On the occasion of the Centennial of the founding of this unparalleled hotel whose worldwide reputation makes it one of Nice’s “jewels,” its legendary owner, Madame Jeanne Augier, wanted to share her memories and confessions. In the autumn of her life, these words take on the appearance of a testament and a legacy.
Madame Augier opened for us that famous box that all grandmothers jealously keep in a hidden closet in their old house.
The box is open, and the photos, memories, anecdotes, childhood, the course of her life, rich in events and encounters, all of this is delivered to us pell-mell. There is no chronological order, and from one chapter to another, you will find repetitions, but the aim being to tell her story, you will understand her book better if you open it at random, reading (for example) about the arrival of crowned heads, the international radiance of her reputation, or the chapter dedicated to cinema, where the mistress of the place evokes the whims of stars of the seventh art, crowds of idols trampling outside the entrance of her museum palace in anticipation of an unreachable icon.
Madame Augier recounts her ‘treasure hunts’, hunting everywhere: castles, old mansions, or auctions, the rare piece that would add a touch of nobility to her palace. She made the Negresco a museum, and her book is essentially a call to rally for the sustainability of her life’s work, this hotel, which is probably the only one that meets the definition of luxury on our riviera.
This book is, in a way, a testament, her own. One single will, to maintain the Negresco and its riches within the heritage of France, for Madame Augier loves her country.
The Lady of the Negresco is a guide to discover this palace; it should not be read, but leafed through, dog-eared, annotated, and to thank this great Lady for this gift, having opened her memory box for us.
Thierry Jan
