"The smallest acts of courage are the ones that change the world."
In 1939, American and newlywed Ruby Henderson Benoit moves to Paris with her French husband Marcel. Her dreams of a romantic life in Paris are shattered as war breaks out and France falls to the Nazis. Her marriage collapses as well, but not before Ruby learns a secret about her husband Marcel.
Ruby's neighbors, the Dacher's are affected by the anti-Semitic laws passed in France. Charlotte is eleven when French Jews are forced to wear the yellow star and she can no longer attend school. When the government begins rounding up and deporting Jews, Charlotte's life changes forever.
RAF pilot Thomas Clarke joined the army to protect his country. After his only surviving family member is killed in the Blitz, he questions his efforts and his desire to defend his country. However, he continues to fly and his plane is shot down in France and he makes his way to Paris.
War brings Ruby, Charlotte, and Thomas together. The bonds they form in the room on the Rue Amelie keep them together, and renew their hope and sense of purpose.
The Rue Amelie sits between the Eiffel Tower and the Hotel des Invalides. I've circled it on the map. This map I have was published in Germany sometime before 1979 (The Gare d'Orsay still exists on the map).
Rue Amelie is circled.
I really enjoyed this novel and cried at the end.
***Spoiler Alert***
Author Kristin Harmel was researching WWII connections to Florida for her novel When We Meet Again when she came across the story of Virginia d'Albert-Lake, an American who married a Frenchman and moved to Paris in 1937. Virginia became a member of the Resistance and worked on the Comet escape line before her capture in 1944. She was imprisoned at Ravensbruck. Ruby's story is inspired by Virginia. Harmel was inspired by Virginia's choice to remain in Paris during the war even though as an American, she had been given the option to return home.
Virginia's diary survived the war and was published in 2006 An American Heroine in the French Resistance.
