03111cam a2200385 4500 382888851 TxAuBib 20190520120000.0 181116s2019||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2018052997 9780399182242 0399182241 (OCoLC)1050277852 TxAuBib Benjamin, Melanie. Mistress of the Ritz : a novel / Melanie Benjamin. First edition. New York : Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House, [2019] ©2019. 372 pages ; 22 cm. A captivating novel based on the story of the extraordinary real-life American woman who secretly worked for the French Resistance during World War II--while playing hostess to the invading Germans at the iconic Hotel Ritz in Paris--from the New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator's Wife and The Swans of Fifth Avenue. In March 1940, the Nazis sweep Paris and immediately take up residence in one of the city's most iconic sites: The Hotel Ritz. There, under a roof legendary for its unprecedented luxury and for its fabled residents--including Coco Chanel, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Cole Porter, Hemingway, Balanchine, Doris Duke, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and now Hermann Göring--the Nazis rule over a paralyzed city. But two residents of the Ritz refuse to be defeated: its director, Claude Auzello, and his beautiful American actress wife, Blanche. They not only oversee the smooth workings of the hotel, but both Blanche and Claude throw themselves fearlessly into the dangerous and clandestine workings of the French Resistance. This is a true-to-life novel of a courageous woman and her husband who put their marriage--and ultimately their lives--in jeopardy to fight for freedom. Intimate, fearless, and moving, it spins a brilliantly and unforgettably vivid human portrait at a time of unimaginable crisis and sacrifice. June 1940. The German Army sweeps into Paris and set up headquarters at The Hotel Ritz. In order to survive-- and to strike a blow against their Nazi 'guests' the hotel's director, Claude Auzello, and his beautiful American actress wife, Blanche throw themselves into spinning a web of deceit, working for the French Resistance. But one secret threatens to imperil both their lives-- and to bring down the legendary Ritz itself. -- adapted from jacket. 20190520. Auzello, Blanche approximately 1897-1969 Fiction. Auzello, Claude Fiction. Ritz Hotel (Paris, France) Fiction. World War II 1939-1945 Underground movements France Fiction. World War II 1939-1945 Participation, Female Fiction. Women spies Belgium Fiction. French Resistance World War II. France History German occupation, 1940-1945 Fiction. Spy stories. War stories. Historical fiction.