Absolute Love

Claude Francois has been gone for 30 years.
The woman who lived in his shadow reveals the secrets of an all-consuming love.

“Always keep that flame in your eyes alive for me”, he whispers to her. She is dazzled, trembling, overwhelmed with gratitude. It’s the beginning of a fiery passion, marked by madness.
Sylvia was 8 years old when she first heard Claude Francois’ record. His words awakened unknown emotions in her, and she wished she could touch him, declare her love.

One day, as she waits for him with other fans at the entrance to his building, Claude Francois spots her. Not long after, he spirits her away as he’s leaving a gala. Sylvie becomes part of his shadow. She is all at once his wardrobe assistant, his lover, his confidant, the one person who knows him better than anyone. She is fascinated by his talent, drawn by his frailness and his unsatiable need for love. She remains faithful, despite his fits of anger and his harshness towards her.
They stayed together, inseparable, for four years, until the fateful night of the 10th of March 1978. That is the day Claude Francois passed away, plunging Sylvie into darkness.

“I hope that after this book,” writes Sylvie Mathurin, “people will no longer laugh at young girls who haunt the backstages of stars, but will look at them with feeling and with seriousness.”