“Atmospheric and immersive, The Paris Children is an extraordinary, rich novel that will leave a powerful mark on readers’ hearts.”—Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
Inspired by the true story of one woman’s fight to survive during the 20th century’s darkest hour—World War II—Gloria Goldreich presents a story of love and resistance … II—Gloria Goldreich presents a story of love and resistance against all odds.
Paris, 1935. A dark shadow falls over Europe as Adolf Hitler’s regime gains momentum, leaving the city of Paris on the brink of occupation. Young Madeleine Levy—granddaughter of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish World War I hero—steps bravely into a new wave of resistance women and becomes the guardian of lost children.
When Madeleine meets a small girl in a tattered coat with the hollow look of one forced to live a nightmare—a young Jewish refugee from Germany—she knows that she cannot stand idly by. Madeleine offers children comfort and strength while working with other members of the resistance to smuggle them out of Paris and into safer territories.
As the Paris Madeleine loves is transformed into a theater of tension and hatred, many are tempted to abandon the cause. Amidst the impending horror and doubt, Madeleine and Claude, a young Jewish Resistance fighter who shares her passion for saving children, are drawn fiercely together. With a questionable future ahead of them, all Madeleine can do is continue fighting and hope that her spirit—and the nation’s—won’t be broken.
A remarkable, panoramic book of resistance during World War II, The Paris Children is a story of love and the power of hope and courage in the face of tragedy.
Praise for The Paris Children:
“In The Paris Children, real-life Resistance fighter Madeleine Levy steps out from behind her famous grandfather, French political figure Alfred Dreyfus, to claim her own legacy of patriotism as she battled against anti-semitism in World War II. Author Gloria Goldreich shares the inspiring tale of Madeleine’s brave and dangerous rescue of French children and the bittersweet nature of her ultimate sacrifice.”—Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
“In Gloria Goldreich’s magic hands, this true story becomes a beautiful, imaginative retelling of an extraordinary woman’s life. With her fine images and perceptive insights, Goldreich captures a dark era—and the human goodness that illumined it.”—Francine Klagsbrun, author of Lioness: Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel
“A page-turning and inspiring story of how courage and family ties can survive even the worst of evil.”—New York Journal of Books
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This Life is Worth it’s Grief
During any war or trying time in history there are those brave souls that put their lives on the line to save others. This the story of some of those brave souls. Those daring players in the French Resistance. They gave their time, their money, their livelihood, and sometimes their lives for the cause, to save lives and to save their country.
The Paris children is about some of those brave patriots. It is about the patriotic scouting system that trained resistance and helped Jewish children escape to Spain or Switzerland to save their lives. They found safe houses for the children, raised money and gave them food and clothing. They also were involved in operations against the Nazi’s , but their main focus was to rescue the Jewish children of France.
Madeline Levy and Claude Lehmann along with Simone and Serge Perl were among the organizer’s of this great undertaking. They were young people in their early twenties giving their all for the cause of saving Jewish children. They forged documents and led groups of children over the mountains to safety forsaking their own. Constantly on the run from the Nazi’s they survived to serve others.
This book covers an important time and place in history. The scouting system was instrumental in saving hundreds if not more of Jewish children. They should be remembered in history.
The book was sad, tragic at times, romantic and exciting. The times were dangerous and the projects were life threatening. Brave men and women hid children, smuggled materials to blow up bridges in their baskets in plain sight of the Nazi’s and those working with the Nazi’s. Their deadliest enemy was the collaborators that were ordinary French working with the Nazi’s to report the resistance or the Jews in hiding. Many brave resistance were killed because of these collaborator’s. It was most sad when one’s own countrymen turn against them, friend against friend.
Many brave men and women many not more that children gave their lives so that other’s could live.
This was a good book and I would recommend it.
Thanks to Gloria Goldreich, Sourcebooks Landmark, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Based on the life of Madeleine Levy, the granddaughter of Alfred Dreyfus and a heroine of the French Resistance movement. Hers was a normal French Jewish family of a proud WW1 hero. They didn’t believe that their world could change so much when Hitler came into power. But none of them hesitated to do whatever they could to help others. Madeline cared for children and worked tirelessly to free as many as she could and get them to safety. Her sister was a forger who helped as well. They gathered as a family as often as they could and were strengthened by each other. Incredible courage and deception saved many, many lives. An amazing family, an amazing girl of strength, compassion, selflessness. They found love throughout it all. Beautiful read – brings their story to life.
I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
#TheParisChildren #NetGalley
I have walked many times in the Marais in Paris, reading signs about the children in Paris during the Nazi occupation. Very real
My first book by this author, and what a wonderful story it was. So informative and inspirational, lessons we should all learn from.
It dragged on a bit. A lot of the same angst and feelings repeated. There was tension and drama. However some of it seemed unbelievable- picnics with a family during WWII where all are Jews and supposedly in hiding from Nazis.
WW II historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. I particularly enjoy books within this genre that portray the selflessness and courage of individuals who chose to join the Resistance. This is one of those books, and the fact that it’s based on real people makes it all the more interesting.
Amidst the many books about World War II, this was an interesting look at a little known chapter, the French resistance. The writing is sometimes heavy-handed, but the characters are well drawn and the story was fascinating.
The heart of Madeliene and all who accompanied her in her mission, I doubt I can ever forget their efforts. I recommend this book to all…one of the best I have ever been enthralled with … and my admiration and respect for the sacrifices and ingenuity that is overwhelmingly precious to have witnessed in the hearts of many in a time of horror.
I am a huge fan of historical fiction books about WWII and this one was another great addition to my library. Having read another book about the forgery of papers to help children and adults escape from France, I was already familiar with the story line. However, this was a very moving tale that touched me. My heart ached for all of the people who were affected by Hitler’s evil machinations and it soared for all of those who worked behind the scenes to prevent his atrocities. I was once again encouraged and reminded that there are wonderful people who demonstrate the positive aspects of mankind. The characters are well developed and you will find yourself caring deeply about so many of them.
Madeleine was an amazing woman and her efforts on behalf of the Jewish people, even while dealing with a hearing loss, was nothing short of miraculous. What a wonderful story of love and loss, family and friends, tragedy and achievements, evil and good.
Thank you to NetGalley and SourceBooks Landmark Publishing for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own. I will definitely read more books by this amazing author!
“Such demonstrations will spread. A mitosis of irrational hatred. One rally this week. Two rallies next week. A contagion of evil.” (sounds like history repeating itself today)
“We are living in an era of absurdity and wickedness.”
“We know that love, in the end, triumphs over hatred, that better days will come.
“While it is true that we live in fearsome times, this life is worth it’s grief.”
Madeleine Levi, the granddaughter of Alfred Dreyfus a famous French WW I patriot, is part of the French resistance. Her passion in life is to help as many Jewish orphans escape France as possible. Claude her boyfriend has the same goal. The question is what will happen to them if the Nazis catch them.
This was a fascinating look at true events that this new-to-me author portrayed beautifully amidst the horrors of the Nazi takeover of France and the massive deportation of Jews to death camps leaving their children orphaned and alone. Madeleine’s connection to her grandfather, Alfred Dreyfus, was fascinating, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the role that every single member of Madeleine’s family played in one way or another in helping the Jewish. This family was very inspirational to the others involved in the resistance.
Definitely an outstanding read for those interested in World War II fiction.
**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions are mine alone. I was not compensated for this review.
3 stars
The Paris Children by Gloria Goldreich is based on the life of Madeleine Levy, the granddaughter of Alfred Dreyfus. Madeleine is a young woman who grew up in Paris and worked for the Resistance during WW II in helping to get Jewish children out of France.
I love to read historical fiction about WW II. The value of historical fiction is that the reader gets to be emotionally involved with what really happened. Unfortunately, this is where this novel was disappointing to me. It read like a report. I did not develop an emotional connection to the characters. I do value all of the descriptions but I wanted it to read less like a report and more like a good novel. Maybe if it had been written in first person from Madeleine’s, Claude’s, and her grandmother Lucy’s points of view, it would have worked better. In the middle of the book, I found myself skimming paragraphs. The end of the book comes quickly and abruptly. My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Absorbing, haunting, and deeply moving!
The Paris Children is a compelling, immersive, beautifully written tale set in France between 1935 and 1943 that takes you into the lives of the Levy family, especially Madeleine, a young Jewish woman who spent the majority of the war helping to hide and save as many Jewish children as possible.
The prose is authentic and perceptive. The characters are selfless, brave, and vulnerable. And the plot is a rich, poignant tale of life, loss, love, friendship, family, perseverance, survival, betrayal, courage, sacrifice, Jewish traditions, war, and the important role played by the Jewish scouts in the French Resistance.
Overall, The Paris Children is a beautiful blend of horrifying facts and evocative fiction. It’s a pensive, affecting, powerful tale by Goldreich that highlights humanities incredible ability to love and still be kind, compassionate, and resilient even in the face of unimaginable evil.
What a beautiful story! I absolutely loved the Paris Children by Gloria Goldreich. This book was inspired by the true story of a countries fight for survival during WWII. During this time, Paris was full of frightened, starving, and abandoned children. Madeleine Levy steps up as a guardian, and offers these poor innocent children love and protection during such devastating times. She never gives up, and shows everyone her unwavering strength and courage. I enjoy historically based novels and highly recommend this book!
The Paris Children by Gloria Goldreich is an excellent historical fiction that focuses on some of the Jewish Resistance groups in France that helped coordinate and smuggle Jewish children out of harm’s way and into safer countries. Madeleine Levy is a fearless young woman who has a heart of gold. She and her friend and eventual partner, Claude Lehmann, risked their lives over and over again selflessly to save others. I will stop there so that I so not give away the ending, but it was bittersweet for certain.
Madeleine was so brave, and I have a hard time imagining all of the terrifying things that she went through, and sacrificed. She even was able to do all of this despite the fact that she lost most of her hearing after experiencing Scarlet fever as a child. I was awed. There world truly needs more women like her.
This book is for anyone that enjoys historical fiction, strong female characters, and reading about resistance groups during WWII. Excellent book.
5/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.