The World of Department Stores
Who first introduced Manolo Blahnik to Americans: Vogue, or a canny buyer at Bendel’s? Where under one roof can shoppers find Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Prada, and Hermès? Here are the great retail palaces—from Harrods to Barneys to Galeries Lafayette—where shoppers spend their day in opulent settings, drifting from cosmetics to shoes, stopping for lunch, the hairdresser, and endless temptations along the way. With photographs and ephemera from all over the world, this lavish book goes beyond in-store extravaganzas to the history of these consumer institutions, the personalities behind them, their vast range of goods, unique architecture, advertising, and associated sociological trends. With perfumed air and chandeliers, department stores have lured millions for over a century with that enticing, dizzying sense that no matter how much you already have, there is always more

The World of Downton Abbey

A lavish look at the real world—both the secret history and the behind-the-scenes drama—of the spellbinding Emmy Award-winning Masterpiece TV series Downton Abbey.

Millions of American viewers were enthralled by the world of Downton Abbey, the mesmerizing TV drama of the aristocratic Crawley family—and their servants—on the verge of dramatic change. On the eve of Season 2 of the TV presentation, this gorgeous book—illustrated with sketches and research from the production team, as well as on-set photographs from both seasons—takes us even deeper into that world, with fresh insights into the story and characters as well as the social history.

From one of our most powerful writers, a work of stunning frankness about losing a daughter. Richly textured with bits of her own childhood and married life with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, and daughter, Quintana Roo, this new book by Joan Didion examines her thoughts, fears, and doubts regarding having children, illness, and growing old.

Blue Nights opens on July 26, 2010, as Didion thinks back to Quintana’s wedding in New York seven years before. Today would be her wedding anniversary. This fact triggers vivid snapshots of Quintana’s childhood—in Malibu, in Brentwood, at school in Holmby Hills. Reflecting on her daughter but also on her role as a parent, Didion asks the candid questions any parent might about how she feels she failed either because cues were not taken or perhaps displaced. “How could I have missed what was clearly there to be seen?” Finally, perhaps we all remain unknown to each other. Seamlessly woven in are incidents Didion sees as underscoring her own age, something she finds hard to acknowledge, much less accept.

Blue Nights—the long, light evening hours that signal the summer solstice, “the opposite of the dying of the brightness, but also its warning”—like The Year of Magical Thinking before it, is an iconic book of incisive and electric honesty, haunting and profoundly moving.

Make your celebration the most fabulous fete of the season with recipes and entertaining tips from Veuve Clicquot, the champagne of celebrations. The most complex of wines, the pop of a Champagne cork immediately symbolizes celebration and joy. Divided into four chapters-Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter- The Seasons of Veuve Clicquot highlights centuries-old traditions and expertise of champagne making while chronicling events and recipes for each season’s celebrations. This book takes you from the Champagne vineyards in Reims to the chic social events of the world: polo tournaments in New York, Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, the ski slopes in Australia, and a vintage car race in the English countryside.
From colorful cocktails for spring, to poolside appetizers in summer, the harvest picnic for early fall, and the ultimate apres-ski party in the winter, The Seasons of Veuve Clicquot has numerous full menus customized by the world’s leading chefs to make any event the perfect fete. Prestigious contributors make it a must-have cookbook for socialites and foodies alike. Intermixed with the recipes are beautiful new and vintage photographs inspired by the celebrations, making this cookbook also a gorgeous coffee-table book.