Hotel Exile

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR NONFICTION From an award-winning historian, the story of World War II artists, intellectuals, and refugees, and one famed Paris hotel.

"Outstanding… Rogoyska's book soars to great heights."

"Poignant and painful, Hotel Exile takes the vehicle of a hotel as a means of telling the story of exile. Set in the middle of Paris, before, during and after the Second World War, it reveals a part of this period of history that is often left unexplored."

"Riveting… Conveys the fear, devastation, and even disbelief and denial of the times. It’s a striking immersion into the trauma caused by the Nazi machine."

"[A] brilliant piece of storytelling. . . . Scintillatingly good [and] thrillingly immersive. . . . [Hotel Exile] captures the historical moment with a rare combination of urgency and empathy."

"Extraordinary. . . . An almost cinematic account that will, for many readers, connect figures and episodes in a new way."

"Hauntingly vivid. . . . Rogoyska proves such a fresh, astute and unaffected writer that there’s not a dull page."

"Hotel Exile is an extraordinary account of a Parisian institution which became a stage set for the terror, tension, and triumph of the Second World War. Its staff and guests are thrilling players in an utterly compelling account that sheds important new light on a seemingly familiar episode of modern history."

"Impressive and original. . . . Vivid and thoroughly researched. . . . A masterclass."

"Riveting—and heartbreaking."

"A gripping account of one institution in extraordinary times."

"A devastating and memorable account of lives thrown into upheaval by Nazism."

"Beautifully written… This is a compelling book full of lessons we may not wish to hear."

"Transformed from hotel to hospital, the Lutetia… and the dramas it witnessed are brought here to vivid, searing life."

"Poignant and richly layered."

"Powerful."

Jane Rogoyska is the author of Surviving Katyn: Stalin’s Polish Massacre and the Search for Truth, a winner of the Mark Lynton History Prize; Gerda Taro: Inventing Robert Capa; and a novel, Kozlowski. She lives in London.