Inspired by the true story of one woman's fight to survive during the twentieth century's darkest hour
Paris, 1935. A dark shadow falls over Europe as Adolf Hitler's regime gains momentum, leaving the city of Paris
on the brink of occupation. Young Madeleine Levy—granddaughter of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish World War I hero—
steps bravely into a new wave of resistance and becomes the guardian of lost children.
When Madeleine meets a small girl in a tattered coat with the hollow look of one forced to live a nightmare—a
young Jewish refugee from Germany named Anna—she knows she cannot stand idly by. Paris is full of children like
Anna, frightened and starving, innocent casualties of a war barely begun. Madeleine offers them comfort and strength
while working with other members of the resistance to smuggle them into safer territories.
But as the Paris she loves is transformed into a theater of tension and hatred, many people are tempted to abandon
the cause—and the country. And amidst the impending horror and doubt, Madeleine's relationship with Claude, a
young Jewish Resistance fighter as passionate about saving vulnerable children as she is, deepens. With a questionable
future ahead of them, all Madeleine can do is continue fighting and hope that her spirit—and the nation's—won't
be broken.
A remarkable, panoramic novel, The Paris Children is a story of love and tragedy that illuminates the power of
hope and courage in the face of adversity.