After months of anticipation, Charlotte Casiraghi is stepping into the literary spotlight with the publication of La Fêlure, her first solo-authored book, released this Thursday, January 29, by Éditions Julliard.
Described as a reflective and intimate literary exploration, La Fêlure weaves together the lives and writings of figures such as Colette, Marguerite Duras, Anna Akhmatova, and musician J.J. Cale, using the concept of personal fracture as a guiding thread. The work marks a significant milestone for Casiraghi, long recognised for her deep engagement with literature.
Before publishing her own work, she trained within the world of publishing and later became the driving force behind Les Rendez-vous littéraires rue Cambon, a literary series hosted by Chanel. Her intellectual journey, however, was shaped much earlier—under the influence of a towering cultural figure.
Casiraghi has often credited Karl Lagerfeld with nurturing her early love of books. A close friend of her mother, Caroline of Monaco, the late designer played a formative role in introducing her to demanding and unconventional literary worlds.
In past interviews, Casiraghi recalled how Lagerfeld’s passion for writers such as Katherine Mansfield and Emily Dickinson left a lasting impression. During extended stays with him in Biarritz as a teenager, she was exposed to authors including Lou Andreas-Salomé, Rainer Maria Rilke, and complex works of German philosophy—often sent to her by post long after she returned home.
That shared passion created a rare bond. Casiraghi has spoken of a profound intellectual closeness forged through reading, one that transcended age and discipline. The literary events she later curated at rue Cambon were conceived, in part, as a tribute to that influence.
Lagerfeld himself never hid the central role literature played in his life. In a 2012 interview, he described reading as an almost compulsive necessity, explaining that books had been his constant companions since childhood. For him, literature was not a public performance but a private territory of curiosity and freedom—an attitude that clearly resonated with Casiraghi.
With La Fêlure, Charlotte Casiraghi now brings that inheritance full circle, transforming years of reading, mentorship, and reflection into a personal literary voice of her own.
