The Winter Guest Synopsis
A stirring novel of first love in a time of war and the unbearable choices that could tear sisters apart, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan's Tale
Life is a constant struggle for the eighteen-year-old Nowak twins as they raise their three younger siblings in rural Poland under the shadow of the Nazi occupation. The constant threat of arrest has made everyone in their village a spy, and turned neighbor against neighbor. Though rugged, independent Helena and pretty, gentle Ruth couldn't be more different, they are staunch allies in protecting their family from the threats the war brings closer to their doorstep with each passing day.
Then Helena discovers an American paratrooper stranded outside their small mountain village, wounded, but alive. Risking the safety of herself and her family, she hides Sam--a Jew--but Helena's concern for the American grows into something much deeper. Defying the perils that render a future together all but impossible, Sam and Helena make plans for the family to flee. But Helena is forced to contend with the jealousy her choices have sparked in Ruth, culminating in a singular act of betrayal that endangers them all--and setting in motion a chain of events that will reverberate across continents and decades.
Originally published in 2014.
Don't miss Pam Jenoff's new novel, Last Twilight in Paris, a gripping mystery and an unforgettable story about love and survival.
Read these other sweeping epics from New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff:
- Code Name Sapphire
- The Lost Girls of Paris
- The Woman with the Blue Star
- The Orphan's Tale
- The Ambassador's Daughter
- The Diplomat's Wife
- The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach
- The Kommandant's Girl
About This Edition
ISBN: |
9780778311577 |
Publication date: |
7th December 2021 |
Author: |
Pam Jenoff |
Publisher: |
Park Row an imprint of Park Row Books |
Format: |
Paperback |
Pagination: |
352 pages |
Primary Genre |
Historical Fiction
|
Other Genres: |
|
Recommendations: |
|
About Pam Jenoff
Pam Jenoff was born in Maryland and raised outside Philadelphia. She attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and Cambridge University in England. Upon receiving her master's in history from Cambridge, she accepted an appointment as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army.
Following her work at the Pentagon, Jenoff moved to the State Department. In 1996 she was assigned to the U.S. Consulate in Krakow, Poland. It was during this period that Pam developed her expertise in Polish-Jewish relations and the Holocaust. Working on matters such as preservation of Auschwitz and the restitution of Jewish property in Poland, Jenoff developed close relations with the surviving Jewish community.
Jenoff remains involved in Polish-Jewish issues by writing articles and participating in a number of organizations. She has been honoured by the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, served on the board of directors of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Southern New Jersey, been appointed as a fellow to the Salzburg Seminar (Social and Economic Dimensions of Human Rights), advised the Auschwitz Jewish Centre and is a member of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America.
Having left the Foreign Service in 1998 to attend law school at the University of Pennsylvania, Jenoff is now employed as an attorney in Philadelphia, where she also does pro bono and civic work focusing on at-risk youth, hunger relief and homelessness. The Kommandant's Girl is her first novel.
Author photo © Dominic Episcopo
More About Pam Jenoff