Naneé Gold is an American socialite living in Paris among its artists and intellectuals. As the Germans invade France, she could have returned to the U.S. to safety and a life of parties. Instead, she devotes herself to the French Resistance working with journalist Varian Fry, who was sent by the American Emergency Rescue Committee to help members of the art community escape Nazi persecution. She becomes a courier, secretly delivering messages across Paris. Naneé uses her wealth to rent a large villa in Marseilles which becomes a refuge for artists and members of the Resistance. She works to rescue Edouard Moss, a Jewish photographer who is imprisoned at Camp de Milles, an internment camp, and hopes to reunite him with his young daughter, who is being hidden.
The Postmistress of Paris was inspired by the remarkable, true story of Mary Jayne Gold. The book includes many of the actual people she worked with during WWII including Fry and Daniel Bénédite along with real-life figures from the surrealist art movement Max Ernst and André Breton. Author Meg Waite Clayton presents the danger and terror of the war through the eyes of a small circle of people including one very courageous young woman. Just when I thought I’d read enough books about the French Resistance to last me for a while, I was pleased to read Clayton’s well-researched historical novel, which is a moving story with strong, brave characters. And a little romance too.
Rated 4.25 out of 5 stars.
Historical Fiction.
Publication Date: November 30, 2021.
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