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The New York Times bestselling author of The Last Train to London revisits the dark early days of the German occupation in France in this haunting novel - a love story and a tale of high-stakes danger and incomparable courage - about a young American heiress who helps artists hunted by the Nazis escape from war-torn Europe.
Wealthy, beautiful Naneé was born with a spirit of adventure that transcends her Midwestern roots. For her, learning to fly is freedom. When German tanks roll across the border and into Paris, this woman with an adorable dog and a generous heart joins the resistance. Known as the Postmistress because she delivers information to those in hiding, Naneé uses her charms and skill to house the hunted and deliver them to safety.
Inspired by the real life Chicago heiress Mary Jayne Gold, who worked with American journalist Varian Fry to smuggle artists and intellectuals out of France, Meg Waite Clayton has fashioned a sweeping tale of romance and danger, set in a world aflame with personal and political passion. The Postmistress of Paris is the haunting story of an indomitable woman whose strength, bravery, and love is a beacon of hope in a time of terror.
"Clayton expertly renders the story of a courageous American woman's role in the French Resistance during WWII...Clayton's lyrical, thought-provoking prose breathes life into her characters. This sterling portrait of a complex woman stands head and shoulders above most contemporary WWII fiction." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A true gem in an oversaturated category, and a testament to the power of good. Recommended for fans of Ariel Lawhon's Code Name Hélène or Martha Hall Kelly's Lilac Girls." - Library Journal (starred review)
"Mary Jayne Gold, an American heiress who worked to rescue artists and intellectuals from Nazi-occupied France, has inspired Clayton's spirited reimagining of those turbulent years...Sympathetic characters propel a tense narrative." - Kirkus Reviews
"A sweeping tale of perseverance and courage set against the backdrop of Nazi-era Europe, The Postmistress of Paris is the very best kind of historical fiction: a complex and intriguing story that both highlights a little-known moment in the past and resonates powerfully in the present, reminding us that bigotry can only be vanquished when people are willing to take a stand." - Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train
"I loved The Postmistress of Paris, a novel of so many layers - a suspense story, a love story, and a story about the purpose of art. Meg Waite Clayton is a brilliant and deft writer, and I rooted for her strong, witty and brave heroine on her pulse-pounding mission to save Jewish painters, intellectuals, and a motherless child from Vichy France." - Lisa Scottoline, New York Times bestselling author of Eternal
"Widely esteemed for her previous World War II novels, Meg Waite Clayton triumphantly returns with The Postmistress of Paris, a story of one woman's heroic quest to help the forgotten in Occupied France. Clayton's immaculately researched and beautifully written tale of passage and courage and heart is her best work yet." - Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman With the Blue Star
This information about The Postmistress of Paris was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
New York Times and international bestseller and book club favorite Meg Waite Clayton is the author of nine novels, including Typewriter Beach (Harper, July 1, 2025). Her prior novels include the international bestsellers The Postmistress of Paris (a Good Morning America Buzz Book, a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, a Publishers Weekly notable book, and a Costco Book Club, People Magazine, Indie Next booksellers, LoanStars librarian, Book of the Month, USA Today, and Amazon Editors' pick which the San Francisco Chronicle calls "'Casablanca' if Rick had an artsy bent … powerful"); The Last Train to London (a National Jewish Book Award finalist Kristin Hannah calls "an absolutely fascinating, beautifully rendered story of love, loss, and heroism"); The Wednesday Sisters (...
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