Critics' Opinion:
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Published Oct 2016
448 pages
Genre: History, Current Affairs and Religion
Publication Information
New York Times bestselling author Anne Sebba explores a devastating period in Paris's history and tells the stories of how women survived - or didn't - during the Nazi occupation.
Paris in the 1940s was a place of fear, power, aggression, courage, deprivation, and secrets. During the occupation, the swastika flew from the Eiffel Tower and danger lurked on every corner. While Parisian men were either fighting at the front or captured and forced to work in German factories, the women of Paris were left behind where they would come face to face with the German conquerors on a daily basis, as waitresses, shop assistants, or wives and mothers, increasingly desperate to find food to feed their families as hunger became part of everyday life.
When the Nazis and the puppet Vichy regime began rounding up Jews to ship east to concentration camps, the full horror of the war was brought home and the choice between collaboration and resistance became unavoidable. Sebba focuses on the role of women, many of whom faced life and death decisions every day. After the war ended, there would be a fierce settling of accounts between those who made peace with or, worse, helped the occupiers and those who fought the Nazis in any way they could.
"Sebba's clear-eyed narrative concludes, correctly, that these women deserve understanding, not judgment. Photos." - Publishers Weekly
"Despite its lengthy cast of characters, Sebba's work delivers an intriguing perspective of an overlooked group during a time when all were tested beyond their limits. Paris history buffs will enjoy a new look at the city during World War II." - Library Journal
"Despite the gossipy bits, the research is impressive, and Sebba offers balance to the plethora of war histories featuring the roles of men. The book has ample material for lively discussion in women's studies classes." - Kirkus
"Fascinating ... Anna Sebba knows everything about Paris during the war... She understands everything about the chic, loathsome collaborators and the Holocaust victims, and their stories are told in an irresistible narrative flood." - Edmund White, bestselling author of The Flaneur and Our Young Man
This information about Les Parisiennes was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Anne Sebba is a biographer, lecturer, journalist and former Reuters foreign correspondent. She has written eight books, including acclaimed biographies of Jennie Churchill and Mother Theresa, as well as the New York Times bestseller That Woman about the life of Wallis Simpson. She is a member of the Society of Authors Executive Committee.
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