In 1930, American actress Maxine Elliott bought an unpromising piece of land on the Cote d’Azur – “a long 20-metre-wide strip of rocks lying between the sea and a stretch where the railway line and main highway ran next to each other”. To most people, it would have seemed uninhabitable, but to Elliott it had huge potential: a star of stage and screen she had, over the previous two decades, ingratiated herself into the favour of the upper echelons of English high society, and here she saw an opportunity to create a Mediterranean retreat befitting that social world.

Over the following three decades the house Elliott built – the Chateau de l’Horizon – became synonymous with glamour and power. Elliott played host to politicians and royalty, from Anthony Eden and Winston Churchill – with whom she became great friends – to Edward and Mrs Simpson. After Elliott’s death, the house was bought by Prince Aly Khan, who lived there with his wife, Rita Hayworth, and numerous visiting celebrities.

Mary S Lovell’s social history is a meticulously researched and highly entertaining story about the characters who populated this decadent world. The first part of the book is devoted to Elliott: her rise to fame, her love affairs and failed marriages, her astute business dealings and her creation of country houses to which the powerful and the privileged flocked. Lovell’s portrait reveals a complex, ambitious and intelligent – not to mention beautiful – woman, prone to depression and yet hugely courageous during her extraordinary war efforts. Here is a woman surrounded by the rich and famous who craved intimacy and for whom Chateau de l’Horizon was her “last love affair”. Lovell peppers the narrative with seductive anecdotes about minor characters in the story, from tennis star – and Elliott’s lover – Tony Wilding, to an impressive array of party girls and serial mistresses. Elliot is undoubtedly the star, and the later chapters, after her death, are not quite as engaging. But the tone throughout is confiding and intimate, and while the book lacks a layer of psychological acuity, it’s an illuminating read.

• The Riviera Set by Mary S Lovell is published by Abacus (£10.99). To order a copy for £9.34 go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846