THE VELVET HOURS by Alyson Richman

Note: I am not a paid reviewer, and I have purchased this title to read for my personal enjoyment.

Ms. Richman learns of a real-life wonder—the recent opening of a Paris apartment that had been sealed since the start of WW2—and imagines the world of its occupant. She crafts a slowly-unfolding tale of a complicated but ultimately noble courtesan named Marthe who accumulated the apartment’s many beautiful treasures, Marthe’s reacquaintance with her son and then mentoring his daughter, and a 14thcentury Haggadah that is the key to her granddaughter’s escape from the Nazis. Wow! The story is neither an apologist for nor an endorsement of Marthe’s choices, yet steadily deepens our understanding so that Marthe grows in stature. Things come together rather conveniently for granddaughter Solange and her beau in the end, but it was the courtesan’s story I found compelling, and will remember from this one. I also enjoyed vivid, detailed descriptions of art in the apartment including ceramics, Japanese prints, and an eye-catching painting of Marthe that lords over visitors to the apartment.