A dangerous woman : American beauty, noted philanthropist, Nazi collaborator : the life of Florence Gould / Susan Ronald.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 339-370) and index.

Part I. The aspiring chanteuse -- San Francisco -- From fire to flood and death -- La Parisienne -- War and the boy next door -- Young Mrs. Heynemann -- Home again, war, and folies -- The man they call "Franck" -- Part II. The crazy years -- Taming all these monsters -- Leaving the perfumed air of Bohemia -- Careless people -- An amusing intermezzo for millionaires -- Taking stock -- The Monégasque feud fit for a prince -- Hollywood calling -- The phoenix rises -- Scandal, America, and separate lives -- Dark horizons -- Part III. Darkness falls -- Fifth columnists and fellow travelers -- Fall of France -- Ludwig -- The "anything goes" occupation -- In the garden of earthly delights -- The occupation, 1942-1943 -- Florence the banker -- Liberation and treason -- Part IV. Still a Gould -- So safe havens -- Paper clips and friends cast long shadows -- A fortune to give away -- Queen of the Riviera -- Epilogue.

"A revealing biography of Florence Gould, fabulously wealthy socialite and patron of the arts, who hid a dark past as a Nazi collaborator in 1940s Paris. Born in turn-of-the-century San Francisco to French parents, Florence moved to Paris at the age of eleven. Believing that only money brought respectability and happiness, she became the third wife of Frank Jay Gould, son of the railway millionaire Jay Gould. She guided Frank's millions into hotels and casinos, creating a luxury hotel and casino empire. She entertained Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Joseph Kennedy, and many Hollywood stars, like Charlie Chaplin, who became her lover. While the party ended for most Americans after the Crash of 1929, Frank and Florence refused to go home. During the Occupation, Florence took several German lovers and hosted a controversial salon. As the Allies closed in, the unscrupulous Florence became embroiled in a notorious money-laundering operation for fleeing high-ranking Nazis. Yet after the war, not only did she avoid prosecution, but her vast fortune bought her respectability as a significant contributor to the Metropolitan Museum and New York University, among many others. It also earned her friends like Estee Lauder, who obligingly looked the other way. A seductive and utterly amoral woman who loved to say "money doesn't care who owns it," Florence's life proved a strong argument that perhaps money can buy happiness after all."--Dust jacket.