First published 2013
R. G. Waldeck arrives at Bucharest's luxurious Athene Palace hotel on the same day Nazi forces capture Paris. A German Jewish correspondent for Newsweek, Waldeck finds herself in the center of wartime intrigue. The hotel buzzes with Italian and German businessmen seeking oil contracts, international operatives using false names, and Nazi officials she finds intellectually sharp yet emotionally cold. She attends diplomatic dinners and cultivates relationships with enemy officers to gather intelligence. Around her, King Carol attempts to appease the Germans before abdicating to his son. Romania faces internal chaos, German occupation, and natural disaster as the country's pro-authoritarian leadership and widespread antisemitism create fertile ground for Nazi influence. Waldeck observes the polished veneer of cocktail gatherings and refined conversation while detecting the currents of brutality and avarice flowing beneath. The story captures an international community maintaining elegant social rituals even as they remain blind to the approaching horrors of systematic murder and global conflict.
Genres: international-relations, historical-fiction, 20th-century, world-war-ii
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Bucharest, Athene Palace, Paris
Period: 1940s
366 pages · ebook · University of Chicago Press