Albert Read

Standard. Conde Nast. The Imagination Muscle.

[Alex @AlexBibliophile]

This book is stunning in several ways. A portrait of Belle Époque France & the contribution of Jewish families (including the Cahen d'Anvers, the family of the two girls painted by Renoir), but also an indictment of anti-semitism. #CatherineOstler #AntiSemitism #Renoir #France

[Carrie Devorah @CarrieDevorah18]

THE RENOIR GIRLS ~
PINk
&
BLUE
https://t.co/fETK17P6js

[Catherine Ostler @CatherineOstler]

The fate of the Renoir girls, as told by one granddaughter; my interview with Alice’s granddaughter, the wonderful Marina Bayliss https://t.co/o68BYvvu2j

[⭕️Faerie ❤️ @LiquidFaerie]

I’ve just finished the book ‘The Renoir Girls’ by Catherine Ostler, we meet a French Jewish family who lived at the glittering heart of Belle Époque Paris.

Their world was one of breathtaking opulence, yet threaded through it all was the quiet knowledge that, as Jews, their time in that golden light was always borrowed.

The Cahen d’Anvers family were bankers, collectors, and pillars of society. In 1881, Pierre-Auguste Renoir came to their grand home in the 8th arrondissement. He painted two of the young daughters, Alice and Elisabeth, in soft pinks and blues, their innocent faces glowing against clouds of white silk. Their elder sister Irene had her own portrait too. These pictures captured a perfect moment, little girls in a world of balls, racehorses, chateaux and rides through the Bois de Boulogne.

Their parents mixed with aristocrats, hosted lavish parties, and collected art in a city that felt like the centre of civilisation.

For a while, it seemed as though wealth and culture could smooth away every difference. The family moved easily among the elite. They embodied the success of French Jews who had thrived after emancipation, building fortunes and embracing the beauty of Parisian life.

Renoir’s brush made them immortal in that soft, sunlit way he loved, pretty and pleasant, as if trouble could never touch such loveliness.

But beneath the shimmer, older tensions stirred. The Dreyfus Affair later tore at the country’s conscience, reminding everyone how quickly acceptance could turn to suspicion. Still, the family carried on through scandals, love affairs, and changing times. Some daughters married out, seeking security. Others held onto their heritage.

They lived through the First World War, always with that undercurrent of knowing their place in French high society was not entirely secure.

Then came the 1940s and the borrowed time ran out. When the Nazis occupied Paris, even vast fortunes and old connections offered little protection. The very society that had welcomed them now looked the other way or, in some cases, betrayed them.

One of the sisters, along with other family members, was deported. The journey that began in silk dresses and Renoir’s studio ended in the horror of Auschwitz. What wealth could not buy was safety when hatred took hold.

Ostler tells this through letters, diaries, and fresh research, painting the contrast in heartbreaking detail. The same Paris that produced impressionist masterpieces and grand hotels also delivered duplicity and loss. It is a tale of French opulence at its most seductive, but also a reminder of how quickly borrowed time can expire for those who were never fully allowed to forget they were outsiders.

The Renoir girls still smile out from museum walls today, forever young and carefree. Yet their real story whispers something so much darker.

Beauty & privilege offered no shield.

Alice, the younger one in the pink dress, lived a long life. She married a British army officer, Charles Townshend, in 1895. When the Nazis occupied France, she was already connected to England through her marriage. At the age of 64, she showed real courage and crossed back through occupied France to bring her two grandchildren to safety in England. She survived the war and died peacefully in Nice in 1965, at 89 years old.

Elisabeth, the older sister in the blue dress, faced a much darker end. She had divorced twice, first from a French diplomat and then another husband. Though she converted to Catholicism young and lived quietly in the countryside, her Jewish roots still marked her. In February 1944, at nearly 70, she was denounced by the local mayor, arrested, and sent to Drancy. From there she was deported towards Auschwitz. She died on the journey in March 1944. Even her faith and years of trying to blend in offered no protection.

[#War_in_Ukraine #Facts #Opinions #Trends #Kharkiv @HarZizn]

The #Renoir #Girls reveals a shocking historical story painfully relevant to today. https://t.co/sAccN8u8zY
[#PinkBlue - Alice married the British officer, died in Nice. Elisabeth was sent to #Auschwitz because of her Jewish descent and died on the way to the concentration camp].

[The Jewish Chronicle @JewishChron]

The Jewish Renoir girls who were betrayed by France

https://t.co/GvO2DC2Hlt

[S Sebag Montefiore @simonmontefiore]

A thrilling book and essential reading for now. From belle époque Paris to Auschwitz — the fate of Renoir’s ‘Pink and Blue’ girls
⁦@CatherineOstler⁩ ⁦@simonschuster⁩

https://t.co/Kp21tMe1ts

[The Spectator @spectator]

On today's Spectator Out Loud podcast: Catherine Ostler, the former editor of Tatler, ponders the drama of the courtroom as she travels around the Kent countryside; following the news of the ceasefire with Iran, Paul Wood says that no-one knows what Trump will do next; John Power encourages Gen Z men to go hiking; and finally, astrophysicist David Whitehouse explores the dark side of the moon.

@CatherineOstler | @drdwhitehouse

https://t.co/KSuMfxvWVl

[Catherine Ostler @CatherineOstler]

Catherine Ostler for The Renoir Girls | Edinburgh - Topping & Company Booksellers- last few tickets remaining for Tuesday talk - do come and join! ⁦@ToppingsEdin⁩ ⁦⁦@alexmassie⁩ 📘🎺 https://t.co/BtmaiV8cSn

[Catherine Ostler @CatherineOstler]

The Renoir Girls, with Catherine Ostler - Hatchards Piccadilly Tickets, Tuesday 14 April  •  Starts at 18:30 | Eventbrite 🎺💕Last few tickets left for Renoir Girls talk .. do join us 🌟 https://t.co/y0fKxmCu9N

[Catherine Ostler @CatherineOstler]

So proud of my son Nathaniel who has launched this -

First Business Magazine Launched in Oxford https://t.co/I4pH28Iunv

[The Figen @TheFigen_]

I think that is the best advertisement I’ve ever seen.

[Albert Read @albertread]

Fascinating

[Jack Aspinall @jackaspi]

https://t.co/mSKeI8KPlt

[Wodehouse Tweets @inimitablepgw]

What is the single funniest line Wodehouse ever wrote? No wrong answers, only joy.

[Catherine Ostler @CatherineOstler]

Here it is! Available for pre-order, the UK & US edition of THE RENOIR GIRLS 📚

A true story of three sisters, who sat for Renoir in Belle Époque Paris; of a dynasty arriving in France to the tragedy of two world wars. Splendour, secrets and betrayal...

https://t.co/CwWoND8lj4

[Albert Read @albertread]

In need of a cost effective 2026 creativity reboot?
Look no further…
Special 99p offer from Kindle on The Imagination Muscle.. https://t.co/5HlPy1ZTGt

[S Sebag Montefiore @simonmontefiore]

I recommend two v different books for 2026. James McDougall’s Worlds of Islam A Global History is brilliant indispensible and a rare book of balanced scholarship on Middle East. @CatherineOstler’s Renoir Girls is a superb elegaic decadent French family artistic history from Belle Epoque to Shoah

[Catherine Ostler @CatherineOstler]

Thanks to @thetimes for this happy mention! THE RENOIR GIRLS is coming in April in the UK, July in the US …

The 58 books to look out for in 2026

https://t.co/plSTGxf7ay

[Catherine Ostler @CatherineOstler]

How three women wed to rulers in 19th-century Europe tried to steer their own fates... 👑👑👑https://t.co/9y6PcKGMXi via @WSJBooks @HelenRappaport

[WSJ Books Section @WSJBooks]

Here's what we're reading this week: The seeds of the war in Ukraine, women who made a splash, Joni Mitchell’s creative odyssey and more.
https://t.co/C6C07OeSHe