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About The Book

‘Masterful, magnificent. A passionate story of survival. This story will stay with me for a long time.’ Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz

The war is over, but the past is never past …

Paris, 1944. Charlotte Foret is working in a tiny bookstore in Nazi-occupied Paris struggling to stay alive and keep her baby Vivi safe. Every day they live through is a miracle until Vivi becomes gravely ill. In desperation, Charlotte accepts help from an unlikely saviour – and her life is changed forever.

Charlotte is no victim. She is a survivor. But the truth of what happened in Paris is something she knows she can never share with anyone, including her daughter. Can she ever really leave Paris behind, and embrace the next chapter of her life?

Seamlessly interweaving Charlotte’s past in wartime Paris and her present in the 1950s world of New York publishing, Paris Never Leaves You is a heartbreakingly moving and unforgettable story of resilience, love – and impossible choices.

‘Amid the glut of World War II fiction, Ellen Feldman’s nuanced romance stands out, its shifting sands of perception and reality set against a backdrop of Nazi-occupied Paris.’ Australian Women’s Weekly

‘A thrilling achievement ... I was thoroughly drawn into a deep, rich, vivid world of engrossing characters and emotional and moral crises ... a great piece of writing in every way.' Forbes

‘This beautiful novel tells the bittersweet story of a young mother's strength and survival during WWII, effortlessly capturing the terror, immediacy, and inextinguishable human spirit.’ Noelle Salazar, author of The Flight Girls

'With more twists and turns than the back streets of Paris, the story is as propulsively readable as a spy novel, and as rich and psychologically rewarding as only the finest literature can be.’ Liza Gyllenhaal, author of Bleeding Heart

‘An exquisite novel that gives us what we’re hungry for: an intelligent, complex female character who challenges our ideas of right and wrong, morality and immorality. Feldman achieves all of this with admirable precision and wit; she takes aim and does not miss.’ Elizabeth J Church, author of All the Beautiful Girls

'Completely compelling. I tore through it. This novel pivots on how we manage to survive surviving ... Charlotte's visceral story will stay with me.’ Naomi Wood, author of Mrs Hemingway

About The Author

(c)Jerry Bauer

Ellen Feldman is the acclaimed author of Scottsboro, which was shortlisted for the prestigious Orange Prize, The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank, which was translated into nine languages, Next to LoveTerrible VirtueThe Unwitting and Lucy. A former Guggenheim Fellow in fiction, she has a BA and MA in modern history from Bryn Mawr College and after graduate studies at Columbia University, she worked for a New York publishing house, like Charlotte in Paris Never Leaves You. She has lectured around the US, Germany and the UK. She lives in New York and Amagansett with her husband and rescue terrier Charlie.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia (August 5, 2020)
  • Length: 368 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781760855918

Raves and Reviews

‘Masterful. Magnificent. A passionate story of survival and a real page turner. This story will stay with me for a long time.’

– Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey

‘A thrilling achievement...I was thoroughly drawn into a deep, rich, vivid world of engrossing characters and emotional and moral crises...a great piece of writing in every way.'

– Forbes

Completely compelling. I tore through it. This novel pivots on how we manage to survive surviving... Charlotte's visceral story will stay with me.’

– Naomi Wood, New York Times best-selling author of Mrs. Hemingway and The Hiding Game

‘This beautiful novel tells the bittersweet story of a young mother's strength and survival during WWII, effortlessly capturing the terror, immediacy, and inextinguishable human spirit.’

– Noelle Salazar, author of The Flight Girls

‘An exquisite novel that gives us what we’re hungry for: an intelligent, complex female character who challenges our ideas of right and wrong, morality and immorality. Feldman achieves all of this with admirable precision and wit; she takes aim and does not miss.’

– Elizabeth J Church, author of All the Beautiful Girls

'With more twists and turns than the back streets of Paris, the story is as propulsively readable as a spy novel, and as rich and psychologically rewarding as only the finest literature can be.’

– Liza Gyllenhaal, author of Bleeding Heart

‘A powerful exploration of some of the most profound questions about love and loyalty resonates strongly today: What would you do to save your child? What is morality in wartime? How do we make peace with the past?’

– Christina Lynch, author of The Italian Party

‘A vivid and precise portrait of Paris under German occupation but it is also an exploration of the courage and cowardice of those bitter years, as well as offering a slyly persuasive love story … also giving us a wise and troubling lesson about the great moral crisis of the last century.’

– Richard Snow, author of Iron Dawn

A fluid, rich, and nuanced novel, expertly crafted, guaranteed to follow you around long after you’ve turned the last page. I gulped it down.’

– Stacy Schiff, author of Cleopatra, Vera, The Witches, and A Great Improvisation

‘Amid the glut of World War II fiction, Ellen Feldman’s nuanced romance stands out, its shifting sands of perception and reality set against a backdrop of Nazi-occupied Paris.’

– Australian Women’s Weekly

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