Helena Frith Powell's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Helena Frith Powell recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Helena Frith Powell's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1
The original
What Not to Wear
from one of fashion's
most enduringly
stylish women ...

Written by French style guru Madame Genevieve Antoine Dariaux, Elegance is a classic style bible for timeless chic, grace, and poise -- every tidbit of advice today's woman could possibly need, all at the tips of her (perfectly manicured) fingers.From Accessories to Zippers, Madame Dariaux imparts her pearls of wisdom on all things fashion-related -- and also offers advice on other crucial areas in life from shopping with girlfriends (don't) to marriage and...
more
Recommended by Helena Frith Powell, and 1 others.

Helena Frith PowellDariaux offers tips on elegance, which she divides up alphabetically. Under the letter L there are entries on leather, lingerie, luggage, luncheons and luxury. (Source)

See more recommendations for this book...

2

Bonjour tristesse

La villa est magnifique, l'été brûlant, la Méditerranée toute proche. Cécile a dix-sept ans. Elle ne connaît de l'amour que des baisers, des rendez-vous, des lassitudes. Pas pour longtemps. Son père, veuf, est un adepte joyeux des liaisons passagères et sans importance. Ils s'amusent, ils n'ont besoin de personne, ils sont heureux. La visite d'une femme de cœur, intelligente et calme, vient troubler ce délicieux désordre. Comment écarter la menace ? Dans la pinède embrasée, un jeu cruel se prépare.
C'était l'été 1954. On entendait pour la première fois la voix sèche et rapide d'un «...
more
Recommended by Helena Frith Powell, and 1 others.

Helena Frith PowellIt gives an amazing insight into that awful stage of becoming a woman. (Source)

See more recommendations for this book...

3

Gigi and The Cat

GIGI TRANSLATED BY ROGER SENHOUSE, THE CAT TRANSLATED BY ANTONIA WHITE

Gigi's days are filled with cigars, lobster, lace and superstitions: the education of a future courtesan. Bored and unconvinced by what she's taught, Gigi surprises all with her approach to love. In this classic turn-of-the-century novella, Colette unveils Gigi's journey into womanhood in rich and supple prose.

In 'The Cat', a story of burgeoning sexuality and blossoming love, an exquisite strong-minded Russian Blue is struggling for mastery of Alain with his seductive fiancée, Camille.
less
Recommended by Helena Frith Powell, and 1 others.

Helena Frith PowellIt’s a good example of how even being beautiful and well groomed is not enough. You have to have something else to captivate a man. (Source)

See more recommendations for this book...

4
This volume contains three of Elizabeth David's most popular cookery books: 'Mediterranean Food', 'French Country Cooking' and 'Summer Cooking'. less

Mary BerryLast year my husband and I finally bought our own home in the British countryside and in it was an AGA stove. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s an old-fashioned cooker which is always on. That’s useful in the cold, damp British climate. Many people turn theirs off in summer, but we found we didn’t need to—it was still cold enough in July for it to be nice to have a warm kitchen hearth. (Source)

Helena Frith PowellEating is fundamental to life and to some extent defines you. You don’t look good if you live off McDonald’s and Diet Coke. (Source)

Jojo TullohFrench Country Cooking has got briefly written recipes that are encouraging but also kind of improving. It makes you feel like you need to try harder, which is a good thing, but then Elizabeth David says something like, ‘The merit of food, all different kinds of food, is less important than the spirit with which cooking is approached.’ As opposed to being determined to do it in a spirit of... (Source)

See more recommendations for this book...

5

Out of Africa

Out of Africa is Isak Dinesen's memoir of her years in Africa, from 1914 to 1931, on a four-thousand-acre coffee plantation in the hills near Nairobi. She had come to Kenya from Denmark with her husband, and when they separated she stayed on to manage the farm by herself, visited frequently by her lover, the big-game hunter Denys Finch-Hatton, for whom she would make up stories "like Scheherazade." In Africa, "I learned how to tell tales," she recalled many years later. "The natives have an ear still. I told stories constantly to them, all kinds." Her account of her African adventures,... more
Recommended by Brigid Keenan, Helena Frith Powell, and 2 others.

Brigid KeenanAn incredible introduction to Africa, and I read the book when I needed it most. (Source)

Helena Frith PowellI found the book itself inspirational, and I found the fact that a woman had written it doubly inspirational. (Source)

See more recommendations for this book...

Don't have time to read Helena Frith Powell's favorite books? Read Shortform summaries.

Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:

  • Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
  • Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
  • Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.