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An International Bestseller
A celebrated bartender at the Ritz Hotel during the Nazi occupation of Paris harbors a dangerous secret in this international bestseller based on a true story.
Paris, 1940. The Nazis have descended on Paris and the Occupation has begun. Businesses across the city have shuttered, but the legendary Ritz Hotel remains open, its dazzling lights still burning bright on the Place Vendôme. When it becomes the favorite watering hole of the occupying forces, its barman, Frank Meier, is forced to adapt to a new clientele. But Frank has a secret: he is Jewish.
Tensions rise as the war progresses, but Frank refuses to leave his post behind the bar. Unbeknownst to the Nazi officers he serves night after night, Frank forms precarious alliances with unlikely accomplices in order to save other Jewish families in the city and keep his loved ones alive.
Inspired by real events, with the highest of stakes and a brilliant protagonist, “The Barman of the Ritz” is a heady cocktail of history and fiction set in one of Paris's most glamorous places, diving deep into the impossible choices of an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances.
A celebrated bartender at the Ritz Hotel during the Nazi occupation of Paris harbors a dangerous secret in this international bestseller based on a true story.
Paris, 1940. The Nazis have descended on Paris and the Occupation has begun. Businesses across the city have shuttered, but the legendary Ritz Hotel remains open, its dazzling lights still burning bright on the Place Vendôme. When it becomes the favorite watering hole of the occupying forces, its barman, Frank Meier, is forced to adapt to a new clientele. But Frank has a secret: he is Jewish.
Tensions rise as the war progresses, but Frank refuses to leave his post behind the bar. Unbeknownst to the Nazi officers he serves night after night, Frank forms precarious alliances with unlikely accomplices in order to save other Jewish families in the city and keep his loved ones alive.
Inspired by real events, with the highest of stakes and a brilliant protagonist, “The Barman of the Ritz” is a heady cocktail of history and fiction set in one of Paris's most glamorous places, diving deep into the impossible choices of an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances.
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Reviews
"Narrator Simon Paisley Day brings his skills as a stage and screen performer to this complex story of a man who lives to serve his patrons while protecting his own secrets. Frank is a skilled, erudite bartender at the Hotel Ritz in Paris. While he appears unflappable as Hitler gains power and the Germans occupy France, he struggles to conceal his Jewish identity. When German soldiers occupy the hotel, Frank quietly works to protect those targeted by the Third Reich. Day captures this history with reverence, unfolding the story with a distinct theatricality that's a pleasure to hear. He conveys Frank's layered persona with depth.
A complex, moving performance capturing the best of humanity during one of history's darkest chapters."
AudioFile