Piece of my Heart Penelope Tree

PIECE OF MY HEART BY PENELOPE TREE

Hardback published by Moonflower Books 23rd May 2024

ISBN 9781919618791

Fame, Money, Beauty, Sex, Love, Ari wants them all. And as the face of the 1960s, they’re hers for the taking. But at what cost?

Trapped between the suffocation of English boarding school and a chaotic home dominated by her eccentric mother, Ari longs for a difficult kind of life one lived in the glamour of London, with the pop stars and fashion icons she adores . It seems impossible until she is discovered by Bill Ramsey the notorious bad boy photographer of the swinging sixties set.

Overnight, Ari’s life is transformed into a dizzying whirlwind of drugs, photoshoots and parties. But in the fickle world of fashion, nothing lasts forever and Ari’s addiction, her eating disorder and her increasingly dysfunctional relationship with Ramsey send her life spinning out of control. Suddenly, Ari finds herself wondering how much more of herself she must lose to keep the things she always thought she wanted.

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When I pulled the dress on and straightened it, she drew in delighted breath. “It looks fab on you. Just wow”. She clapped her hands. “ I knew it would work. Right. Now I want you to try another one…”

I tried on outfit after outfit. Everything she gave me fit as if it had been made for me. It didn’t occur to me at the time that this was because Sophie was such a brilliant fashion editor, she had spent days working out the right look for the shoot.

When I tried on the last outfit, Sophie leaned back against her desk, smiling at me. “You know, I had a hunch when I saw Antonie Boucher’s pictures of you in the Sunday Times that you would be perfect for this shoot. Keep on what you are wearing, and let’s go and meet Miss Miller. I want her to see you in person.”

Bea Miller was famous in London fashion for her exacting standards and perfect eye for a great fashion story. So my heart was stuttering as we walked down the corridor to a door, painted high-gloss racing green. Perhaps sensing my sudden panic, Sophie gave me a reassuring smile before knocking.

Thank you so much Moonflower for sending me this fantastic autobiographical novel from the iconic 1960s supermodel Penelope Tree to read and review.

About writer Penelope Tree

Now 74, Penelope has written her first novel, Piece Of My Heart, an honest and strikingly moving explanation of what it takes to make it in the fashion industry, and a coming-of-age story peopled with larger than life characters from high society, fashion, music and film.

Vogue cover model, face of the swinging sixties, and David Bailey’s muse, Penelope Tree was discovered aged 16 at Truman Capote’s legendary 1966 Balck and White Ball and became one of the style icons of the decade, inspiring a generation of future models including Kate Moss.

Born into great privilege in 1949, Penelope Tree was brought up in high society in New York and England as the daughter of Ronald Tree a wealthy Conservative MP and close friend of Winston Churchill and the American socialite Marietta Peabody.

Aged 16 Penelope attended Truman Capote’s 1966 Black and White Ball. There she was spotted by Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon and Diana Vreeland, who all took credit for discovering her. The next day Penelope was commissioned by American vogue to be photographed by Avedon, who was so taken by Penelope’s appearance he said ‘Dont touch her. She is perfect’.

Aged 18 Penelope met and fell in love with photographer David Bailey and moved from New York into his flat in London’s Primrose Hill. Six years later late-onset acne ended her modelling career and her relationship with Bailey. Penelope moved to LA and then Sydney where she married and raised a family. Now 72, Penelope lives in Sussex and continues to model for brands including Fendi and Burberry and regularly appears in the pages of fashion magazines including Vogue, Ellie and Vanity Fair. https://www.instagram.com/penelopetree_official