The Rainbow People: A Gaudy World of the Very Rich and Those Who Served Them

by Richard Collier

Stated First Edition. NOT ex-library. Some edgewear with small taped tears, price clipped, small sticker front cover, o/w tight and clean.

278 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Richard Collier, was born in London, England in 1924. He joined the Royal Air Force at eighteen after that, as a war correspondent, he traveled throughout the Far East.

He worked on numerous British and American magazines and wrote more than half a dozen books about the Second World War.

Reviews

[Lesley Botez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a name, not a date, not an outfit, not a cocktail, not a party has been forgotten in this scrupulously researched book of the Rainbow People. Famous for being famous, and owning almost limitless fortunes, the Rainbows grew to prominence in the late 19th century, particularly in the US. They flourished throughout the first part of the 20th century in spite of two world wars and the never mentioned Spanish flu, to finally end with the death of Aristotle Onassis in 1975. The painstakingly recounted tales of their opulence, extravagance and misbehaviour is difficult to read in today's more outwardly egalitarian times. I had hoped to find details of designers and haute couture, beauty and elegance as I research a paper on luxury fashion after the pandemic. Instead I found decadence and waste.