Chanel Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2011/2012 fashion show
A model presents a creation by German designer Karl Lagerfeld for French fashion house Chanel as part of his Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2011/2012 fashion show in Paris Reuters

A soon-to-be-released biography titled "Coco Chanel: An Intimate Life" promises insights into Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel's alleged bisexuality, multiple affairs and love affair with a Nazi spy.

In the book, due for release in November, author Lisa Chaney claims to have evidence that proves the designer used drugs, experimented with her sexuality and had affairs with married men, including Señor Salvador Dalí.

Chaney uses reportedly discovered letters and documents from the Swiss Federal Archives to quell any doubt as to the truth of some of the less-palatable aspects of Chanel's colourful lifestyle.

Most of Chanel's infamous life has not been kept secret, including a series of affairs with a number of high-profile men including Nazi spy Hans Günther von Dincklage and Igor Stravinsky.

A WWD Fashion News report says the book is able to prove that the lover in question, Hans Günther von Dincklage, did indeed spy for the Nazis throughout the Second World War.

"Coco Chanel: An Intimate Life" is not the first biopic of the fashion maverick's life. A re-released biography, "Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life" by Justine Picardie, which included illustrations by Karl Lagerfeld, has drawn attention to Chanel's use of opiates before, saying the designer saw morphine as a "harmless sedative," according to The Daily Mail.

A 2009 movie, "Coco Before Chanel," although successful, drew criticism for playing down some of Chanel's less-savory antics, while "Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky," also released in 2009, throws a spotlight onto the designer's love affair with the Russian composer.