A courageous young noblewoman risks her life to hide French resistance fighters; seventy years later, her granddaughter visits the family’s abandoned chateau and uncovers shocking secrets from the past.
Gisèle Duchant guards a secret that could cost her life. Tunnels snake through the hill under her family’s medieval chateau in Normandy. Now, with Hitler’s army bearing down, her brother and … brother and several friends are hiding in the tunnels, resisting the German occupation of France.
But when German soldiers take over the family’s château, Gisèle is forced to host them as well — while harboring the resistance fighters right below their feet. Taking in a Jewish friend’s baby, she convinces the Nazis that it is her child, ultimately risking everything for the future of the child. When the German officers begin to suspect her deception, an unlikely hero rescues both her and the child.
A present day story weaves through the past one as Chloe Sauver, Gisèle’s granddaughter, arrives in Normandy. After calling off her engagement with a political candidate, Chloe pays a visit to the chateau to escape publicity and work with a documentary filmmaker, Riley, who has uncovered a fascinating story about Jews serving in Hitler’s army. Riley wants to research Chloe’s family history and the lives that were saved in the tunnels under their house in Normandy. Chloe is floored — her family isn’t Jewish, for one thing, and she doesn’t know anything about tunnels or the history of the house. But as she begins to explore the dark and winding passageways beneath the chateau, nothing can prepare her for the shock of what she and Riley discover…
With emotion and intrigue, Melanie Dobson brings World War II France to life in this beautiful novel about war, family, sacrifice, and the secrets of the past.
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4 Stars
I love a good WW2 story, but it is even better when based on someone’s real story. I enjoyed the French perspective. Having been to Normandy, I could imagine the setting so clearly from the author’s description. The split time story line show us how decisions and choices made long ago have far reaching consequences. A clear message of leaning on your faith in God during extremely difficult circumstances. This is a must read for lovers of historical fiction.
At the time that I picked up Chateau of Secrets, I’d been engrossed in a TV series called A French Village, which chronicles the German occupation of a small French village during WWII as well as the French Resistance to that occupation. So I found it extra-fascinating to read this story about German occupation from another perspective–that of a young aristocratic woman living in a chateau in northern France who secretly shelters Resistance fighters. It’s a deeply engaging and beautifully written story that made me ask myself, “What would I do under those circumstances?” .
A courageous young noblewoman risks her life to hide French resistance fighters; seventy years later, her granddaughter visits the family’s abandoned chateau and uncovers shocking secrets from the past.
With emotion and intrigue, Melanie Dobson brings World War II France to life in this beautiful novel about war, family, sacrifice, and the secrets of the past.
I am reading “Chateau of Secrets again and enjoying it every bit as much. This is a time-split tale, which I also love to write. The novel takes the reader between contemporary and historical stories of two young women facing different, but difficult challenges.
Though this is fiction, I cried at the atrocities reminiscent of Nazi behavior, but also at the courage it took to resist the evil during that dark time.
I give this book 5 Stars and highly recommend it.
I loved this book—the mystery, the history and intrigue, the tunnels full of secrets snaking beneath a beautiful old chateau. I loved the scent and flavor of France, the characters’ resistance to Nazi domination and their determination to save those most vulnerable. Chateau of Secrets contrasts the greed and ugliness of human nature with its ability to rise above self and sacrifice so that others might live. A compelling and beautiful book.
Riveting! I knew when Melanie contacted me about reviewing this book that I was going to enjoy the story but little did I know how much. Chateau of Secrets is a historical-contemporary novel expertly written to engage the reader in both the past and present.
With alternating chapters, this story gripped my heart from the opening scene in the chapelle, to the ending scene in the same chapelle some 70 years later. I don’t know a lot about France during WWII but I was mesmerized from the start by the story of Giselle, a young woman fighting for her country in the only way she could during a most horrible time in history.
Emotions of fear, angst, loyalty and love were prominent throughout this superbly written novel. I could feel the horrors of death and war, and at the same time I was swept away by the love Giselle had for her family and country. The pages are filled with faith, intrigue, suspense, drama and romance. This is a story of secrets that are kept out of shame and fear and love.
It’s also a story about another young woman in today’s world suffering heartbreak, an identity crisis and foundering in her faith. Chloe is searching for answers. She needs to find out who she is, where she is supposed to be in this life, and why her grandmother won’t talk much about when she lived in France during the war.
There are a lot of characters in this story but I had no problem keeping them straight. As much as I enjoyed the contemporary scenes, I could have reveled in it being a total historical, those sections are that good! It was so hard to put this book down when I absolutely needed to, that I kept thinking about it as I was doing other things, anticipating the next time I could pick it back up. Finally, I decided I just could not wait any longer and stayed up from 3:30am until 6:00am so I could finish it! This is definitely one of the best books I have read so far this year. I highly recommend it to any historical/contemporary fan. If you haven’t read a book written this way, you really should give it a try. And it’s loosely based on a true story so that makes it even better!
I want to thank the author, Melanie Dobson, for sending me an Advance Uncorrected Proof for review purposes. I wasn’t required to write a positive review, just my opinion of the book, which I have done. No compensation has been received.
4.5