1. “Medieval children playing”: Pablo Picasso, New York Review of Books, Nov. 25–Dec. 8, 2010, p. 27.

2. Paris Herald newsman: Shirer, Berlin Diary, pp. 6–8.

3. By June, the Ritz boutiques: Roulet, Ritz: A Story That Outshines the Legend, p. 99.

4. Chanel’s salesgirls: Edmonde Charles-Roux, L’Irrégulière, p. 524.

5. “The first time I saw”: Gabrielle Palasse Labrunie, telephone interview with author, April 28, 2009.

6. It was a French version: Charles-Roux, Chanel, p. 298.

7. The keystone to peace: Gabrielle Palasse Labrunie, interview with author, Yermenonville, France, April, 27, 2009; Leslie Field, Bendor, the Golden Duke of Westminster, p. 262.

8. “because two gentlemen”: Wallach, Chanel: Her Style and Her Life, p. 19.

9. she “enraged” her: Ibid., p. 112.

10. “Chanel is finished”: Galante, Mademoiselle Chanel, p. 169.

11. swathing the performers: Charles-Roux, Chanel, p. 304.

12. Cocteau remembered: Madsen, Chanel: A Woman of Her Own, p. 220.

13. British Vogue: Ibid., p. 221.

14. The Chanel collection: Charles-Roux, Chanel, p. 302.

15. Clare Boothe Luce: Clare Boothe Luce, Europe in the Spring, pp. 61, 63, 126.

16. It was payback: Charles-Roux: Chanel, p. 305.

17. “How could I suppose”: Haedrich, Coco Chanel: Her Life, Her Secrets, p. 142.

18. His anti-Semitism: Edmonde Charles-Roux, interviewed by the author, Paris, April 21, 2009.

19. Chanel’s ex-lover: Field, Bendor, the Golden Duke of Westminster, p. 265.

20. They believed she was a British agent: ADGMD, personal records, Lombardi, Alberto, No. B728.

21. Italian archives tell: Archivio centrale dello Stato (ACS), handwritten letter to the Justice Minister from Lombardi concerning his wife, Vera Bate: timbro della SPD 12.8.41, data in alto 23.8.41, n. 111684 A4-24.8.41.

22. “Mrs. Lombardi”: ACS, Ministry of Interior, Envelope 216, Vera Lombardi report.

23. One week later: Ibid.

24. From the time he was mobilized: Gabrielle Palasse Labrunie, interview with author, Yermenonville, France, April, 27, 2009.

25. “Oh, Iribe!”: Galante, Mademoiselle Chanel, p. 141.

26. “There is nothing worse than solitude”: Ibid.

27. “I’ve closed the business”: Charles-Roux, L’Irrégulière, pp. 536–37; my translation.

28. “war was a time to hide”: Ibid., p. 535.

29. They were furious: Ibid., pp. 533–34.

30. What would Paris wartime: Ibid., p. 534.

31. “Life is about combat: Paul Morand, L’Allure de Chanel, p. 206; my translation.

32. “In spite of repeated denials”: The article, “Gems of Far East Blend With Gowns,” by Kathleen Cannell, did not appear in the New York Times until May 6, 1940.

33. He knowingly assured: Gidel, Coco Chanel, pp. 292–93.

34. The reports amused: Ibid., p. 302.

35. During one such alert, Coward: Claude Roulet, Ritz: A Story That Outshines the Legend, pp. 106–7.

36. Most French families: “Half-Year Mark,” Time, March 11, 1940.

37. It was worse: “GERMANY: To Paris,” Time, May 20, 1940, p. 32.

38. A million and a half men: Ousby, Occupation, p. 6. Vividly put: had the French war dead of 1914–1918 risen up and marched at an ordinary pace through the Arc de Triomphe, it would have taken eleven days and eleven nights for them to pass through.

39. “What they do with this information”: Ousby, Occupation, p. 22.

40. A few men: Ibid., p. 14.

41. The French generals: Michael Bloch, The Secret File of the Duke of Windsor: The Private Papers 1937–1972, p. 149.

42. Winston Churchill visited: Roulet, Ritz: A Story That Outshines the Legend, pp. 103–4.

43. “Hitler and his cohorts”: A.P.H. in Punch, London, February 14, 1940, as cited in Luce, Europe in the Spring, Preface.

44. “Last week long-dreaded World War II”: “Half-Year Mark,” Time, March 11, 1940.

45. They abandoned their mistress: Roulet, Ritz: A Story That Outshines the Legend, p. 109.

46. While Europe held its breath: Swiss National Archives N7811B.A.6.

47. Driving a Fiat Topolino: Ibid. License plate no. L 878995.

48. But French counterintelligence: CHADAT 7NN 2650.

49. Dessoffy, the daughter: du Plessix Gray, Them, p. 170.

50. had become Dincklage’s witness: CHADAT 7NN 2650.

51. Edmonde Charles-Roux recalled: Edmonde Charles-Roux, interview by author, Paris, April 21, 2009.

52. Indeed, with all mail from Germany: ADV 158W848.

53. Moving from one Swiss canton: Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv: Lugano police report dated December 1, 1939, and signed “Botta.” In 1939, it was illegal to be in Switzerland without prior permission from Swiss federal or cantonal authorities. Strict laws forced foreigners to register either at a hotel or with the local police. The registration formulas were then collected every evening by a police officer and passed to the Swiss central registry in Bern for routine checking. Any undesirable alien could be immediately penalized and expelled.

54. It turned out: Ibid.

55. Within a few days: Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv, Police de Sûreté, November 24, 1939.

56. A Swiss police officer now called on Dincklage: Ibid.

57. Dincklage used his good looks: FSS documents.

58. Later, the Swiss discovered: From a summary of documents translated by Michael Foedrowitz, 2009, found in Swiss National Archives.

59. They would soon show up: NARA WAAG, Secret Jan. 26 1946, U.S. Forces Summary. Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv, November 24, 1939, report.

60. In banner headlines: “GERMANY: To Paris,” Time, May 20, 1940, p. 32.

61. Broadcasting from the German Rundfunk: William L. Shirer, Berlin Diary, pp. 332–33.

62. Hitler’s orders to his army: Ibid., p. 335.

63. According to Shirer: Ibid., p. 385.

64. Panic seized Paris: Harper’s Bazaar, October 1939.

65. Clare Boothe Luce was listening: Boothe Luce, Europe in the Spring, p. 230.