num_pages: 292
description: Set against the backdrop of the Nazi occupation of World War II the captivating history of Paris's world-famous Htel Ritz-a breathtaking tale of glamour opulence and celebrity; dangerous liaisons espionage and resistance-from the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow Clicquot and The Secret of Chanel No. 5Established in 1898 in the heart of Paris on Place Vendme the Htel Ritz instantly became an icon of the city frequented by film stars and celebrity writers American heiresses and risqu flappers politicians playboys and princes. When France fell to the Germans in June 1940 it was the only luxury hotel of its kind allowed in the occupied city by order of Adolf Hitler.Tilar J. Mazzeo traces the history of this cultural landmark from its opening in fin de sicle Paris. At its center The Hotel on Place Vendme is an extraordinary chronicle of life at the Ritz during wartime when the Htel was simultaneously headquarters to the highest-ranking German officers such as Reichsmarshal Hermann Gring and home to exclusive patrons including Coco Chanel. Mazzeo takes us into the grand palace's suites bars dining rooms and wine cellars revealing a hotbed of illicit affairs and deadly intrigue as well as stunning acts of defiance and treachery where refugees were hidden in secret rooms a Jewish bartender passed coded messages for the German resistance and Wehrmacht officers plotted to assassinate the Fhrer. Yet as she makes clear not everyone at the Ritz in the spring of 1940 would survive to the war's end.Rich in detail illustrated with black-and-white photos The Hotel on Place Vendme is a remarkable look at this extraordinary place and the people and events that made it legend; the crucible where the future of post-war France-and all of post-war Europe-was transformed.
language: English
title: The Hotel on Place Vendome: Life, Death, and Betrayal at the Hotel Ritz in Paris
publisher: Harper