Hotel on Place Vendome: Life, Death, and Betrayal at the Hotel Ritz in Paris

by Tilar J Mazzeo

Set against the backdrop of the Nazi occupation of World War II, The Hotel on Place Vendome is the captivating history of Paris's world-famous Hotel Ritz-a breathtaking tale of glamour, opulence, and celebrity; dangerous liaisons, espionage, and resistance-from Tilar J. Mazzeo, the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow Clicquot and The Secret of Chanel No. 5 When France fell to the Germans in June 1940, the legendary Hotel Ritz on the Place Vendome-an icon of Paris frequented by film stars and celebrity writers, American heiresses and risque flappers, playboys, and princes-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 siecle Paris. At its center, The Hotel on Place Vendome is an extraordinary chronicle of life at the Ritz during wartime, when the Hotel was simultaneously headquarters to the highest-ranking German officers, such as Reichsmarshal Hermann Goring, 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. Rich in detail, illustrated with black-and-white photos, The Hotel on Place Vendome is a remarkable look at this extraordinary crucible where the future of post-war France-and all of post-war Europe-was transformed.

• ISBN10: 0061791083
• ISBN13: 9780061791086
• Publish Date: 11 March 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 10 April 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Harper
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.com.au/9780061791086

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

When I first bought this book (based on reviews by BL friends) I couldn't wait to get started on it, but RL was busy at the time.  In my excitement, I showed it to my mother-in-law, who promptly borrowed it.  She returned it quickly, but the buzz had worn off and the book languished in my TBR for a couple of years.

I picked it up this week and happened to read the "other works" list in the front and saw that Mazzeo also wrote The Widow Clicquot, a book I started reading a couple of years ago and put back down because the florid writing was killing me.  I almost put this book back in the pile after seeing that, but fortunately, I didn't.

Someone mentioned in their review that this narrative history read like a soap opera; I could definitely see some of that in a few of the chapters, but mostly what I got out of the book was that even amongst the very, very rich there were those that just wanted to get through it with little notice or involvement (Jean Cocteau), those that used the occupation to further their own ends (Coco Chanel), those that treated it as a game (Hemingway) and those who felt they were above it all (Arletty).  Interspersed among the glitterati were those that were quietly fighting the good fight under everyone's noses.

But what struck me as slightly hyperbolic before I read the book, became clear by the end:  an astounding amount of history originated or passed through the Hotel Ritz during World War II.  Mazzeo writes an engrossing narrative describing the highlights (and low) in a structure that mostly makes sense and is easy to follow; a few times her backtracking left me flipping back pages to get back on the timeline, but overall it was a very easy, interesting and absorbing read.

This book certainly gave me an education:  Hemingway's competitiveness, Chanel's anti-semitism and was-she/wasn't-she spy status, Edward and Wallis' fascism.  But one story was the best: the story of Lieutenant Alexandre Rosenberg.  I won't spoil it here, but wow... against astronomic odds...  So. very. awesome.

I dinged it 1/2 star because there were some egregious copyediting errors, including one phrase repeated within a sentence.  Lots of missing articles, and a few instances of excessive use of a single word in a paragraph or sentence.  Really obvious stuff that should have been caught.  The author also hints at further developments to be revealed later in the narrative but then never reveals them.  (Mazzeo foreshadows that Laura Mae Corrigan faces trouble at the end of the war, after winning two medals for service, but then never mentions her again.)

Overall though, an excellent read; really interesting and one I'd not hesitate to recommend to someone interested in narrative histories.

[meowstina]

I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy reading historical fiction set during WWII, so I was definitely intrigued when I received this ARC. It explores a different perspective of the war: that of the rich and powerful, and set in the changing and elegant landscape of Paris, France. While I thought the book would only focus on this tumultuous time period, it also offers overviews of before and after the war for a complete picture of what the political and social landscape was, as centred around the Hotel Ritz.

The first half of the book seems a little disorganized to me, as within chapters timelines jump back and forth and events outside of the hotel/hotel’s patronage are discussed. The second half fully makes up for it and makes for interesting stories about people who stayed at the Ritz and their adventures associated with the hotel. Patrons were divided between politicians/German officers and creative types, though to (some) of their detriments they mingled. It’s insightful to read about familiar names such as Ernest Hemingway and Coco Chanel, and their parts in the war, but also about the general happenings and secrets.

A real account of war, love, and scandal, this nonfiction account of the Hotel Ritz’ varied history is an interesting and enlightening read.

[brokentune]

Review first published on BookLikes:
http://brokentune.booklikes.com/post/825604/the-hotel-on-place-vendome

(This review is abridged and edited for GoodReads.)

If you are looking at this book, please don't be misguided by the cover and the publisher's blurb - the book does reveal a great deal on Paris during the German occupation but it does not exclusively focus on the personalities of Nazi generals. Rather it is the story of hotel Ritz from its first opening to its present day - but it is told using the stories of the people who used to live, visit, dine, and run the hotel.

It is a good story made even more remarkable by well researched insights into the Ritz family, Marcel Proust, the Dreyfusards, Winston Churchill, Charles De Gaulle, Georges Mandel, Coco Chanel, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Capa, Marlene Dietrich, Ingrid Bergman, Jean Cocteau, Picasso, ... and a whole band of other personalities.

Of course, as promised by the dust jacket blurb, there is abundant information on the German occupation of Paris but the book also describes the sheer incredible situation of where employees of the hotel would use their position to pass information to the resistance or organise false passports.

What surprised me most about the book was that it was written in an engaging style where each chapter dealt with a different pairing or grouping of people to tell a story, but chapter by chapter, the stories interlinked. It is really clever writing. And I guess, it is this that made it difficult for me to put the book down.