Book of Parisienne portraits goes after three-way auction

Viking is publishing a book of 20 portraits of Parisiennes from it-girl Jeanne Damas and former French Elle editor Lauren Bastide following a "heated" three-way auction.

Rights to the book, entitled In Paris: 20 Women on Life in the City of Light, were acquired jointly by Isabel Wall, assistant editor at Viking and John Siciliano, senior editor at Penguin Books US, from Marleen Seegers at 2 Seas Agency, on behalf of the French publisher Editions Grasset.

The book will be made up of 20 profiles of different Parisiennes, aged from 14 to 70, living in tiny studios or grand apartments, to give readers insight into their world - their homes, their careers and their style - and what being Parisian means to them.

The book is authored by two "quintessentially Parisian" women: it-girl, model, and actress Damas and the former editor-in-chief of French Elle, Bastide.

The portraits are illustrated with more than 100 full-colour photographs, as well as lists of secret Parisian hideaways and style tips, which range from the five different types of red wine to order depending on the occasion and the bars to drink them in, to the best red lipsticks and places to be kissed.

Wall said: “I’m thrilled to be publishing In Paris, a beautiful book by two unique Parisiennes which goes beyond the usual stereotypes to show us how Parisian women really live.”

In Paris: 20 Women on Life in the City of Light, translated by Georgina Collins, will be published in the UK and US in September 2018.