A New York Times Bestseller“Fraught with danger, filled with mystery, and meticulously researched, The Lost Girls of Paris is a fascinating tale of the hidden women who helped to win the war.” —Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were YoursFrom the author of the runaway bestseller The Orphan’s Tale comes a remarkable story of friendship and courage centered around three … Before We Were Yours
From the author of the runaway bestseller The Orphan’s Tale comes a remarkable story of friendship and courage centered around three women and a ring of female secret agents during World War II.
1946, Manhattan
One morning while passing through Grand Central Terminal on her way to work, Grace Healey finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Unable to resist her own curiosity, Grace opens the suitcase, where she discovers a dozen photographs—each of a different woman. In a moment of impulse, Grace takes the photographs and quickly leaves the station.
Grace soon learns that the suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg, leader of a network of female secret agents who were deployed out of London during the war. Twelve of these women were sent to Occupied Europe as couriers and radio operators to aid the resistance, but they never returned home, their fates a mystery. Setting out to learn the truth behind the women in the photographs, Grace finds herself drawn to a young mother turned agent named Marie, whose daring mission overseas reveals a remarkable story of friendship, valor and betrayal.
Vividly rendered and inspired by true events, New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff shines a light on the incredible heroics of the brave women of the war and weaves a mesmerizing tale of courage, sisterhood and the great strength of women to survive in the hardest of circumstances.
A Cosmopolitan Best Book Club Book, PopSugar Must-Read, and Glamour Best of 2019
“An intriguing mystery and a captivating heroine make The Lost Girls of Paris a read to savor!” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network
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At first I found The Lost Girls of Paris a bit slow and difficult of follow the jumping between characters and settings. As the story continued it was easier to follow and I found it truly enjoyable. Give it a chance and stick with this read and you will be rewarded.
A WWII historical fiction which brings you right into the center of things at the end of the war. The story moves seamlessly back and forth from the war zone to the after the war involving the female agents of Special Operations Executive. I was drawn into the personal stories of each of the women as they were recruited and then trained to be dropped into France towards the end of the war to transmit messages to and from the resistance. A great story not only of the wartime endeavors of these women but the aftermath when there were many questions left to be answered.
A fast and intriguing read about a group of young British women who do dangerous undercover work during World War II, fighting the Nazis.
This is quite a suspenseful read where you won’t have any idea what’s going to happen next. According to the Author’s Note at the end of the book, the novel is loosely — VERY loosely — based on a story the author discovered about Vera Atkins, a Brit who led a group of women agents during World War II. (Note however that the author then goes on to acknowledge that most of the details found in the book are based on her own imaginings of what might have happened, rather than documenting a version of what DID happen.)
In the novel, it’s 1944, before D-Day and the fictional leader of the agents is Eleanor Trigg — intelligent, dedicated, and resourceful — and eager to prove to the male-dominated military that women can do things and go places that male agents can not. Eleanor is determined to both protect her “girls” and make sure their work is taken seriously and valued.
The “girls” themselves — Josie, Marie, and others — are recruited from ordinary life. Several are not even out of their teens. Some are widowed, a few have children. All are willing to risk their lives to do something meaningful to fight the war.
The stories of how they are trained, sent to France and what they accomplish are only part of the novel (thought the most exciting part). There’s another thread that takes place in New York City in 1946, shortly after the war ends, where Grace, a young American war widow, is trying to establish a new life. Through happenstance, she stumbles across Eleanor’s photos of the women agents, and is determined to figure out who these women are.
Truly fascinating and worthwhile to read about the type work some brave women did, since little attention is often paid to what women accomplish during war. It’s a very compelling read, particularly if you are as interested in the World Wars as I am.
Excellent WWII novel based on a real-life war hero who trained young women in England as radio operators to work behind enemy lines in support of partisans. Told from three women’s perspectives: Eleanor Trigg, the SOE (Special Operations Executive) creator and administrator of the women’s program for the British government; Marie, one of the operatives dropped into France; and Grace, a war-widow who finds the women’s photographs after the war and is curious to know more. Filled with suspense and intrigue, this work memorializes the brave women who fought behind the lines and helped win the war.
Jenoff does her research and writes beautifully, making this a very enjoyable and compelling read.
Combining real-life spy inspiration (in-spy-ration?), World War II, and the evergreen reader appeal of Paris, Jenoff’s latest bestseller is an easy sell to your book club and a pleasure to curl up with on a cold winter day. You’ll eagerly follow the mystery behind an abandoned suitcase of photographs and a ring of secret agents in Axis-occupied Europe — whose daring missions required bravery, endurance, and sacrifice.
I enjoyed this book very much. I’ve read many of that era, but I learned a lot from this one.
This book showed how the women spy’s worked in WWll.
I loved this book!
I know that in war you have to balance saving the lives of the many against losing the lives of the few. However, it is very hard to believe that Great Britain sacrificed lives of their own spies.
A book written about woman and a role in war that is mostly unknown. Even though it is fiction, when reading this book, you feel emotions that are real.
Not one of Jenoff’s best….the story line was a little shallow.
4.5—Stunning!
It wasn’t my favorite book but I did finish it because it was an interesting story about a real person
The Lost Girls of Paris” is based on true events and tells the story of a few members of the F Section and their fate. Eleanor Trigg has proved herself with the SOE and has earned the confidence of the Director. Her proposal to create a female secret agent branch to help the F Section in their efforts to bring liberation to occupied France is approved. She personally selects and trains the women and deploys twelve of them in France. The Network is compromised and none of them makes it back to London..or so it seems. Eleanor is soon dismissed, but she does not stop searching for the truth about what happened to the women and who betrayed them. I love that it shows women did more than hold up the home front and how important their role in WWII was.
“Lost Girls of Paris” is the kind of book you can’t put down. Pam Jenoff’s writing style kept me invested in the story. It flowed at a good pace and I enjoyed reading from the three different viewpoints. If you love WW2 fiction and romances, I would definitely recommend this book!
Pam Jenoff never disappoints! Well researched and beautifully written! I listened to the audio which I believe adds layers and gives the emotional impact of the story. Pam Jenoff never disappoints! Well researched and beautifully written! This story will stay with me for a long time. These women served and sacrifice so much and then totally set aside and forgotten! Pam Jenoff brings this story to light with the grace of beautiful story telling!
Pam Jenoff’s newest historical suspense is centered around three women in the last days of WWII. In 1944, Eleanor Trigg has been tasked by the British SOE to create a team of trained spies, all of whom are women. They will go into the field undercover and report back intelligence about the German soldiers occupying France. One of these spies is radio operator Marie Roux who is sent to a small village just outside Paris to work with a team who is sabotaging the movement of the German army in preparation for D Day. While in France something inside the operation goes horribly wrong as someone has sold out the spy network to the German army who has quickly begun making arrests in the region. Can Marie and her team outwit the German’s and survive the betrayal? The third character is, Grace, and in 1946 in New York City she comes across a lost bag containing photographs from the war. She soon learns that the owner of the suitcase is Eleanor and one of the women in the photo’s is Marie. While avoiding her own heartbreak, she becomes obsessed with finding out who these women were and what happened to these women.
I was very excited to get a copy of Jenoff’s new novel since I was a fan of her previous work, The Orphan’s Tale. This is an enjoyable historical novel told from the perspective of the three main characters. The premise is loosely based on a real life team of women who had worked for the SOE in WWII. I would recommend this one because it is full of intrigue, romance and suspense and is an interesting story about a courageous group of women.
This book kept me guessing how it was going to end. I loved it.
Pam Jenoff , author, keeps you on edge and page turning to understand the events affecting each amazing character.
Highly recommend this amazing book especially if you need more information to understand WWII history and military history
Ms Jenoff is so educated and work experiences qualified to author this book. Enjoy
Love to see this as a movie. !!
The women in this WWII novel are powerful and their stories are inspiring. I almost always wait for books to go on sale but I jumped on this one and devoured it in 48 hours.
I just finished Pam Jenoff’s (The Orphan’s Tale) new book THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS. It is a great read..It is based on true events. D-Day is coming and the book centers on women trained to be radio operators behind enemy lines inside Germany. This is a smart, suspenseful spy novel with brave women who face danger at every turn. I couldn’t put it down.