**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 Hôtel Ritz in Paris--from the New York Times bestselling author
of The Aviator's Wife and The Swans of Fifth Avenue.
**
"A compelling portrait of a marriage and a nation at war from
within."--Kate Quinn, author of The Alice Network
Nothing bad can happen at the Ritz; inside its gilded walls every woman
looks beautiful, every man appears witty. Favored guests like Ernest
Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Coco Chanel, and the Duke and Duchess of
Windsor walk through its famous doors to be welcomed and pampered by
Blanche Auzello and her husband, Claude, the hotel's director. The
Auzellos are the mistress and master of the Ritz, allowing the glamour
and glitz to take their minds off their troubled marriage, and off the
secrets that they keep from their guests--and each other.
Until June 1940, when the German army sweeps into Paris, setting up
headquarters at the Ritz. Suddenly, with the likes of Hermann Goëring
moving into suites once occupied by royalty, Blanche and Claude must
navigate a terrifying new reality. One that entails even more secrets
and lies. One that may destroy the tempestuous marriage between this
beautiful, reckless American and her very proper Frenchman. For in order
to survive--and strike a blow against their Nazi "guests"--Blanche and
Claude must spin a web of deceit that ensnares everything and everyone
they cherish.
But one secret is shared between Blanche and Claude alone--the secret
that, in the end, threatens to imperil both of their lives, and to bring
down the legendary Ritz itself.
Based on true events, Mistress of the Ritz is a taut tale of suspense
wrapped up in a love story for the ages, the inspiring story of a woman
and a man who discover the best in each other amid the turbulence of
war.
Praise for Mistress of the Ritz
"No one writes of the complexities of women's lives and loves like
Melanie Benjamin. In Mistress of the Ritz, Benjamin brings wartime
Paris brilliantly to life. . . . Intense, illuminating, and ultimately
inspiring!"--Elizabeth Letts, New York Times bestselling author of
Finding Dorothy
