NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • One million copies sold! Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this remarkable debut novel reveals the power of unsung women to change history in their quest for love, freedom, and second chances. “Extremely moving and memorable . . . This impressive debut should appeal strongly to historical fiction readers and to book clubs that adored Kristin Hannah’s that adored Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See.” —Library Journal (starred review)
New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France.
An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspecting neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences.
For the ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. Once hired, though, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.
The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, Germany, and Poland—as Caroline and Kasia strive to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten.
USA Today “New and Noteworthy” Book • LibraryReads Top Ten Pick
“Harrowing . . . Lilac illuminates.”—People
“A compelling, page-turning narrative . . . Lilac Girls falls squarely into the groundbreaking category of fiction that re-examines history from a fresh, female point of view. It’s smart, thoughtful and also just an old-fashioned good read.”—Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“A powerful story for readers everywhere . . . Martha Hall Kelly has brought readers a firsthand glimpse into one of history’s most frightening memories. A novel that brings to life what these women and many others suffered. . . . I was moved to tears.”—San Francisco Book Review
“[A] compelling first novel . . . This is a page-turner demonstrating the tests and triumphs civilians faced during war, complemented by Kelly’s vivid depiction of history and excellent characters.”—Publishers Weekly
“Kelly vividly re-creates the world of Ravensbrück.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Inspired by actual events and real people, Martha Hall Kelly has woven together the stories of three women during World War II that reveal the bravery, cowardice, and cruelty of those days. This is a part of history—women’s history—that should never be forgotten.”—Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author of China Dolls
“Profound, unsettling, and thoroughly . . . the best book I’ve read all year.”—Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
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Read this! What women endured during their painful experience under maniacs working for Hitler! Haunting. Brave!
Tragic happenings but a salute to the human spirit! Excellent read.
Wonderful book!! Great story, well written. Can’t wait to read her next one. I live in CT so I was able to see where she lived. Met the author. Just love her work. A must read!!
What an immense, inspiring tale! I was gripped from the very beginning, and had to cancel all other-life activities by the end. Such beautiful writing and extraordinary characters.
This book tore me up. Man’s inhumanity to Man is heart wrenching.
I really enjoyed this story. It’s an easy read with sad moments!
Should be on every high school senior’s reading list.
If you love the WW2 era and enjoy a piece of fiction that is well-researched and based on real people/events: this is the best.
Loved this book!
Not only is this book well researched and well written, but it was a new approach to the events of WWII days. Three women from 3 different countries experience the hardships of the war but in different ways that eventually bring them together. An excellent read.
What a great book….I’ve recommended it to everyone I know! A wonderful history, though fictional, of things that happened during WWII and the Holocaust.
The best book I’ve read in years. A remarkable story based on facts.
A very interesting story, partially based on fact. I love novels about WW II, and his one was told from three very different vantage points.
I found the viewpoint of three women in very different places during WW2 fascinating. The book was very well written. The characters were realistic.
Excellent book about real life during the holocaust and after. A MUST READ.
This book was a definitely a page turner and would make a great movie. It takes you into a so called work camp where the Nazi doctors conducted terrible experiments on women prisoners. The story entwines the lives of the victims, doctors and one American woman who helped make the victims lives a little better after the war. The story has some very strong women characters and was based on facts of real events. I highly recommend this book, you will be glad you read it.
Not the best book about women during war time
Loved the book, but can’t remember if I have it 4/12 or 5 stars. Either way, it was expand i highly recommend it.
I read this book for my book club and could easily relate to it. Friends are the backbone to a good and healthy life. Secrets, lies happen but love prevails.
I enjoyed reading this book. I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Random House , for sending me this ebook in return for an honest review. This book follows three women at the start of WWII in 1939. The first is Caroline Ferriday, an American socialite working in the French consulate in New York city. The second is Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager who is arrested after caught working as a courier for the Polish underground. She is sent to Ravensbruck, a women’s concentration camp. The third is a new doctor, Herta Oberhauser. She is unable to find work as a doctor in 1939 Germany, where women doctors are rare. She answers a newspaper ad for a position as a camp doctor at a “re-education” camp at Ravensbruck.
The book follows these 3 women until about 1960. Once I was halfway through the book, I found it hard to put down, reading 50 to 100 pages a day, because I wanted to see what happened in the lives of these 3 women.
The author has an explanatory note at the end of the book. Several of the characters, including Caroline and Herta, were actual people. Others were based on actual people, specifically, “the Rabbit women,” a group of Polish women who underwent gruesome medical experiments at Ravensbruck.
Much of this story is very depressing. The horrors of medical experiments at Ravensbruck are graphically described. There is a humorous line when Caroline describes her father’s color blindness: “One morning at breakfast, he appeared in a yellow jacket, burnt orange trousers, and red socks.”
This book is a solid 4 out of 5 stars.