very little substantiated facts (at first) to support these assertions. But after that rough start, the book became more biographical in following a chronological approach to her life story. This leads to the next flaw. The book didn’t have much about Chanel’s childhood, which I feel is a pivotal time explaining a lot about her actions and personality later in her life. For an excellent read about this period, I suggest reading Joshua Zeitz’s wonderful book, Flapper, which provides a nuanced section about Chanel’s early life growing up in poverty, eventually being taken under the wing of a religious school. She played loose with the truth about her early life, a characteristic she displayed with aplomb through her long life. Truth was a vague concept to her, it was the drama of her story which most appealed to her.In my view, while collaborating with Nazi’s isn’t a high point in her life story, the facts leading to that moment were in keeping with Coco Chanel’s personal style. She began it successfully getting her nephew released from a Nazi prison camp after he was captured fighting against them early into World War 2. The Nazis who were no fools, used this playing card to extort her services in other ways to further their cause. Later, she unsuccessfully sought the Nazi’s help to rid herself of a contract with her Jewish partners who owned 90% of her hugely profitable perfumery. She was an actively practicing antisemite at this time, something common for those days. Ultimately, she was never convicted of wrong doing as a collaborator and never even went to trial about it, but the evidence of her involvement is tough to ignore. She was masterful in using power players to her advantage, and no one less than her long time friend, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, got the charges and the investigation against her dismissed.What Chanel accomplished in her lifetime was truly miraculous — a true rags to riches story — one where she probably became the world’s most successful and influential designers of the 20th century. She was certainly colorful and was never dull.Overall, I would give this book a 4+. But because this rating system doesn’t use scale, I give it a 4. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars I think I’m a Chanel fan *by S***K on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 21, 2023* Wanted to review her activity during the war which was documented ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars Builds a quietly damning case against Ms. Chanel *by T***T on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 21, 2020* Because of what I do, Coco Chanel comes up a LOT. There have been any number of classes I've had to teach about three-piece sleeves and quilted linings in suits, but I am always a little hesitant with mentioning her by name and people want to know why I am so reluctant to use her as an example.This book explains why very, very well. The author does a very good job building a case against Chanel point by point and slowly you begin to realize that, genius aside, she was a terrible person who very may well have been responsible for the deaths of untold numbers of people.I have to admit that I had heard most of this before (hence my coldness to her generally), but not in this way and not with this much detail. I was expecting an explosive "J'accuse!" with bloody detail, but this isn't that. This book slowly circles building layer on layer of her wartime activities that just leave you stunned that she wasn't at least arrested and prosecuted, much less executed for treason.I read other reviews saying that the book is dry and isn't written well and I'd agree to a point. The writing is this odd combination of storytelling and case-building. The switch between the two isn't always that interesting or compelling.Highly recommended and probably a little shocking to those who A. don't know much about France under occupation and B. have only known Chanel as a go-getting brilliant fashion icon. In the first case, well, it was a real mess and there are still families across the country recovering from it... and in the second case... it is very easy to be a go-getting fashion icon and maintain that status throughout the time of the most evil political regime Europe has ever seen - if you are sleeping with them in the Ritz while thousands and thousands of your countrymen are being murdered.The nice thing about this book is that the author doesn't discount the sheer talent the woman had. Before and after the war she was a powerhouse of style and inspiration. He doesn't discount her as a designer, he discounts her as a *person* and it is almost worse. But "Never. Again." means just that and everyone should understand what this woman did with the Nazis when she had a thousand other choices at her fingertips. All the soft bouclé, pearls, and jersey in the world can't cover *that* and make it more elegant. This book is this firm and quiet indictment of a terrible person with a real talent for design, terrible opinions and life choices, and the ability to manipulate her public and take advantage of any situation she could. ## Frequently Bought Together - Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War - Faber & Faber Miss Dior: A Wartime Story of Courage and Couture --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.ae/products/3574098-sleeping-with-the-enemy-coco-chanels-secret-war](https://www.desertcart.ae/products/3574098-sleeping-with-the-enemy-coco-chanels-secret-war) --- *Product available on Desertcart United Arab Emirates* *Store origin: AE* *Last updated: 2026-04-23*