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"A brilliantly entertaining novel about the ugly side of the beauty business. With incredible attention to detail, Gill Paul takes the reader up close and personal with Arden and Rubenstein and their battle for dominance in the emerging beauty industry of the 1900s. Paul blends fact and fiction as smoothly as Arden''s Venetian cream, and with pithy dialogue and a wicked sense of humor, brings her leading ladies and their outrageous backstabbing and jealousies roaring to life on the page. An absolute decadent joy from beginning to end, this is the perfect summer read!" -- Hazel Gaynor, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Lifeboat "Gill Paul brings Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein to life on the pages of her new historical novel, A Beautiful Rival. Exposing the raw, ugly side of the beauty industry, Paul delivers two headstrong, passionate women, willing to do whatever it takes to build their empires. With meticulous research and Paul''s signature skillful storytelling, readers will be swept up in this fascinating, and intimate portrait of these cosmetic titans." -- Renee Rosen, USA Today bestselling author of Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl "Glamorous and fascinating. Two businesswomen ahead of their time, a tense rivalry in a beautiful world, an intriguing story expertly told. I was completely riveted." -- Tracy Rees, international bestselling author of The Elopement "A delicious look at the high-stakes rivalry that defined a century of beauty. Gill Paul masterfully weaves skillful storytelling with an acute eye for glamor to make A Beautiful Rival an utterly compelling read." -- Julia Kelly, international bestselling author of The Lost English Girl "Scandal, sabotage and spies. Who knew the beauty industry was so cutthroat! This was a thoroughly compulsive and addictive read. Gill is such a clever writer, deftly peeling back the layers of these two formidable doyennes to reveal their tender, vulnerable core. It had me up way past my bedtime racing to that enormously satisfying end!" -- Kate Thompson, bestselling author of The Little Wartime Library ...
About the author
Gill Paul has written thirteen historical novels, many of them re-evaluating extraordinary 20th-century women whom she thinks have been marginalized or misjudged by historians. Her books have reached the top of the US, Canadian, and UK charts, and have been translated into twenty-three languages.
Gill was born and raised in Scotland, apart from an eventful year at school in the US when she was ten. She worked as an editor in nonfiction publishing, then as a ghostwriter, before giving up the “day job” to write fiction full-time. She is also an events organizer for the Historical Writers Association.
Gill loves wild swimming year-round, arranging parties, and traveling whenever and wherever she can.
