Women and Their Jewels

<p><b>The word ''jewel'' derives from the Old French word <i>joiel</i>, a word that finds its roots in the words for playing, joy, and enjoyment, proof that jewellery is intimately tied to notions of pleasure and happiness. </b><br><br>For some, it is the pleasure of love, for others, an obsessive passion. For <b>Wallis Simpson</b>, after the throne had passed her by, her jewelled treasures were her solace. As for <b>Maria Callas</b>, the soprano amassed diamonds and rubies to ward off the poverty of her childhood, and to spark the jealousy of a mother she hated. <b>Barbara Hutton</b>, America''s most famous poor little rich girl, went around wearing a tiara, demanding to be called a princess. And they have been the cause of so much drama, <b>Marie-Antoinette</b>, whose diamond necklace identified her and sent her to the guillotine; <b>Joséphine de </b><b>Beauharnais</b>, who was also embroiled in a necklace affair involving Marie-Antoinette''s pearls; <b>Begum Om Habibeh</b>, Miss France 1930, and wife of the Aga Khan, who was robbed of her royal jewellery in the middle of the street...<br><br>In this gloriously illustrated book, novelist and jewellery expert David Lelait-Helo stares into the jewellery boxes of these illustrious women to discover their hearts and their minds.<br><br><i>The women featured are:</i><br><br>Ava Gardner<br>Barbara Hutton<br>Brooke Astor<br>Elizabeth II<br>Elizabeth Taylor<br>Eugénie de Montijo<br>Grace Kelly<br>Helena Rubinstein<br>Jackie Kennedy<br>Diana, Princess of Wales<br>Maria Callas<br>Marie-Antoinette<br>Princess Soraya<br>Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor<br>Begum Om Habibeh</p>