Historical

The Postmistress of Paris

The Postmistress of Paris

  • Downloads：1085
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-12-25 02:21:39
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Meg Waite Clayton
  • ISBN：0062946986
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Now a Good Morning America Buzz Book， People Magazine pick， Indie Next Pick， Book of the Month Add On， and USA Today “5 Books Not To Miss”！

The New York Times bestselling author of The Last Train to London revisits the dark early days of the German occupation in France in this haunting novel—a love story and a tale of high-stakes danger and incomparable courage—about a young American heiress who helps artists hunted by the Nazis escape from war-torn Europe。


Wealthy， beautiful Naneé was born with a spirit of adventure。 For her， learning to fly is freedom。 When German tanks roll across the border and into Paris， this woman with an adorable dog and a generous heart joins the resistance。 Known as the Postmistress because she delivers information to those in hiding， Naneé uses her charms and skill to house the hunted and deliver them to safety。

Photographer Edouard Moss has escaped Germany with his young daughter only to be interned in a French labor camp。 His life collides with Nanée’s in this sweeping tale of romance and danger set in a world aflame with personal and political passion。

Inspired by the real life Chicago heiress Mary Jayne Gold， who worked with American journalist Varian Fry to smuggle artists and intellectuals out of France， The Postmistress of Paris is the haunting story of an indomitable woman whose strength， bravery， and love is a beacon of hope in a time of terror。

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Reviews

Kary ，

Took me a while to read but I liked that it wasn’t the typical WWII book。 I had never read anything from this angle。 The humanity or trying to keep some sense of self during trying times。 It still blows my mind that we as a people become sheep and follow a madman’s ravings and turn against our fellow man。

Kristen Kitchen ，

This book claims to be based on a real person， but if I was Mary Jayne Gold， I wouldn't want the association。 There is no urgency and no depth。 I found the long， descriptive chapters about artists pretentious and boring。 The "action" scenes never worried me。 This is the most vanilla WW2 novel I've ever finished， and I didn't understand the romance at all。 It felt fast and forced。 （Also。。。 if you're basing a character off a real person。。。 aren't you expected to hold steady to that person's life？ This book claims to be based on a real person， but if I was Mary Jayne Gold， I wouldn't want the association。 There is no urgency and no depth。 I found the long， descriptive chapters about artists pretentious and boring。 The "action" scenes never worried me。 This is the most vanilla WW2 novel I've ever finished， and I didn't understand the romance at all。 It felt fast and forced。 （Also。。。 if you're basing a character off a real person。。。 aren't you expected to hold steady to that person's life？ This book doesn't even claim to do that。）There are a gazillion HF books based around this time frame。 It is an well-saturated market。 Go check out one of those books instead。 This one isn't worth your time。 Honestly， I only finished this book so I could finish my BOTM annual challenge。 Otherwise， it wasn't worth my time。 。。。more

Elsalina ，

3。5/5

*Nan* ，

3。5 stars

Katie ，

Five stars because of excellent writing and historical information。

Joan ，

Naneé was a little wild for her family， criticized for her behavior。 She is an American in Paris who has learned to fly。 She stays in Paris when WWII begins。 She helps to get Jews and people wanted by the Germans out of the country。 Her father dies leaving her a home in Michigan。 She meets Edouard Moss， a photographer with a little girl。 Edouard was sent to prison and his little girl was taken by her aunt。 When the aunt can't care for her， she is left with the nuns who take great care of her。 Na Naneé was a little wild for her family， criticized for her behavior。 She is an American in Paris who has learned to fly。 She stays in Paris when WWII begins。 She helps to get Jews and people wanted by the Germans out of the country。 Her father dies leaving her a home in Michigan。 She meets Edouard Moss， a photographer with a little girl。 Edouard was sent to prison and his little girl was taken by her aunt。 When the aunt can't care for her， she is left with the nuns who take great care of her。 Naneé goes to get the girl to return her to Edouard。 Edouard， his child and Naneé must escape France。 They take their lives in their hands to escape and fall in love on the way。 。。。more

Lisa Goodmurphy ，

3。5 starsA fascinating and suspenseful WWII historical novel about a wealthy young American woman helping artists escape from France following the Nazi occupation in 1940 whose life becomes intertwined with Edouard， a Jewish photographer， and his young daughter， Luki。 The narrative shifts mostly between Nanée and Edouard， however， the occasional chapter from Luki's perspective shows the heartbreaking impact that war and separation from family had on young children。This is the sort of novel where 3。5 starsA fascinating and suspenseful WWII historical novel about a wealthy young American woman helping artists escape from France following the Nazi occupation in 1940 whose life becomes intertwined with Edouard， a Jewish photographer， and his young daughter， Luki。 The narrative shifts mostly between Nanée and Edouard， however， the occasional chapter from Luki's perspective shows the heartbreaking impact that war and separation from family had on young children。This is the sort of novel where I love reading the author's notes at the end of the book as they invariably send me down a rabbit hole of Google searches to learn more about some of the real life people involved。 Although Nanée， the main female character in this book is fictional， the author's inspiration in creating her was real life Chicago heiress Mary Jayne Gold who worked with journalist Varian Fry to smuggle artists and intellectuals out of Nazi-occupied France。 I wasn't familiar with either Gold or Fry or the organization they worked with before reading The Postmistress of Paris and I'm always interested in learning more about the brave individuals who risked their own safety to help save lives in war-torn Europe。 。。。more

Laurie ，

Wonderfully unique work about Vichy France in 1940。 It elaborates on a time in France， especially in the Marseille area， where desperate attempts to save refugees are being carried out by Americans living in exile， along with many others。 The story is intriguing and very hard to put down。 It is loosely based on the life of a real-life American heiress living in France at the time that World War II breaks out。

Sue Stearns ，

This book started a little slow but once it got going the characters all came alive and I was sucked right in！ Very good story！

smalltownbookmom ，

This was a moving WWII tale about an American heiress going above and beyond during the wartime in France to help the resistance。 I loved that she was a pilot and was trying to help a German Jewish refugee and his daughter to find safety。 One of the more original WWII espionage stories I've read， perfect for fans of books like Code name Helene or the Black swan of Paris。 This was a moving WWII tale about an American heiress going above and beyond during the wartime in France to help the resistance。 I loved that she was a pilot and was trying to help a German Jewish refugee and his daughter to find safety。 One of the more original WWII espionage stories I've read， perfect for fans of books like Code name Helene or the Black swan of Paris。 。。。more

Paige ，

Another deeply researched historical novel from a writer who has moments of brilliance。 This one was a bit hard to engage with in places， but the beautifully rendered final scenes were worth waiting for。

Anne ，

Utterly boring。 I suppose Professor Ellie Mouse for the kangaroo is meant to be allegorical for the mother who teaches math， Elza Moss。 I assume the baby kangaroo constantly being lost is supposed to reflect the constant separation of the child Luke from here parents。 Nothing happened in the book。

Barb Martin ，

Be careful if you're like me and tend to Google everything whenever you read a book based on real people or events。 Googling "Bending Nude" gets you more than you might be bargaining for。Nanee is an American in Paris when Hitler's Nazis invade France。 All she seems to want is to live up to her father's comment from when she was young that she was "a brave girl。" She helps to smuggle Jews and other "enemies" of Hitler to relative safety outside of France。 Among those she helps is Edouard and his Be careful if you're like me and tend to Google everything whenever you read a book based on real people or events。 Googling "Bending Nude" gets you more than you might be bargaining for。Nanee is an American in Paris when Hitler's Nazis invade France。 All she seems to want is to live up to her father's comment from when she was young that she was "a brave girl。" She helps to smuggle Jews and other "enemies" of Hitler to relative safety outside of France。 Among those she helps is Edouard and his daughter， Luki。 This is a slowly paced novel based on a real heiress， Mary Jayne Gold。 Despite Edouard's time spent in a work camp and the very real dangers that dogged our little team of heroes， the story lacked a real sense of horror or danger。Still， I enjoy Meg Waite Clayton， and I liked this book。 I've just read other World War II novels that tore out my gut more。 。。。more

Paco Morales ，

Está re bueno

Andi ，

The writing and the narrative was so boring。 First and last time reading anything from this author。 Made it 100 pages in before I gave up。

Rachel Ellerbrock ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Why does it have to end like that。 Also i felt like the writing was going around in circles and not like saying things out right。 I was shocked when Luki turned out not to be Edouards daughter。

Carla Johnson-Hicks ，

The Postmistress of Paris is the story of a young American heiress， Naneé， who left her home in the midwest， to live in Paris。 When war breaks out， this free-spirited young woman and her dog， relocate to Southern France where she joins the resistance。 Naneé works with American jounalist， Varian Fry delivering messages to people in hiding， thus the name， The Postmistress。 Being American， she was given more freedom than the French。 At times， she also participated in bringing some of them to safety The Postmistress of Paris is the story of a young American heiress， Naneé， who left her home in the midwest， to live in Paris。 When war breaks out， this free-spirited young woman and her dog， relocate to Southern France where she joins the resistance。 Naneé works with American jounalist， Varian Fry delivering messages to people in hiding， thus the name， The Postmistress。 Being American， she was given more freedom than the French。 At times， she also participated in bringing some of them to safety。 The story and Naneé's character is inspired by Mary Jayne Gold， an American heiress from Chicago， who helped artists and intellectuals escape Nazi-controlled Europe。 The story is set in southern France during 1940-1941， before the US became involved in WWII。 The first part of the book is a bit slow， but it picks up and I became invested in the story。 Naneé's character was very well developed and believable。 Her courage， caring nature and willingness to risk her own life to help others is inspiring。 One of the main people that Naneé is involved with is photographer Edouard Moss and his daughter。 He was arrested and placed in a camp， separated from his daughter， who he promised his wife he would never be separated from before she was killed by the nazis。 I was very impressed with Edouard as well。 He took pictures of some of the atrocities risking his own life so the world would know what was happening in Germany and beyond the borders as the nazis took control of more countries。 I enjoy books based on real life characters， and MaryJane Gould was a great person， using her own personal wealth to help others， as well as risking her own life。 The Postmistress of Paris is a well written historical fiction story that I recommend。 I always like learning about people or events I do not know a lot about and this happened with this book。 There are a few disturbing scenes in this story， one involving a sexual encounter that could be a trigger for some people， but it is not explicitly described and is an integral part of the story。 There is also some romance that was not a huge part of the story and I'm not sure if it was necessary， but it did not detract from the story。 Overall an excellent story。 Imani Jade Powers and Graham Halstead narrated the audiobook and did a very good job。 Their pacing， tone， expression， accents and voices were all well done and added to my enjoyment of the story。 The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request。 The rating and opinions shared are my own。 。。。more

Melania ，

4+🌟…an engrossing read that really make you root for the characters。 This book reminds me a little of the Nightingale（a light version of it）， and it is great historical fiction from the standpoint of an American heiress， her friends and the beginning and part of Nazi occupation in France。 My favorite character was her sister in law T and her relationship with her dog。 The story is not set in Paris for long， but in the south of France。

Hermione ，

The opening chapter of this book has us meeting Nanee flying a plane。 She doesn't fly a plane for the rest of the book。 Which feels a bit odd。 On the whole， this felt less like espionage， thriller or that kind of territory than a love story。 The book feels fairly evenly divided between Nanee and Edouard， and there's a lot of French resistance back story， but the main plot line is their love story and their plans to reunite him with his daughter。 It's not strictly a romance novel， though。 It's st The opening chapter of this book has us meeting Nanee flying a plane。 She doesn't fly a plane for the rest of the book。 Which feels a bit odd。 On the whole， this felt less like espionage， thriller or that kind of territory than a love story。 The book feels fairly evenly divided between Nanee and Edouard， and there's a lot of French resistance back story， but the main plot line is their love story and their plans to reunite him with his daughter。 It's not strictly a romance novel， though。 It's still a war story， but I think I would have liked more stories of Nanee as the Postmistress and maybe less Edouard？ I don't know。 On the whole， though， it's a good story and I liked the overall tone of the book， jaunty in the face of dark times。 I liked Nanee a lot， Edouard situation was heart wrenching and the side characters are all great and add to the story。 Special mention to Dagobert the poodle and the toy kangaroo and Joey。 Thank you to the publisher for the ARC of this book for review。 。。。more

Shannon ，

I am starting to love WWII historical fiction that focus on such a niche topic。 I did grow tired of how much historical fiction that is centered around this war and time period but when the story highlights a forgotten person， or group of people， who still had a big impact and helped people I can appreciate these stories more。 The Postmistress was a beautiful story of a found family and highlighting the struggles of the everyday citizen in occupied France。 Nanee was an interesting character to f I am starting to love WWII historical fiction that focus on such a niche topic。 I did grow tired of how much historical fiction that is centered around this war and time period but when the story highlights a forgotten person， or group of people， who still had a big impact and helped people I can appreciate these stories more。 The Postmistress was a beautiful story of a found family and highlighting the struggles of the everyday citizen in occupied France。 Nanee was an interesting character to follow and how she used her influence and wealth to help refugees。 She was aware of her privilege and continued to acknowledge that being an American in France she had it better than most even though she could still be arrested。 I loved her relationship with Eduard and his daughter Luki， though I could have done without the chapters from her perspective because reading from her childish perspective left me annoyed at times， though it still worked for the story and made sense。 If you are a fan of WWII historical fiction， consider reading this one because it was beautifully written and the story was so different from the hundreds of other fictions focusing on this time。 。。。more

Morgan ，

My reason for reading this book:ttAccording to the author the story is “Inspired by the real life Chicago heiress Mary Jayne Gold， who worked with American journalist Varian Fry to smuggle artists and intellectuals out of France…”However， the book in no way displays the vital role of the hero Varian Fry or the orginazation he created。 Fry’s name does not even appear until page 79。 And having an irritating little dog become one of the characters is too much nonsense for the reader to take this se My reason for reading this book:ttAccording to the author the story is “Inspired by the real life Chicago heiress Mary Jayne Gold， who worked with American journalist Varian Fry to smuggle artists and intellectuals out of France…”However， the book in no way displays the vital role of the hero Varian Fry or the orginazation he created。 Fry’s name does not even appear until page 79。 And having an irritating little dog become one of the characters is too much nonsense for the reader to take this seriously。I can see where anyone who does not know anything about Varian Fry would find this book appealing。 It is clear that the author has no understanding of the very serious and dangerous work carried out by Varian Fry and his orginazion。 From my point of view it is demeaning to Varian Fry and his organization who got over 1，500 people out of France before he was arrested。The book is slow and filled with rubbish and fluff having nothing whatsoever to do with the suggested plot of the story and almost nothing to do with what Fry accomplished。 It does not even do justice to the real Mary Jayne Gold！ Since Varian Fry is a bona fide hero who did remarkable things I urge readers to read “Surrender on Demand” by Varian Fry。 Preface by Warren Christopher。A list of those aided by Fry and his organization can be found on Google。Varian Fry died alone in Connecticut in September 1967， up to which time he had not yet received one word of recognition for his work。 He was 59 years old。This book has done nothing to honor this hero and the organization he created out of thin air。Updated **In 1980 Mary Jayne Gold wrote a book of her own: “Crossroads Marseilles， 1940” which I have not read but will likely not be ‘fiction’。 。。。more

Tracy Ottum ，

The writing of this book was great。 Lots of characters but easy to keep them a part。 Great expression of emotions。

Authentikate ，

I picked this in my BOM and I’m disappointed。 I thought the angle to the story would make revisiting WWII historical fiction genre worth it。 I appreciated the idea （to get artists and intellectuals out of France） and looked forward to the book。 I found the writing clunky （how was it described as “lyrical”！？） the characters flat， and the plot slow。 Yeah， this one was not for me。 2。5 stars。

Bookclubcheerleader ，

Meg does it again！ She tells a story from a different angle！ WW2 story like you've never read。 A smart and pensive read about a character you're likely to never forget！ Meg does it again！ She tells a story from a different angle！ WW2 story like you've never read。 A smart and pensive read about a character you're likely to never forget！ 。。。more

Elstirling ，

Nice to know the author collaborated with a Black author。 Reading this I can only imagine how Belle could live with her secret。 Very well written。

Kay ，

3。75

Jenna ，

3。5 stars

Michele Rice Carpenter ，

Like many historical fiction novels The Postmistress of Paris is based on a real person。 I enjoyed this book。 The characters were nicely developed and the storyline flowed。 I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this genre。 I'm looking forward to reading more by Meg Waite Clayton。I won this book in a goodreads giveaway。 Like many historical fiction novels The Postmistress of Paris is based on a real person。 I enjoyed this book。 The characters were nicely developed and the storyline flowed。 I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this genre。 I'm looking forward to reading more by Meg Waite Clayton。I won this book in a goodreads giveaway。 。。。more

Fay ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Inspired by real characters and events。

Dana Simon ，

In May 2010， my husband and I celebrated our 20th anniversary by traveling from Paris to Avignon by car。 We visited markets， wineries， chateaus， synagogues， cathedrals， small towns etc。 While in an Aix-en-Provence， we spoke to a Jewish shop keeper who told us that there was a transit camp 15 min away where the Nazis interned creative artists at a brick factory。 We drove there and found a train box car， memorial stone and some photos depicting what happened there。 There was a small building that In May 2010， my husband and I celebrated our 20th anniversary by traveling from Paris to Avignon by car。 We visited markets， wineries， chateaus， synagogues， cathedrals， small towns etc。 While in an Aix-en-Provence， we spoke to a Jewish shop keeper who told us that there was a transit camp 15 min away where the Nazis interned creative artists at a brick factory。 We drove there and found a train box car， memorial stone and some photos depicting what happened there。 There was a small building that inside was covered floor to ceiling by artwork drawn in chalk， paint， pen and pencil。 It was amazing。 But the most shocking to us was the Camp Des Milles brick factory。 We weren’t able to tour it but did drive around the compound。 I can’t even begin to imagine what living in that camp was like。 The camp isn’t in an area in the middle of nowhere。 It’s inconceivable that a place like this could exist in the open so close to a major town in France。 I truly enjoyed this book， first because it clarified and taught me info that I knew nothing about regarding surrealism， the resistance movement， Americans working to help Jewish refugees leave France etc。 I highly recommend reading The Postmistress of Paris。 Yet another enjoyable book by Meg Waite Clayton。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Postmistress of Paris

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Postmistress of Paris&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Postmistress of Paris&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0