Mistress of the Ritz

Locations
Call Number: Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Benjamin, Melanie, Fiction / Benjamin, Melanie
On Shelf At: Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Benjamin, Melanie	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Benjamin, Melanie	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Benjamin, Melanie	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Benjamin, Melanie	4-week checkout	Due 05-04-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Benjamin, Melanie	4-week checkout	Due 04-15-2024

A captivating novel based on the story of the extraordinary real-life American woman who secretly worked for the French Resistance during World War II--while playing hostess to the invading Germans at the iconic Hotel Ritz in Paris--from the New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator's Wife and The Swans of Fifth Avenue. In March 1940, the Nazis sweep Paris and immediately take up residence in one of the city's most iconic sites: The Hotel Ritz. There, under a roof legendary for its unprecedented luxury and for its fabled residents--including Coco Chanel, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Cole Porter, Hemingway, Balanchine, Doris Duke, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and now Hermann Göring--the Nazis rule over a paralyzed city. But two residents of the Ritz refuse to be defeated: its director, Claude Auzello, and his beautiful American actress wife, Blanche. They not only oversee the smooth workings of the hotel, but both Blanche and Claude throw themselves fearlessly into the dangerous and clandestine workings of the French Resistance. This is a true-to-life novel of a courageous woman and her husband who put their marriage--and ultimately their lives--in jeopardy to fight for freedom. Intimate, fearless, and moving, it spins a brilliantly and unforgettably vivid human portrait at a time of unimaginable crisis and sacrifice.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Compelling but... submitted by Cihendricks on July 3, 2019, 5:42pm At one level, the story is compelling. What was life like for those Parisians who "had" to stay in Paris during the Nazi occupation? What was it like to be French in the Ritz when it was overrun by Nazis? But somehow, Benjamin never really made me like her characters. I had a hard time empathizing with them or feeling bad for them. And the ending just felt off to me; I know how the Auzellos died but there was something incomplete in how Benjamin chose to narrate that ending.

Interesting submitted by dree411 on August 31, 2019, 12:35pm It was an interesting premise, but it felt like something was missing - there was not quite enough depth to the characters. It was still a good story, and based on the research available for the lead characters.

I agree with these reviews submitted by smgop on July 24, 2021, 10:45am Like the other reviewers, I really gave this book a try and wanted to like it. The plot had lots of potential, but ultimately the characters just weren't likeable or real.