The Mademoiselle Alliance

1940s France and Marie-Madeleine finds herself in charge of a resistance network against Nazi Germany called The Alliance. Being a woman there are additional challenges however she soon has the full support of the Alliance membership.

The Mademoiselle Alliance by Natasha Lester is an account of the work of resistance groups from mid May 1940 until the Germans are defeated in France in September 1944. The end of the Second World War in Europe was declared on 8 May 1945. 

This work of historical fiction is based on a number of actual events and provides a human overlay to the valuable work undertaken by resistance members, often in harsh conditions. For Marie-Madeleine there are additional challenges as she is a mother of three children who she cannot have contact with. Towards the end of the novel she also faces the knowledge that Leon, her lover, has disappeared and she does not know if he is alive or dead.

The Mademoiselle Alliance is a compassionate telling of the horrors that war brings to all people and how people respond respond. 

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade - Wikipedia 

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade - Spartus Educational  

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade - Chemins de memoire

The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre

In 1943 Alix St Pierre is recruited to join the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), an American intelligence agency. She is sent to Bern in Switzland from where she works with partisan groups in Italy. Alix is American but spent a year at finishing school in Switzerland before returning home to work in advertising agencies. Her parents died when she was thirteen so she has had to learn to be independent to survive. She is also fluent in several European languages which is why she was appointed to the position in Bern.

Then one of the operations she was supervising was sabotaged resulting in the deaths of all but one of the men taking part in the secret mission. Years later Alix is still trying to come to terms with this disaster and her part in it.

In 1946 Alix works in Paris for Christian Dior, publicising his first fashion collection. She has become aware that she is being followed as events from the past haunt her again. In order to live a 'normal' life she must learn to trust again and accept help from others. Only then can she decide her future.

In The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre Natasha Lester has written another work of historical fiction set during World War II. Although a work of fiction much of the story is based on fact. This is explained by the author in the notes at the end of the book. Fashion again features strongly, especially descriptions of some of the dresses in Dior's first collection in February 1947.

Relationships is a dominant theme throughout the book, particularly power generally granted to men over women in their ordinary lives. Alix knows that this is not how she wants to live. Once again Natasha Lester has written another thought provoking historical novel set during the Second World War.

The Riviera House

Set in France during the Second World War and in 2015, The Riveira House by Natasha Lester introduces the reader to an aspect of the German occupation of France - one that involves the theft of paintings and other works of art from galleries and private collections, especially those owned by Jewish families.

In 1939 we meet Eliane Dufort who initially works at Le Louvre until many of the artworks are removed from Paris to try and keep them out of the hands of the Germans when they invade Paris. She then works with Rose Valland at a smaller gallery used by the Germans to store their stolen loot before sending the items back to Germany. Eliane and Rose work under cover to try and keep a record of the stolen paintings and where they have been sent. It is hoped that after the war the items may be returned to their rightful owners.

Eliane lives with her family who run a brasserie in Paris. When it is known that the Germans will take Paris, Eliane's family leave the city to seek safety in the countryside while Xavier, an artist and her lover, takes his father back to England. Her brother, Luc, is working for the Resistance and is often away.

In 2015 Remy Lang retreats to a home that she has inherited on the French Riviera. Remy runs a vintage fashion business online which she plans to continue to operate as she grieves for the loss of her husband and daughter, killed in a car accident. When she discovers an art catalogue recording French artworks stolen during the Second World War, Remy is surprised to see a picture of a painting that she has at her family home in Sydney.  Helped by Adam, a photographer, she investigates the history of the painting and learns more about her family history.

The Riviera House is a work of historical fiction and romance. It is also a study of grief and learning to create a new life while still remembering good times from the past.

Other books by Natasha Lester based on events in France during the Second World War include The French Photographer, The Paris Seamstress and The Paris Secret.

Although this book is a work of historical fiction, many of the charcters are based on real people including Rose Valland. The author's note at the back of the novel provides interesting information about the writing of the book.

The French Photographer

In 1942 when Jesica May, a New York model, unexpectedly lost her modelling contract she applied to work in Europe as a photo journalist. Gaining accreditation, despite years of experience as a photographer, proved difficult but she was finally granted permission to join a small group of female photographers who were recording stories of how war was affecting the people of Europe.

In 2005 D'Arcy Hallworth arrived in France to select photographs for an exhibition to be held in Sydney. It was not long before she recognised that the photographs were taken by a photographer who was famous in the 1940s but whose story had now been forgotten. As she investigated the Photographer's story D'Arcy also recognised a possible connection between the Photographer and her own family.

Natasha Lester has written two other books that I have recently read set largely during the Second World War. In this book she has based her story on the life of Lee Miller and other female photo journalists but it is a work of fiction. As in the other two books there is also a fashion element which contrasts with life in Europe in the early 1940s. A theme throughout the book shows the narcissistic attitude of some men serving in the military towards women working for the war effort and also to female civilians.

Jessica's story is revealed through her own experiences as well as through the discoveries made by D'Arcy. It is a story of friendship and love as well as learning to trust. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

The Paris Seamstress

After reading and enjoying the Paris Secret by Natasha Lester I decided to explore other novels that she has written. The Paris Seamstress, published in 2018, tells the story of Estella Bisette who leaves Paris for America in 1940 when it is realised that the Germans are about to invade the capital city of France. Before she reluctantly leaves her mother behind she is told that her father is an American which is why her mother has been able to obtain American documentation for Estella to travel on an American ship. In New York she attempts to make a life for herself as a fashion designer. She is assisted by Sam, who also wants to work in the fashion industry, and Janie, a model. Meanwhile she also meets Alex and Lena and discovers information about her family that her mother had not revealed.

The second part of the story involves Fabienne Bissette, a museum fashion curator, who in 2015 is working on an exhibition in Sydney on the work of her grandmother. While working on the exhibition she uncovers part of her family story which is different from what she has grown up to believe.

The book is about the impact of war on families, the struggle of women to make a living in a male dominated world, the world of fashion and also romance. Much of the work is based on historical characters and events melded into a work of fiction. The author's note at the end of the book provides brief information about this.

The Paris Secret

When a collection of Dior dresses is discovered in her grandmother's cottage on the Cornwall coast, Kat Jourdan does not anticipate the revelations about to be discovered about her grandmother and other relations during the Second World War.

The Paris Secret is a novel by Australian author, Natasha Lester. The story is told within different time frames and locations - Cornwall during the late 1920s and early 1930s; England and France during the Second World War and Cornwall and Australia in 2012.

As a child, Skye Penrose enjoyed growing up in a cottage near the beach in Cornwall, especially when she could spend time with her best friend, Nicholas Crawford. Skyes' mother brought up her two daughters alone and the girls are very aware that they do not have a father. However Skye developed a special relationship with her mother who teaches Skye and Nicholas to fly an aeroplane.

With the outbreak of war there is opportunity for pilots to join the RAF, but not if they are female. The novel looks at attitudes towards women in a male dominated world during the war and the fight by women for acknowledgement of their abilities. The role of women in the SOE is also a theme of the book.

 The Paris Secret is a work of fiction but many of the incidents described, especially in the section dealing with events in the 1940s, are based on actual events. At the end of the book Natasha Lester provides information about her research for the book and some of the sources used. The book is also about relationships within families, including sibling rivalry, plus close friendships forged when faced with danger. It is about learning to trust people, dealing with loss and how to decide whether something which may not be as it seems should be investigated or left alone. This is also a romance novel.

I have not read any other novels by Natasha Lester but after thoroughly enjoying reading The Paris Secret this omission will be rectified.

Two other books reviewed and recommended in this blog dealing with some of the themes covered in The Paris Secret:

The Lost Girls of Paris  by Pam Jennoff

Sapphire Skies  by Belinda Alexandra