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Two best friends in their sixties rescued dozens of Allied servicemen with the French Resistance. They faced unforeseen consequences when one of them was stuck in a Nazi prison and the other wrote a memoir detailing their experience. Now the bestselling author of “Eighty Days” shares their incredible, never-before-told story.
Etta Shiber and Kitty Bonnefous are the unlikeliest of heroines: two seemingly ordinary women, an American widow and an English divorcée, living quietly together in Paris. Yet during the Nazi occupation, these two friends find themselves unexpectedly plunged into the whirlwind of history. With the help of a French country priest and others, they rescue untold numbers of British and French soldiers, some of whom they bravely smuggle through Nazi checkpoints in the trunk of their car. Increasingly bold in risking their own security to save others, they now find themselves capable of performing extremely dangerous exploits.
Ultimately the Gestapo captures them both. After eighteen months in prison, Etta, a New Yorker of Jewish descent, is returned to the U.S. in a prisoner exchange. Back home, hoping to bring attention to her friend Kitty's bravery, Etta publishes a wartime memoir about their work. Paris-Underground becomes a publishing sensation and Etta a celebrity. Meanwhile Kitty remains in solitary confinement in a Nazi prison.
In researching this story, Matthew Goodman uncovered military records, personal testimonies, and Etta Shiber's own never-before-seen wartime letters. Together they reveal, for the first time, the shocking truth, and many lies, behind Etta's bestselling memoir and the unexpected far-reaching result of its publication. More than just a story of two women's remarkable courage, “The Paris Line” is also a page-turning account of deceit, betrayal, and personal redemption.
Etta Shiber and Kitty Bonnefous are the unlikeliest of heroines: two seemingly ordinary women, an American widow and an English divorcée, living quietly together in Paris. Yet during the Nazi occupation, these two friends find themselves unexpectedly plunged into the whirlwind of history. With the help of a French country priest and others, they rescue untold numbers of British and French soldiers, some of whom they bravely smuggle through Nazi checkpoints in the trunk of their car. Increasingly bold in risking their own security to save others, they now find themselves capable of performing extremely dangerous exploits.
Ultimately the Gestapo captures them both. After eighteen months in prison, Etta, a New Yorker of Jewish descent, is returned to the U.S. in a prisoner exchange. Back home, hoping to bring attention to her friend Kitty's bravery, Etta publishes a wartime memoir about their work. Paris-Underground becomes a publishing sensation and Etta a celebrity. Meanwhile Kitty remains in solitary confinement in a Nazi prison.
In researching this story, Matthew Goodman uncovered military records, personal testimonies, and Etta Shiber's own never-before-seen wartime letters. Together they reveal, for the first time, the shocking truth, and many lies, behind Etta's bestselling memoir and the unexpected far-reaching result of its publication. More than just a story of two women's remarkable courage, “The Paris Line” is also a page-turning account of deceit, betrayal, and personal redemption.