Book

Hotel exile: Paris in the shadow of war

by Jane Rogoyska

2026· 368 pages

Shortlisted, Women's Prize for Non-Fiction 2026

Reserve at the library

On the shelf? Just pop in.

The Hotel Lutetia is a Paris institution, the only 'grand' hotel on the city's bohemian Left Bank. Ever since it opened, it has served as a meeting place for artists, musicians and politicians. Andre Gide took his lunch here, James Joyce lived in one of its rooms, Picasso and Matisse were regular guests. It has a darker history, too. During one short period, it became a focus for some of the most dramatic and terrible events in recent history. In the 1930s the Hotel Lutetia attracted intellectuals and political activists, forced to flee their homes when Hitler came to power, who met here with the hope of forming an alternative government. But when war came, Paris was occupied, and the hotel became the headquarters of the German military intelligence service - and the centre of their operation to root out enemies of the Reich.

Genres: History
Language: English
Publisher: Allen Lane
ISBN: 9780241679630