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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I definitely enjoyed the book, these people were so brave in risking their lives to help defeat the Germans. If you put your self in that position I am not sure I could be so brave.
A book that stays with you long after you put it down. I loved it.
Not sure if I’m a fan of character narratives, but the story pulls you into the lives of three women and how their lives come to be intertwined.
I found this to be a page turner although some sections concerning atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust were difficult to read through.
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
Narrated by Cassandra Campbell, Kathleen Gati, Kathrin Kana, and Martha Hall Kelly.
June 23, 2019
5 stars
I don’t think you could listen or read this book without being changed! The lives of those that suffered in concentration camps, the doctors that experimented on them and the country that finally came to their aid led by the incredible Caroline. Some scenes are horrific in nature due to the reality of their situation while others are a bit more sensual than I normally prefer.
Each narrator did an incredible job portraying their characters and it was a powerful presentation!
It is hard to rate a book such as this given the subject material as well as personal preferences. This is one such book.
“Lilac Girls”, a fictional World War II era story, is Martha Hall Kelly’s first novel. This story is based on actual people and events – particularly Caroline Ferriday and Herta Oberheuser’s involvement with the Ravensbrück Rabbits. The story takes place from September 1939 to 1959.
Don’t let the beautiful cover fool you – this is anything but a “beautiful” story, at least for me it wasn’t. It is a story of tragedy, and while marketed as a tale of redemption – I didn’t find it. I found it to be gut-wrenching and dismal. There were some moments of positivity, such as the rescue and the reparation attempts, but given the subject – it was not a feel good read. I don’t know if that was the author’s intention or not.
The key players and alternating points of view (POV), told over three “parts”:
o Caroline Ferriday, a volunteer and socialite
o Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish girl
o Herta Oberheuser, a German doctor at Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women
Other characters in this book are also real life figures: Dorothea Binz and Irma Grese, two of the wardresses of Ravensbrück. Other famous Nazi names are dropped as well.
The atrocities committed against the characters, is not fiction at all. The author kept the characters names of Ferriday, Oberheuser, Binz, and Grese – along with other Nazi figures, but created the sisters Kasia and Zuzanna for the story.
The book is long read, the hard cover version is 476 pages for the story. There are some parts that are stretched out, and some that have a brushing glance.
Ferriday was (in this book and real life), a former actress, as well as a humanitarian. In September 1939, her life changes as Hitler invades France. She is a volunteer at the French Embassy in New York and in charge of providing relief to French orphans.
In the book, Ferriday also has a romance with a married French actor, who is then arrested and imprisoned in Nazi controlled France. The writer gave the fictional Ferriday the romance to connect her to France. It really wasn’t needed. The real Ferriday was connected through her work, and her work is a part of history. I wonder if Ferriday was anything like the writer portrayed in this book as I didn’t find her character interesting.
Kasia (the fictional inmate, at Ravensbrück) is a 17 year old in war torn Poland. She, her sister, and mother are arrested and taken to Ravensbrück. There Herta Oberhauser performs medical experiments on the women to simulate battle wounds and the effectiveness of sulfanilamides – these were real tests conducted by Oberhauser at Ravensbrück. Due to these experiments the “ladies” were referred to as rabbits for the reason that they “hopped” around the camp after the surgeries and were used as experimental rabbits.
The first part covers from September 1939-April 1945, and at 291 pages is the longest part of the book. It ends with Herta’s capture by the allies.
Part two covers from April 1945 to 1947 when the war is over and Kasia along with her sister have been liberated, briefly touching on Herta’s war crimes trial. She, unlike the others who were executed, was sentenced to 20 years. One chapter is devoted to her (pages 356-360). The fates of Binz and Grese are not exactly told either, more particularly Binz as she was quite prominent in the book during the Ravensbrück chapters, and given her real life fate.
As the book heads to the end with now mostly Kasia as the narrator, and occasionally Caroline; Herta is not “heard from” again from chapters 34 to 47 (pages 356 to 466). Herta is then only heard from Kasia’s interactions with her, and this is because Caroline asks Kasia to travel and identify the woman. Herta is now a family practice doctor in West Germany after serving only five (5) years of her sentence.
While Kasia seems to dislike what is happening in Poland, under Communist rule, she makes no effort to try to leave her life unlike her sister. Zuzanna; despite everything that has happened; finds peace with her new life in the U.S, gets married, and even adopts a child (as she was sterilized at Ravensbrück).
I didn’t expect to find Herta as relatable or sympathetic at all, which I think is understandable give who she was and what she did.
My thoughts of Kasia were all over the place. To be blunt, I couldn’t stand her. How, after what she’d been through, could she be told quite simply to “get it over it” by those around her, even her own sister was beyond me. The atrocities that were done to her (and others) are nothing to get over like you would a bad haircut. That I understood; and sympathized with quite deeply.
Yet there were survivors who went through the same things she did and were not as bitter as she was – even her sister who had been sterilized. Kasia seemed intent on remaining bitter, even to the point of taking it out on her daughter that she named after her mother. It was as if Kasia, who was able to marry her childhood sweetheart after what had happened, could find NOTHING to be grateful for – not even her husband or daughter.
I believe the author tried to weave a fantastic story about what occurred. I think it would’ve been better to either create an entire fictional story around the events or write it as a “documentary”. The mix of real life characters with fictional ones didn’t work for me at all, especially the introduction of a fictional romance with a real life character.
A lot of the FOREIGN language used; French, German, etc; left me either confused or grabbing my phone and using Google. It would have been helpful if the author had placed a dictionary reference in the front or back of the book. Some things were translated, but not all.
The author did, in her notes, expand on what happened to Herta Oberhauser. She had been released in 1952 quietly by the Americans to curry favor with Germany. She was recognized by Ravensbrück survivor and her practice was shut down. She fought back with her letters, but Caroline fought back as well. Oberhauser was fined as punishment. She died in January 1978 at the age of 66.
Upon my research I found that Dorothea Binz fled Ravensbrück during the death march, was captured May 3,1945 by the British in Hamburg. She was tried with SS personnel by a British court at the Ravensbrück War Crimes Trials. She was convicted, sentenced to death, and subsequently hanged (by long-drop method) on the gallows at Hamelin prison on May 2, 1947 at the age of 27.
Irma Grese was convicted for crimes involving the ill-treatment and murder of prisoners committed at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. She was sentenced to death at the Belsen trial. Executed at 22 years of age, Grese was the youngest woman to die judicially under British law in the 20th century.
This one book that you either love or hate – it was, for me, a good one-time read. I’m glad my local library had it. I will be happy to return it so someone else can read it.
A very suspenseful historic romance story. The subject of Tsar Nicholas and the rest of the Russian royal family made for interesting reading. Also, there were lots of twists and turns in the story!
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 book evolves to show the connection among these three characters. Until I got to the end of this book, I did not realize that it is based on a true story, and Caroline and Herta were real people.
It was a wonderful story, and one I could not put down. I fell in love with Caroline, and was surprised that I’d never heard of her before. Get ready for an all-nighter!
Tough subject matter. Have read way too many WWII novels in the past 3 years. Need a break.
Wonderful
Fabulous. Loved the characters.
One of the most touching books I’ve ever read!
You will not be able to put this book down. It wasn’t until after I finished that I realized the story was based on true events. You will be mesmerized by the characters and their stories.
This book explained how women were treated during WWII. It was interesting but many times was so hard to read.
Great read about women in the Resistance during WWII. Very enjoyable and highly recommended.
I really enjoyed this book, based on a number of women and men who lived through WWII. Well written.
Too detailed on the grim Nazi camp, not enough on emotions or thoughts of characters.
One of the best books I’ve ever read!
An amazing read, and surprising characters. along with a haunting storyline, left me stunned, especially the ending..
I was disappointed in this book. There was so much hype, but it fell flat for me…..just didn’t hold my interest, and as a Londoner……I felt let down.