Americans and the Making of the Riviera

by Michael Nelson

Led by Cole Porter in the 1920s, Americans demonstrated that the best season to visit the French Riviera was not the winter, as had been the practice, but the summer. With this shift, Americans became the dominant shapers of tourism on the Riviera in the 20th century, yet the American achievement in revolutionizing the economy of the South of France is largely unsung. This insightful history details the American influence on the Riviera and the contributions of several individuals. It pays particular attention to such writers and artists as Edith Wharton, Gerald Murphy, Henry Clews, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, whose work drew energy from their stays in the Riviera and in turn helped to cement an idyllic image of the Riviera in the American popular consciousness.

232 pages, Paperback

First published November 13, 2007

About the author

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Michael Nelson was General Manager of Reuters, the international news organisation.

Nelson was born near London on 30 April 1929. He was educated at Latymer Upper School, London, and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he read Modern History. He joined Reuters as a journalist in 1952.

Since he retired from Reuters in 1989 he has written five books – War of the Black Heavens: The Battles of Western Broadcasting in the Cold War (Syracuse University Press and Brasseys, London, 1997); Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera , (I.B. Tauris, 2001); Americans and the Making of the Riviera (McFarland, 2007) Castro and Stockmaster: A Life in Reuters (Matador, 2011); and The French Riviera: A History (Matador, 2016).

Nelson, who lives in Notting Hill, London, and Opio, France, is married to the former Helga den Ouden and they have two sons and one daughter.

Reviews

[Paul Magnussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the follow-up to Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera, and describes the expansion and popularisation of the Riviera. It’s as well written as its predecessor, but the narrative is inevitably fragmented, consisting of vignettes rather than of a continuous story, as previously; and so it’s not quite as interesting.

It’s still good, though.