What do you think?
Rate this book
French Riviera and Its Artists: Art, Literature, Love, and Life on the Côte d'Azur
Get swept up in the glitz and glamour of the French Riviera as author and filmmaker John Baxter takes readers on a whirlwind tour through the star-studded cultural history of the Côte d'Azur that's sure to delight travelers, Francophiles, and culture lovers alike. Readers will discover the dramatic lives of the legendary artists, writers, actors, and politicians who frequented the world's most luxurious resort during its golden age. In 25 vivid chapters, Baxter introduces the iconic figures indelibly linked to the South of France—artist Henri Matisse, who lived in Nice for much of his life; F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose Riviera hosts inspired his controversial Tender is the Night; Coco Chanel, who made the Saint-Tropez tan an international fashion statement; and many more. Along the way, Baxter takes readers where few people ever get to the alluring world of the perfume industry, into the cars and casinos of Monte Carlo, behind-the-scenes at the Cannes Film Festival, to the villa where Picasso and Cocteau smoked opium, and to the hotel where Joseph Kennedy had an affair with Marlene Dietrich. Then maps and listings show travelers how these luminaries celebrated life and made art amid paradise.
281 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2015
27 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
John Baxter
229 books123 followersJohn Baxter (born 1939 in Randwick, New South Wales) is an Australian-born writer, journalist, and film-maker.
Baxter has lived in Britain and the United States as well as in his native Sydney, but has made his home in Paris since 1989, where he is married to the film-maker Marie-Dominique Montel. They have one daughter, Louise.
He began writing science fiction in the early 1960s for New Worlds, Science Fantasy and other British magazines. His first novel, though serialised in New Worlds as THE GOD KILLERS, was published as a book in the US by Ace as The Off-Worlders. He was Visiting Professor at Hollins College in Virginia in 1975-1976. He has written a number of short stories and novels in that genre and a book about SF in the movies, as well as editing collections of Australian science fiction.
Baxter has also written a large number of other works dealing with the movies, including biographies of film personalities, including Federico Fellini, Luis Buñuel, Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Woody Allen, George Lucas and Robert De Niro. He has written a number of documentaries, including a survey of the life and work of the painter Fernando Botero. He also co-produced, wrote and presented three television series for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, Filmstruck, First Take and The Cutting Room, and was co-editor of the ABC book programme Books And Writing.
In the 1960s, he was a member of the WEA Film Study Group with such notable people as Ian Klava, Frank Moorhouse, Michael Thornhill, John Flaus and Ken Quinnell. From July 1965 to December 1967 the WEA Film Study Group published the cinema journal FILM DIGEST. This journal was edited by John Baxter.
For a number of years in the sixties, he was active in the Sydney Film Festival, and during the 1980s served in a consulting capacity on a number of film-funding bodies, as well as writing film criticism for The Australian and other periodicals. Some of his books have been translated into various languages, including Japanese and Chinese.
Since moving to Paris, he has written four books of autobiography, A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict, We'll Always Have Paris: Sex and Love in the City of Light, Immoveable feast : a Paris Christmas, and The Most Beautiful Walk in the World : a Pedestrian in Paris.
Since 2007 he has been co-director of the annual Paris Writers Workshop.
Baxter has lived in Britain and the United States as well as in his native Sydney, but has made his home in Paris since 1989, where he is married to the film-maker Marie-Dominique Montel. They have one daughter, Louise.
He began writing science fiction in the early 1960s for New Worlds, Science Fantasy and other British magazines. His first novel, though serialised in New Worlds as THE GOD KILLERS, was published as a book in the US by Ace as The Off-Worlders. He was Visiting Professor at Hollins College in Virginia in 1975-1976. He has written a number of short stories and novels in that genre and a book about SF in the movies, as well as editing collections of Australian science fiction.
Baxter has also written a large number of other works dealing with the movies, including biographies of film personalities, including Federico Fellini, Luis Buñuel, Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Woody Allen, George Lucas and Robert De Niro. He has written a number of documentaries, including a survey of the life and work of the painter Fernando Botero. He also co-produced, wrote and presented three television series for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, Filmstruck, First Take and The Cutting Room, and was co-editor of the ABC book programme Books And Writing.
In the 1960s, he was a member of the WEA Film Study Group with such notable people as Ian Klava, Frank Moorhouse, Michael Thornhill, John Flaus and Ken Quinnell. From July 1965 to December 1967 the WEA Film Study Group published the cinema journal FILM DIGEST. This journal was edited by John Baxter.
For a number of years in the sixties, he was active in the Sydney Film Festival, and during the 1980s served in a consulting capacity on a number of film-funding bodies, as well as writing film criticism for The Australian and other periodicals. Some of his books have been translated into various languages, including Japanese and Chinese.
Since moving to Paris, he has written four books of autobiography, A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict, We'll Always Have Paris: Sex and Love in the City of Light, Immoveable feast : a Paris Christmas, and The Most Beautiful Walk in the World : a Pedestrian in Paris.
Since 2007 he has been co-director of the annual Paris Writers Workshop.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 14, 2022
interesting! it's very obvious that it was written by a man though lol.
July 7, 2025
John Baxter's biography is sufficient in offering a comprehensive guide to the influential figures who have inhabited the Cote d'Azur–however, readers should be aware that, unlike the title suggests, this book is not about the art, literature, love, nor life of creatives in the South of France, but rather about their sexual escapades. –And I’m no prude, but Baxter’s account of the sex lives of said influential figures borders fetish-territory… Page after page are details of what men such as Picasso and Fitzgerald preferred in women. Which brings me to my next point: Baxter’s writing is absurdly misogynistic. Many influential women such as Audrey Hepburn, François Sagan, and Grace Kelly have ties to the South of France; I mean, Grace Kelly was princess of Monaco for crying out loud, and yet, Baxter’s introduction to Kelly is “she ensured two successors for Prince Rainier III”. As for François Sagan, (No mention of Colette which is crazy), Bonjour Trieste and its influence is minimized to being "a tale about a girl who is coping with her father's sex life".
I’m not ignorant to the fact that many artists of the Cote d’Azur were misogynists (need I bring up Picasso and Fitzgerald once more), but they were also brilliant visionaries who derived inspiration from the coast. Why Baxter chose to limit his recount to what misogynists preferred from the body’s of women when he could have explored their creative process is beyond me. I’m sure sex was huge for them, but I did not need to know the inner-workings of their violent and breeding fantasies. I’m disgusted. John Baxter is as much of a misogynist as the men he recounts.
I’m not ignorant to the fact that many artists of the Cote d’Azur were misogynists (need I bring up Picasso and Fitzgerald once more), but they were also brilliant visionaries who derived inspiration from the coast. Why Baxter chose to limit his recount to what misogynists preferred from the body’s of women when he could have explored their creative process is beyond me. I’m sure sex was huge for them, but I did not need to know the inner-workings of their violent and breeding fantasies. I’m disgusted. John Baxter is as much of a misogynist as the men he recounts.
May 25, 2024
John Baxter's French Riviera and Its Artists: Art, Literature, Love, and Life on the Côte d'Azur is akin to a hop-on-hop-off bus tour through the south of France: what it lacks in depth, it makes up for with scintillating detail. It is just enough to add sparkle to your cocktail party conversations where a little can go a long way. Baxter traverses along the Mediterranean coast to tell how the landscape affected various artists on retreat, mostly leading them up to no good. Fitzgerald and Antibes, anyone? It is also a story of how the Côte d'Azur became the Côte d'Azur, wakening from sleepy fishing towns to homes of the sick, the shady, and the superstars. Each chapter highlights a different personality and their connection to the region, but the development is light and the ideas choppy. If you want more information, you will have to find another book. That said, I highly recommend that you read this before planning a trip to the Riviera for a week in its farthest reaches; you may just realize that you want more time to soak up the sites, soak up the sun, and get soaked in shenanigans along the Côte d'Azur.
August 2, 2025
A brief overview of the French Riviera from the perspective of the artists, musicians and authors who made it famous over the years. Because each celebrity or subject covered comes from a different town, there's coverage of a broad swath of the southern coast.
Each chapter has a brief tourist summary reviewing the key spots covered and whether they are open to the public, currently a museum and in some cases, who's buried in the local cemetery.
I'd use this book as an intro to the subject where books, art and movies referenced give you ideas on further "research" you can do on one of the most famous coastlines in the world. Example: there are a multitude of books covering Picasso's years on the French coast so if detail is what you want, you'll need to go elsewhere. But this is a wonderful, quick overview.
Each chapter has a brief tourist summary reviewing the key spots covered and whether they are open to the public, currently a museum and in some cases, who's buried in the local cemetery.
I'd use this book as an intro to the subject where books, art and movies referenced give you ideas on further "research" you can do on one of the most famous coastlines in the world. Example: there are a multitude of books covering Picasso's years on the French coast so if detail is what you want, you'll need to go elsewhere. But this is a wonderful, quick overview.
August 9, 2020
This book is quite informative. I particularly like that the end of each chapter contains an epilogue to inform the reader of what remains of the places discussed within the chapter. Many of them can still be visited.
June 27, 2025
Interesting but it covers too many topics in too little detail, no overarching story across the many topics
September 10, 2015
Great book to take with you on holiday. Easy read with informative facts to keep you entertained throughout the book! Definitely worth a 5 star rating!
July 5, 2016
A fun, accessible history of the Riviera and its famous inhabitants and visitors. I wish the pictures were bigger!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews