Summary of Lilac Girls: by Martha Hall Kelly | Includes Analysis

By . IRB Media

Summary of Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly | Includes Analysis

Preview:

Lilac Girls, Martha Hall Kelly’s debut, is a World War II-era novel based on real people and events. The novel tells the intertwined stories of three women: Caroline Ferriday, a New York socialite and philanthropist; Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish prisoner at the Ravensbrück concentration camp for women; and Herta Oberheuser, a Nazi doctor at Ravensbrück.

In 1939, 37-year-old Caroline volunteers at the busy French consulate in New York City. Scrambling to book a speaker for a gala, Caroline approaches Paul Rodierre, a handsome French actor who’s in New York to perform on Broadway. Paul agrees, and afterward Caroline and Paul begin a close and sexually charged friendship. Unfortunately for Caroline, Paul has a wife, Rena, in France.

In spring 1940, after Hitler invades Denmark and Norway, Paul goes back to Paris. He worries about Rena, who is half Jewish. By June, France has surrendered to Germany. Not long after, Caroline’s boss…

PLEASE NOTE: This is summary and analysis of the book and NOT the original book.

Inside this Instaread Summary of Lilac Girls:

Summary of the Book

Important People

Character Analysis

Analysis of the Themes and Author’s Style

About the Author

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• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781683783091

. IRB Media

With Instaread, you can get the key takeaways, summary and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Summary

Lilac Girls, Martha Hall Kelly’s debut, is a World War II-era novel based on real people and events. The novel tells the intertwined stories of three women: Caroline Ferriday, a New York socialite and philanthropist; Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish prisoner at the Ravensbrück concentration camp for women; and Herta Oberheuser, a Nazi doctor at Ravensbrück.

In 1939, 37-year-old Caroline volunteers at the busy French consulate in New York City. Scrambling to book a speaker for a gala, Caroline approaches Paul Rodierre, a handsome French actor who’s in New York to perform on Broadway. Paul agrees, and afterward Caroline and Paul begin a close and sexually charged friendship. Unfortunately for Caroline, Paul has a wife, Rena, in France.

In spring 1940, after Hitler invades Denmark and Norway, Paul goes back to Paris. He worries about Rena, who is half Jewish. By June, France has surrendered to Germany. Not long after, Caroline’s boss, Roger, tells her that he saw Rena’s name on the deceased list from Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. In 1944, US troops take Paris. Caroline finally receives word from Paul. She immediately goes to him in Paris. Paul tells Caroline that he was imprisoned at the Natzweiler concentration camp for members of the French resistance while Rena was rounded up with other Jewish people.

Just as Caroline starts making plans to remain in Paris, Rena reappears. She escaped the Nazis while en route to a camp and was taken in