Riviera Dreams: Love and War on the French Riviera

In 1926, a young American architect named Barry Dierks arrived in Paris and immediately fell in love with France. Teaming up with his partner, a former British Army officer, they constructed a stunning white, flat-roofed Modernist masterpiece on the rocks below the Esterel, with breathtaking views of the Mediterranean. This iconic creation was named Le Trident and quickly captured the attention of the Riviera. The duo, known as "those two charmers", soon found themselves thriving at the center of Riviera society as more villa commissions poured in. Throughout the years, Dierks designed and built over 70 of the most recognizable villas on the Riviera for various clients, including Somerset Maugham's Villa Mauresque, Jack Warner's Villa Aujourd'hui, the Marquess of Cholmondeley's Villa Le Roc, and Maxine Elliott's Chateau de l'Horizon - later the home of Aly Khan and Rita Hayworth.

The book, Riviera Dreaming, recounts the remarkable lives, romances, and escapades that unfolded within the walls of these glamorous residences, offering an unparalleled depiction of life on the Cote d'Azur during the height of the Jazz Age.

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