Toto & Coco: Spies, seduction and the fight for survival

by Alan Frame

Toto Koopman, beautiful, mixed-race, bisexual Vogue cover girl in 1930s Paris and lover of the all-powerful press baron and wartime Cabinet minister Lord Beaverbrook. Coco Chanel, brilliant couturier and parfumier, rich beyond dreams and friend of Winston Churchill, the greatest ever Briton. Both the toast of Parisian and London high society. World War II. One chooses to relinquish everything to be a British spy under threat of incarceration in a concentration camp; the other becomes a Nazi agent luxuriating in the Paris Ritz with her Gestapo lover. Two women, once friends, now united only in their will to survive. Toto & Coco reveals the very best and the very worst of what can happen when the human spirit is taken to the edge. An extraordinary true story.

294 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 19, 2020

Reviews

[Scott Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

They say truth is stranger than fiction and this story should be Exhibit A.

A true story about a bisexual, mix raced model in the 1940's who operates as a spy in Italy for the resistance against the fascists. Toto Koopman gave up her luxurious life and almost lost her life spying for the allies.

I've read celebrity gossip and I've read historical novels but I'm not sure I've ever encountered both wrapped up in the same book.

Probably the most shocking part of the book is what Coco Chanel did during the war. It's a travesty that Coco Chanel is known 70 years later not to mention has her reputation mostly intact despite being complicit with the Nazis while a hero like Toto remains mostly unknown.

I hope this book is a big step at rectifying that. I'm honestly surprised Toto's life has not been the subject of a movie. I could se Angelina Jolie staring.

I always appreciate when a writers finds a story like this that has somehow remained untold.

[Jonny Brick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amid accounts of the excellence of Lord Beaverbrook and the horrors of Nazism, this is a smart telling of a story that should be bought up by Hollywood. Coco Chanel's fame and fortune make her Nazi sympathies (sadly) a mere asterisk, while Toto Koopman's life will astound readers as rags and riches intermingle. Tallulah Bankhead has a wild cameo too. This is a well-told story about high society in the inter-war years, with all the bed-swapping and dwellings in the country popular in fiction. But this is fact, sourced expertly from the testimony of the Aitken family. 'Survival' is an apt word for a fabulous tale.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

A 2.5 star read. This book was not what was expected. First clue was the work history of the author, knew it was going to be a fast, beach read and it was. The only major interaction between the two characters was when Toto was a model/partner for a short period of time. Sad the paths both took. One doesn't learn anything new about Chanel and the details of Toto are okay. The author should have written a book about just Toto and gotten into more detail.

[Mrs Selima · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and important story but ...

Fascinating revelations about 2 major fashion figures in WWII, and it’s important to know just how dangerous La Chanel , the twisted self-serving bigot, really was. Today, she would have been ruined (with full justification). But the author’s style spoilt the book. It read like a cheap broadsheet, at times with dubious grammar without proper construction. Dates were fudged or unclear and the storyline was rushed. Hopefully, a great screenwriter like Anthony Horowitz (Foyles War) could do something with this and give us a fab movie.

[Anna Baynes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting story and I didn’t know anything about Coco Chanel’s horrible past and her association with Hitler and the Nazis. However the book wasn’t very well written and a lot of the stories needed some more context on who the people were.

[Raquel]

Covered this book for the NY Post: https://nypost.com/article/catharina-...

[Alastair Mcintyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story of wartime love, sex and espionage. The author displays great journalism, impressive research and the ability to tell a fascinating story.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating examination of the lives of two fashionistas before and during WWII. Each supported a different side of the conflict.

[Roberta Westwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly Toto

Very good book, heavily on the side of Toto, but that was ok, as her story was new to me. More of Coco’s backstory re espionage. Good facts re WWII. A good listen.

I listened to the Audible audio