A review by kittykornerlibrarian
Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin

4.0

I really enjoy Melanie Benjamin's historical fiction... this one is set in Paris, spanning a time period between the 1920s and the 1940s. It's the story of a marriage between Claude, the manager of the luxurious Ritz hotel, and Blanche, an American actress who steals his heart unexpectedly. Their story focuses on the marriage itself, coming to terms with differing sets of expectations, and moves onward to the couple's role in Nazi-occupied Paris. It's a very nice mix of the personal and the historical. The characters are interesting, and the Ritz definitely is enough of a presence to count as another character. I especially enjoyed the reflections from both Claude and Blanche of how to survive in an authoritarian environment. This is an author I follow.