Review: Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin

Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin
Delacorte Press
Publication: May 21st, 2019

Hardcover. 384 pages.

About Mistress of the Ritz:

"Nothing bad can happen at the Ritz; inside its gilded walls every woman looks beautiful, every man appears witty. Favored guests like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Coco Chanel, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor walk through its famous doors to be welcomed and pampered by Blanche Auzello and her husband, Claude, the hotel's director. The Auzellos are the mistress and master of the Ritz, allowing the glamour and glitz to take their minds off their troubled marriage, and off the secrets that they keep from their guests--and each other. 

Until June 1940, when the German army sweeps into Paris, setting up headquarters at the Ritz. Suddenly, with the likes of Hermann Goring moving into suites once occupied by royalty, Blanche and Claude must navigate a terrifying new reality. One that entails even more secrets. One that may destroy the tempestuous marriage between this beautiful, reckless American and her very proper Frenchman. For the falsehoods they tell to survive, and to strike a blow against their Nazi "guests," spin a web of deceit that ensnares everything and everyone they cherish. 

But one secret is shared between Blanche and Claude alone--the secret that, in the end, threatens to imperil both of their lives, and to bring down the legendary Ritz itself. 

Based on true events, Mistress of the Ritz is a taut tale of suspense wrapped up in a love story for the ages, the inspiring story of a woman and a man who discover the best in each other amid the turbulence of war."

There is a seemingly endless supply of books set somewhere and sometime during World War II, which makes it rather difficult to find stories that take a new approach to the setting and are able to introduce something that hasn't been seen before. Mistress of the Ritz was a refreshing take on this time period and I truly enjoyed following the characters in this book as they navigated the tensions and struggles associated with the Nazi regime. I don't generally read that many WWII books anymore because I got so burnt out on them, but I'm glad I decided to give this book a shot!

Mistress of the Ritz follows married couple Blanche and Claude Auzello as they learn how to live through the Nazi regime--and more importantly as the Nazis both take over control of the famed and luxurious Ritz hotel as headquarters and take over more and more of France and surrounding countries. I absolutely loved the hotel setting (pre-Nazis, of course), and this was part of what first enticed me to read this book. The cameos and appearances of famous figures and celebrities were exciting and felt rather like inside jokes at times, which I appreciated, and the descriptions of the goings-ons and regular routine of the hotel were such an interesting component. I loved the behind the scenes look of how luxurious things were and also how things slowly changed over time as the Nazis remained at the hotel and essentially dictated how everything was handled there. It was a tense, melancholy sort of atmosphere that permeated at many times and led to a really interesting narrative. Even with this atmosphere, however, the story still remained fairly upbeat and steady as the characters handled various obstacles and learned how to take new steps to adapt to their surroundings while also remaining true to their morals.

Much like in the previous book I read by Benjamin, The Girls in the Picture, the protagonists were heavily flawed, but also relatable enough that I found myself drawn to them and eager to see how things worked out for them. Blanche felt like the main focus of this book and I really loved seeing her character develop from someone rather flighty and carefree to someone who really makes an effort to change her ways and do things that are bigger than her to make a difference. Claude took a while for me to warm up to, as he has some less-than-favorable qualities as both a man and a husband that made it hard for me to understand him or get behind his actions. That being said, he does have some slow development that put me into his shoes and let me at least understand his actions, even if I didn't always agree with them. Both characters have many layers to unpeel throughout the story and I thought that Benjamin executed this really well. These are characters that aren't always easy to love, but struggle with so many things that everyone can relate to that it's easy to follow into their lives.

The POV switches between Blanche and Claude, as well as between various time periods in their lives, centering largely between the present narrative and starting at a specific time in the past when they first met. I found the time period switches slightly difficult to follow at times because of how often it jumped around and also with how the two characters would often reminisce about moments in the past while telling the present narrative.  It made it easy for me to forget that we were in the present narrative rather than the past--if any of that makes sense. This is similar to what Benjamin did in The Girls in the Picture, so it seems to be a stylistic preference. Other than that hiccup in the storytelling, I had no problems with the POV.

Overall, I've given Mistress of the Ritz four stars! This was a really well done book set during WWII with colorful characters that are full of mixed morals, but also entirely compelling. If you, like me, ever find yourself fatigued of WWII books--or even if you love them and just want something new--I encourage you to pick up Mistress of the Ritz.

*I received a copy of Mistress of the Ritz in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating of the novel.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Review: The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin

The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin

Bantam, 2019 
(original hardcover pub. 2018)

Paperback. 480 pages.

About The Girls in the Picture:

"'It is 1914, and twenty-five-year-old Frances Marion has left her (second) husband and her Northern California home for the lure of Los Angeles, where she is determined to live independently as an artist. But the word on everyone's lips these days is "flickers"--the silent moving pictures enthralling theatergoers. Turn any corner in this burgeoning town and you'll find made-up actors running around, as a movie camera captures it all. 

In this fledgling industry, Frances finds her true calling: writing stories for this wondrous new medium. She also makes the acquaintance of actress Mary Pickford, whose signature golden curls and lively spirit have earned her the title "America's Sweetheart." The two ambitious young women hit it off instantly, their kinship fomented by their mutual fever to create, to move audiences to a frenzy, to start a revolution. 

But their ambitions are challenged by both the men around them and the limitations imposed on their gender--and their astronomical success could come at a price. As Mary, the world's highest paid and most beloved actress, struggles to live her life under the spotlight, she also wonders if it is possible to find love, even with the dashing actor Douglas Fairbanks. Frances, too, longs to share her life with someone. As in any good Hollywood story, dramas will play out, personalities will clash, and even the deepest friendships might be shattered."

I've been eager to dive back into some historical fiction lately, and Melanie Benjamin fit that mark perfectly. The Girls in the Picture is an ambitious undertaking, tackling two incredible women who paved the way for so many other women to come, and Benjamin did truly epic work in chronicling this fictionalized account.

Prior to reading The Girls in the Picture, I'd say that my knowledge of the beginnings of the movie industry--from the "flickers" to longer silent movies to "talkies"--was relatively lacking. I knew the basics of how things developed, but nothing more than that. With this book, I feel like I now have a fairly solid foundation of how the movie industry developed and who some of the biggest players were and I'm thrilled that I got to go on this journey with the incredible screenwriter Frances Marion and actress Mary Pickford.

The Girls in the Picture switches between the narratives of Fran and Mary, the former being told in first person POV and the latter told in third person. Because Fran was told in first person, I felt a lot closer to her as a character and was more engaged in her life, which I assume was the intent of the author. Mary was a slightly more unpredictable and enigmatic figure because I couldn't get inside her head to the same extent as Fran, and I actually liked this balance between the two POVs. It also helped to keep them very distinct from one another, though their characters and personalities are already very different from one another and provided a striking contrast between one another.

I loved following Fran. I had heard of Mary Pickford before, but Frances Marion was a new name for me and now I can't believe I'd never heard of her. Her accomplishments and attitude toward her career are truly inspirational, and although I don't have much prior knowledge about her to fully compare, it seems that Benjamin did a wonderful job portraying her. I've since found myself researching and looking into Fran's life ever since I put down this book, which is the sign of good writing to me when the author makes me want to learn more about something. Fran is a determined go-getter, someone who is not afraid to put herself out there and take advantage of every single opportunity given to her. She's also an empathetic person who seems to genuinely care about those around her. I was impressed by what a strong, unique, and believable voice Benjamin was able to imbue in Fran, bringing her to life and letting me feel strong connections with her. Mary's portrayal is just as vivid as Fran's, though the connection with her character is not as strong due to the manner in which her story is told. Still, her development from a young, eager, talented actress to the woman she grows up to be was handled wonderfully. Both women have important stories and lessons to tel, and I appreciated being able to go along for the ride.

I loved how Benjamin incorporated so many quiet--yet meaningfully loud--notes on the sexism that these women faced in the movie business. I think that even though we are living in a time where women are making their voices heard more in regards to harassment and sexism, it's still easy to ignore the issues that occurred in the past. Benjamin made these struggles real and shone a great light on them. I was especially excited to read about Fran's involvement in World War I and her documentation of the women's roles during that time--I had no idea that existed and I'm so glad Benjamin gave it the time and notice it served in this book.

Although I truly enjoyed this book and the lives of these two women, there were a few minor issues that I had with it that I'd like to note. First, I found the writing style seemed slightly rushed at times. Benjamin has a lot of content to work with so I can understand it's probably hard to fit it all in, but I sometimes felt things seemed to move too quickly and had somewhat bumpy writing or dialogue along the way. The Girls in the Pictures has a lot of rather large time jumps when the POVs switch as well (continuously moving in the future, however, no back-and-forth time jumps), so sometimes I felt as though I missed out on too much or things changed too quickly. This isn't something that took away much from my enjoyment overall, as I still found the story itself engaging and I wanted to know what would happen, but it is also what made me hold back from fully loving this as much as I could have. Similarly, as much as I love that Benjamin obviously performed a lot of research, there were a few moments throughout where I almost felt as though I were reading a nonfiction book that was talking about certain developments in the movie business when discussing companies and public figures. Again, this isn't a huge issue and I did like learning about the history, but it does slow down the pace a bit.

That being said, I absolutely plan to continue checking out more of Melanie Benjamin's books (including her upcoming release Mistress of the Ritz), and I encourage any historical fiction fans to check her out as well. Overall, I've given The Girls in the Picture four stars!

*I was contacted and provided a copy of The Girls in the Picture in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating of the book.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

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