Random Things Tours: The Postmistress of Paris by Meg Waite Clayton

I have my own answer to the question of why there are in the last decade so many articulated historical fiction books - in English, but not only - set during WWII? Why now, and not during the times when there were eventually many more witnesses of the events? My interpretation is that the distance from those times allows a better overview of the perspective, but at the same time, the historical archives and testimonies open up to both researchers and fiction writers, a multiplicity of resources and points of view.

The Postmistress of Paris, the latest by the bestseller author Meg Waite Clayton, largely confirms my assumption. Set in the early days of the occupied Paris, it features of story of Resistance and resilience against the Evil taking control of the country and its citizens. The main characters are inspired by the American heiress Mary Jayne Gold and Varian Fry who were part of a discrete network based in France that helped Jewish artists and intellectuals to escape to America.

The historical context and circumstances are highly complex but the author approaches it with the highest concern both for creative fiction and historical accuracy. Such a successful meeting between two different truths would have not be possible without a multiplicity of sources and references of all kinds. The two sides of the story operate in sync and balance each other without fully taking control of the story. For a historian in love with literature, it is more than satisfactory.

The Postmistress of Paris is dense, and eventuful and full of suspense, but raises as well questions about human solidarity and common struggle against evil. We, the readers from the future, we may know the tragical ending of some situations, but discovering the episodes of genuine humanity and generosity in the darkest hour of history is a balm for the soul. Facts may have been different in reality, but at least there is a recognition of the many shades of humanity in between. 

For the lover of good historical fiction, this book is a generous and intelligent gift.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour, but the opinions are, as usual, my own