The House of Fragile Things: Jewish Art Collectors and the Fall of France

James McAuley's book explores the lives of four prominent Jewish families—the Camondos, Reinachs, Cahens d'Anvers, and Rothschilds—who amassed extraordinary collections of French art and decorative objects to assert their integration into French society.

Despite their wealth, assimilation efforts, and bequests to the French state, they faced virulent antisemitism, exemplified by the Dreyfus Affair, and ultimate devastation during the Nazi occupation, with many family members perishing in the Holocaust.

Through meticulous research, McAuley reveals how these collections served as sanctuaries and statements of identity, blending personal solace with cultural legacy in a fragile world.