Born in 1930, French chanteuse Barbara (Monique Serf) stepped into the limelight in the early 60s, after the critical success of her albums devoted to the songs of George Brassens and Jacques Brel. Well-known from that point on, she began writing both the lyrics and the music for her own songs. She seduced her public thanks to strikingly beautiful text and a truly dramatic stage presence at her piano. She managed the minor miracle of transforming the sordid episodes of her existence – the war, incest and her father’s abandonment – into sublime songs… With her fragile voice, always on the verge of breaking, Barbara exercised her art with boundless generosity. She remains an intense and moving artiste. In 1997, she left us, to go see the roses blooming on the other side of the path.

This biography is the perfect vehicle for writer Marie Chaix’s tremendous talent. She describes Barbara with gentleness, affection and truth.