Can a drop of perfume tell the story of the twentieth century? Can
a smell bear the traces of history? What can we learn about the
history of the twentieth century by examining the fate of perfumes?
In this remarkable book, Karl Schloegel unravels the interconnected
histories of two of the world's most celebrated perfumes. In
tsarist Russia, two French perfumers - Ernest Beaux and Auguste
Michel - developed related fragrances honouring Catherine the Great
for the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. During the
Russian Revolution and Civil War, Beaux fled Russia and took the
formula for his perfume with him to France, where he sought to
adapt it to his new French circumstances. He presented Coco Chanel
with a series of ten fragrance samples in his laboratory and, after
smelling each, she chose number five - the scent that would later
go by the name Chanel No. 5. Meanwhile, as the perfume industry was
being revived in Soviet Russia, Auguste Michel used his original
fragrance to create Red Moscow for the tenth anniversary of the
Revolution. Piecing together the intertwined histories of these two
famous perfumes, which shared a common origin, Schloegel tells a
surprising story of power, intrigue and betrayal that offers an
altogether unique perspective on the turbulent events and high
politics of the twentieth century. This brilliant account of
perfume and politics in twentieth-century Europe will be of
interest to a wide general readership.
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