The Postmistress of Paris audiobook

Many historical fiction books are based on real people - usually women who have been forgotten over time. Many of these woman were brave beyond words and helped to defeat the Germans in many different ways. This new book by Meg Waite Clayton is based on Mary Jayne Gold, an American heiress whose bravery inspired Naneé, the main character in this book.Naneé was an American heiress who loved Paris and had spent so much time there that she felt she was a Parisian. She's a social butterfly and very interested in the arts - painting, writing, etc. She meets Edouard at a party. He has escaped Germany and is trying to keep he and his daughter, Luki, safe in France even though the Vichy government is rounding up Jewish people and sending them to camps. She starts working with the Resistance to help artists and painters get out of the country. One part of the book that was filled with tension happened when Luki was sent to Paris with friends and her father was supposed to follow her the next day but the police took him to jail for a month. After he was released, he was unable to find his beloved daughter and he didn't know if she was safe. Naneé started working with the Resistance to send messages to people who were in hiding and to get the proper paperwork so they could get out Paris to safety in America.Her bravery helped many people escape but it put her in danger. Will she be able to get out of France when the Gestapo is looking for her?This is another fantastic book based on real people who put their lives at risk to help people escape from the danger in World War II. If you enjoy historical fiction from this time period or enjoy books about brave women who make a different in the lives of others or just want to read an exciting book- you don't want to miss this one. Once again this author gives her readers a well written and well researched story with characters that will be difficult to forget. Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review.

I read a lot, two to three books a week. I have read many of the novels relating to work by varying resistance groups in Europe during World War II. Honestly, I thought I was over saturated, but Good reads was kind enough to send me a copy of The Postmistress of Paris, so I felt like I should read it. Oh, my GOSH. Oh, my gosh, this is a fabulous read. It is honestly one of the best books I have read all year. It is from a different point of view, focusing on getting Jewish artists out of Nazi occupied areas, but it is also incredibly suspenseful. You know that feeling when you can't read anymore, because you are afraid of what might happen, yet you can't put the book down? Well, that is this book. It is also a very beautifully written story of the generosity and bravery and love that can come out of a horrible situation. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I promise you will be so glad that you didn't let this one slip past you.

Parijs, 1938. De Amerikaanse pilote en rijke erfgename Nanée Gold droomt van een vrij en avontuurlijk leven. Ze woont al jaren in Parijs, samen met haar hond Dagobert, en veel van haar vrienden zijn kunstenaars. Op een tentoonstelling ontmoet ze Edouard Moss, een Joodse fotograaf en weduwnaar die Duitsland moest ontvluchten omdat hij Hitler zowel met zijn journalistiek als met zijn kunst tegen zich in het harnas had gejaagd. Ze voelen meteen een klik, maar hij vertrekt de volgende dag met zijn dochter Luki naar het zuiden, waardoor ze elkaar uit het oog verliezen. Wanneer de oorlog uitbreekt, wordt Edouard al snel opgepakt en vastgezet in het interneringskamp Camp des Milles, zijn dochter wordt verborgen bij vrienden. Hij is vastbesloten om Luki terug te vinden en samen te ontsnappen uit Frankrijk, maar hij weet niet hoe hij dat voor elkaar moet krijgen. Nanée weigert te vertrekken uit Frankrijk, in Amerika heeft ze immers ook geen echt thuis meer, en ze sluit zich aan bij het verzet in Marseille. Als aantrekkelijke, schijnbaar onschuldige en jonge vrouw met een Amerikaans paspoort zal ze zich relatief gemakkelijk door Frankrijk kunnen verplaatsen, om zo veel vluchtelingen te helpen. Al snel staat ze bekend als de postbezorgster, ze brengt belangrijke boodschappen over en haar missies worden steeds gevaarlijker. Maar haar grootste missie moet nog beginnen: ze wil Edouard bevrijden. Door de wisselende perspectieven leer je verschillende kanten van het leven tijdens de oorlog kennen. Nanée is een dappere, strijdbare vrouw die staat voor haar idealen en niet bang is om haar eigen leven op het spel te zetten voor de goede zaak. Edouard moet onder barre omstandigheden proberen te overleven, gaat gebukt onder schuldgevoel en hunkert naar een hereniging met zijn dochter. Vooral het perspectief van de kleine Luki is ontroerend: ze is bang maar sterk, voelt zich alleen maar houdt hoop dat ze haar vader ooit weer zal zien, ze past zich aan en verwerkt verschillende gebeurtenissen en emoties door met en voor haar knuffel te praten.Het verhaal komt wat traag op gang door gedetailleerde beschrijvingen en de emoties van de personages liggen niet direct aan de oppervlakte, waardoor het eerst lastig is om een echte connectie met hen te krijgen, maar ze gaan steeds meer leven naarmate het verhaal vordert. Sommige gebeurtenissen gaan wat snel terwijl bij andere verhaalelementen langer wordt stilgestaan, zo had ik graag nog meer willen lezen over de werkzaamheden van Nanée en het verleden van de personages en wellicht iets minder over bepaalde interacties tussen de kunstenaars, al vindt de auteur zeker in de tweede helft van het boek een mooie balans, leest het geheel vloeiender en wordt het steeds lastiger om te stoppen met lezen.Dit is een indrukwekkend verhaal over kracht, moed, moeilijke beslissingen, rouw, constante dreiging, doorzettingsvermogen, hoop en hulp, vriendschap, kunst, liefde en licht in de duisternis. Een bijzonder oorlogsverhaal dat gebaseerd is op ware gebeurtenissen!3.5-4⭐️

i algo me gusta de los libros de ficción histórica es que se basen en personas o en hechos reales , y la autora lo ha vuelto hacer, en los dos libros que he leído, ambos están basados en mujeres importantes y olvidadas..En este caso, Mary Jayne Gold, una mujer estadounidense, inspiró a Nanee, el personaje principal de la novela..Nanee ama París, y siempre ha estado interesada en el arte y en una fiesta de artistas conocerá a Edouard, artista judío que ha escapado de Alemania para salvar a su hija Luki y que no los manden a los campos de concentración….Nuestra prota comienza a trabajar en la resistencia para ayudar a todos estos artistas a escapar del país….Una historia bastante trepidante , en la que estás en tensión continua por la supervivencia de todos los personajes, un libro que emociona solo por pensar todo lo que hicieron algunas personas , arriesgando sus vidas por ayudar a otras… .Añadir que muchos de los personajes que salen en esta novela, son personajes reales, cosa que hace más interesante la historia… todos van a encantarte….Con un final magnífico , cerrado y todo bien hilado y como no puede faltar la nota de la autora que fue el broche final.

Fictional history at its best .. Meg Waite Clayton’s Postmistress of Paris took me, the reader, on an incredible world wide journey. This beautiful novel is set in the dark early days of the German occupation of France .. what an adventurous love story! I fell in love with the precious characters & can highly recommend, especially to book review clubs with so many discussion themes. Brava!

Lyrical writing. Equal turns touching & riveting. A story of courageous people inspired by their real-life counterparts. My favorite part--the beautiful father/daughter relationship. So glad I chose this as my audiobook for commuting back & forth to school this week!

This wasn't that bad! I actually really liked it, and I think the way that it was written was fantastic. I especially loved Luki because she, to me, was the epitome of a child lost in WWII. She really shone through the book, surpassing Nanée and Edouard, surprisingly. Although, their love story was really cool, and I loved the way that Nanée still fulfilled her destiny. Overall, tender, sweet, and historically accurate!

Any book that leaves me with a lump in my throat the size of a grapefruit deserves five stars. In the beginning I didn’t think that would be the case, but the further I got into this beautiful, and at times, tents story I was more drawn in. I am interested in stories centering around the German occupation of France in early World War II and this one is at the top of the list for me. I loved the characters and this historical fiction account of this time, even though I didn’t love all of them. There are many characters based on actual people that made it even more interesting to me. In my opinion, this book deserves more five star ratings.

I adored this book. The characters came alive for me, and I was instantly transported to German-occupied France. I know there have been a lot of books written on this time period, but Meg Waite Clayton tackles the surrealist art community and the attempts to rescue artists that were being targeted by the Gestapo. In doing so, she naturally lands on the theme of art, what art means to us, how it connects us to one another, how it re-emphasizes our humaneness.Well done. Recommended for fans of Nightingale.Note: This is mainstream fiction, as such there are some deftly handled adult scenes.

This is an enlightening and very interesting read with the author taking the real life American heiress Mary Jayne Gold to inspire the fictional character of Nanée who is a woman well before her time with the Surrealist Movement and the many changes for women in Europe and England that had occurred during WW1, fashions etc Nanée feels more at home in France than she ever would in conservative United States and her home of the Everston mansion and the summer house of Marigold Lodge. With the rise of Hitler, many European intellectuals, artists of all persuasion and those with an abhorrence of Hitler's propaganda, in speaking out or making negative commentary became listed on the “wanted” file and fled to France believing that they would be safe from Nazi reach. In 1939 with the declaration of war many were interned as “undesirable foreigners” in Camp des Milles near Aix-en-Provence. The love interest for Nanée, photojournalist/artist Edouard Moss that she met in Paris prior to his internment only really develops later after she pursues his release from the camp, having to subject herself to the depravity of the camp commandant only to discover that he was released a day earlier. However, now with them all settled outside of Marseille in the rundown Villa Air-Bel the romantic attraction to Edouard intensifies. There is one hitch, Edouard prior to all events, packed ready to leave on the train, with his small daughter Luki and friend Berthe who ends up leaving with Luki on the train without him not knowing where Edouard is, who by now has been detained by the police. These are times of terrible danger and hanging around on a train platform would only draw attention from the authorities. From here the whereabouts of Luki is unknown to everyone. Edouard is pressed to leave France but refuses until his daughter is located and returned to him. The author gives true credit to American journalist Varian Fry and the Centre of American Aid (Centre Américain de Secours) who along with Nanée (Mary Jane) in many cases financed and acted as Postmistress, delivering secret messages to those assisting in the escape of "undesirables" and those wanted by the Gestapo along with those creating false passports and exit/entry documents makes for a compelling read, combined with the descriptions of the dangerous journey via the Pyrenees and the ever present danger to those of everyday people assisting many to escape from the Nazi clutches.The opening chapter gives a fabulous description of Nanée flying into Paris in her Vega Gull single engine touring aircraft with the “stall horn warning" blaring really opens up for the reader. (For those like me that have experienced this “stall horn warning" a small smile of understanding will be noted).

4.5 ⭐París, la ciudad de la luz, se sumió en la oscuridad cuando cayó en las manos de la Alemania nazi en 1940. Muchos eran los artistas que habían huido de una cruel Alemania para refugiarse en tierras francesas, pero desde aquel momento no estaban a salvo de las garras nazis.Edouard Moss, fotógrafo, judío y alemán, había conseguido llegar a Francia para rehacer su vida con su hija Luki, pero poco duró su felicidad cuando unos soldados franceses le separaron de su pequeña.Nanée, una joven estadounidense afincada en Francia decide que ha llegado el momento de ayudar a salvar vidas aunque esto implique poner la suya en peligro y comienza a trabajar como mensajera para la Resistencia francesa.Cuando Nanée descubre la triste situación del interesante Edouard no duda en hacer todo lo posible para poder salvar su vida y la de su hija.Como ya sabéis, adoro las historias ambientadas en la Segunda Guerra Mundial y cada vez que veo una nueva la añado directamente a mi lista de libros pendientes. La mensajera de París es la primera novela que leo sobre la Resistencia francesa y ese nuevo punto de vista de aquella época me ha fascinado.Antes de nada, me gustaría aclarar que es una historia ficticia, pero está inspirada en la vida de Mary Jayne Gold, una rica heredera norteamericana que ayudó a muchos refugiados a huir de la guerra. Además, muchos de los personajes que aparecen son reales. Sin duda, la autora ha hecho una gran labor de documentación, muy detallada, para desarrollar esta historia.Son tantas las cosas que me han gustado de la novela... Pero quiero comenzar por lo que considero su punto fuerte; los personajes. La autora ha conseguido crear unos personajes increíbles que te dejan una espinita en el pecho. Personajes que han conseguido sacarme más de una lagrimilla. Desde el principio he admirado la valentía de Nanée y del resto de miembros de la Resistencia que, de forma desinteresada, ayudaron a muchas personas, sin embargo, si tengo que elegir un personaje como favorito me quedo con la pequeña Luki, una niña entrañable que se ha ganado mi corazón.Respecto a la trama os puedo decir que es un canto a amor y a la esperanza, que en algunos momentos te rompe por dentro y te hace sentir verdadera angustia pero que a la vez poco a poco te reconstruye haciendo que vuelvas a creer en el ser humano.El final me ha encantado y emocionado a partes iguales. Creo que, llegados a este punto, mi opinión sobre el libro ha quedado muy clara; os lo recomiendo muchísimo y más aún si os gustan las historias ambientadas en la Segunda Guerra Mundial.