Whenever the rich and famous are in Paris, they head for the city's most beautiful square, the Place Vendome. This evocatively written volume traces the square's history from its beginnings in the timeof Louis XIV to its life in the twentieth century as Paris's center of fashion, jewelry, high finance, and art. From designers Chanel and Schiaparelli to European high society, Russian grand dukes, Indian maharajas, and celebrities from Lillie Langtry to Ernest Hemingway, a cast of extraordinary personalities have lent the Place Vendome an ineffable aura.