The Paris Daughter

The Paris Daughter (2022) is a historical fiction novel written by American author Kristin Harmel and set primarily during the Second World War (WWII). The narrative follows the artist Elise LeClair and her friend Juliette Foulon as they each struggle to protect their families through the Nazi occupation of Paris and to come to terms with the tragedy and trauma of loss. The novel consists of 37 chapters split into three parts and explores themes of Mothers, Daughters, and Maternal Responsibility and Identity, The Role of Art in Fate and Identity, and Trauma and Its Impact on Memory.

The Paris Daughter is Harmel’s 15th book. Other well-known novels written by Harmel include The Forest of Vanishing Stars (2021), The Sweetness of Forgetting (2012), and The Book of Lost Names (2020). Though an American novelists, Harmel has lived in Europe, and this setting has influenced much of her work. She has been a finalist for both the National Jewish Book Award and a Goodreads Choice Award.

This guide uses the Simon and Schuster e-book edition of the 2022 Gallery Books publication.