Karren Sandercock 's Reviews > The Paris Understudy

Madeleine Moreau is a French Opera singer, she wants keep her position as the leading lady at the Paris Opera House and where her husband Henri is the conductor. Yvonne Chevallier is talented, younger and her main rival and Madeleine doesn’t want her taking the spotlight. Madeleine is invited to sing at Germany’s Bayreuth Festival, she’s honoured and then she discovers Adolf Hitler will be in attendance, she knows she’s made a big mistake and Madeleine flees.

Yvonne finds herself given the main role, her voice is sublime and it soars, and at the after party she tries to hide from Adolf Hitler and Winifred Wagner. Unfortunately Yvonne is cornered, a newspaper photographer takes a group shot and it looks like Yvonne’s gazing at Hitler in admiration, it’s not true and she despises the man. Yvonne has no idea this one moment will change her life and what people will think about her and her career.

The Germans invade Paris, both Madeleine and Yvonne must decide what they will do to survive, keep their loved ones safe and to sing at the Paris Opera House.

I received a copy of The Paris Understudy by Aurélie Thiele from Alcove Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Wow, what an amazing debut novel by the author, it starts in 1936 and ends in 1948 and is based around real facts.

The narrative’s set in Paris during the Second World War, it’s a well written and engrossing story about survival and sacrifice, resilient and strong women, good versus bad, and an unlikely alliance. Five stars from me, and it made me think what I would do if I was in the main characters situation, did she have a choice and I admired her courage.