Skip to main content

Chateau of Secrets by Melanie Dobson: A Book Review

Chateau of Secrets
Author: Melanie Dobson
Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian 
Publisher: Howard Books
Release Date: 2014
Pages: 400
Source: My State Public Library
Synopsis: A courageous young noblewoman risks her life to hide French resistance fighters; seventy years later, her granddaughter visits the family’s abandoned chateau and uncovers shocking secrets from the past.

     Gisèle Duchant guards a secret that could cost her life. Tunnels snake through the hill under her family’s medieval chateau in Normandy. Now, with Hitler’s army bearing down, her brother and several friends are hiding in the tunnels, resisting the German occupation of France.

     But when German soldiers take over the family’s château, Gisèle is forced to host them as well—while harboring the resistance fighters right below their feet. Taking in a Jewish friend’s baby, she convinces the Nazis that it is her child, ultimately risking everything for the future of the child. When the German officers begin to suspect her deception, an unlikely hero rescues both her and the child.

     A present day story weaves through the past one as Chloe Sauver, Gisèle’s granddaughter, arrives in Normandy. After calling off her engagement with a political candidate, Chloe pays a visit to the chateau to escape publicity and work with a documentary filmmaker, Riley, who has uncovered a fascinating story about Jews serving in Hitler’s army. Riley wants to research Chloe’s family history and the lives that were saved in the tunnels under their house in Normandy. Chloe is floored—her family isn’t Jewish, for one thing, and she doesn’t know anything about tunnels or the history of the house. But as she begins to explore the dark and winding passageways beneath the chateau, nothing can prepare her for the shock of what she and Riley discover…

     With emotion and intrigue, Melanie Dobson brings World War II France to life in this beautiful novel about war, family, sacrifice, and the secrets of the past

     My Review: During her fiance’s campaign to be a governor, Chloe receives a phone call from her mother asking her to go to her grandmother’s chateau in France. There, she is to meet with Riley who is doing a documentary of the German occupation of France. When she arrives, she learns her grandmother’s heroic deeds. During WWII her grandmother, Gisele, housed the Germans in her home, while she hid the French resistance and two Americans beneath the chateau's tunnels. Can Gisele keep up her deception to protect the soldiers and those she loves?

    I was enthralled by Gisele’s story. Gisele was an amazing heroine. She did incredible deeds to save those around her. She protected her brothers and the soldiers and claimed a Jewish baby as her home to keep her safe. She was a strong woman and was dealt many obstacles. Nevertheless, she kept her courage and overcame them. Readers will be taken away with Gisele and admire her selflessness. As for Chloe, I thought that she needed more development. I thought she was overshadowed by her illustrious grandmother. She was curious and determined to find out her grandmother’s secret. However, I preferred Gisele’s story over hers.

   Overall, this book is about, love, family, bravery, and good deeds. It is a story about a woman’s heroism during WWII. Even though Gisele was a fictional character, the author based the story on a real-life person, Vicomtesse Genevieve Menke. I also liked how Mrs. Dobson has portrayed not all Nazi’s as the bad guy. One of them helps Gisele throughout her obstacles. In this novel, Mrs. Dobson portrays that some Nazi’s were forced to join Hitler’s regime to protect their loved ones. Chateau of Secrets is a thought-provoking novel that will be sure to linger with you long after you read the last page. I recommend this book to fans of The Girl from Berlin, The Orphan’s Tale, and The Velvet Hours.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

King Alfred's Daughter: The Remarkable Story of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, the Heroine who Written out of History by David Stokes: A Book Review

King Alfred’s Daughter: The Remarkable Story of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, the Heroine who was Written out of History Author: David Stokes Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: The Book Guild Publication Date: 2023 Pages: 348 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: King Alfred is dead and the achievements that made him great are in jeopardy. Rebels challenge the succession of his son Edward to the Wessex throne, and his old ally in Mercia is sick. The Vikings in the Danelaw sense the time has come to complete their conquest of England.       It falls on Alfred’s firstborn, his daughter, Æthelflæd, to unite the Anglo-Saxons. Reluctantly, she takes up the challenge. But can a woman rebuild ruined towns and lead men into battle against hardened Viking warriors? And can Æthelflæd fulfil her father’s dream of uniting England?       Based on contemporary sources and archaeological evidence, King...

King John's Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa De La Haye by Sharon Bennett Connolly: A Book Review

King John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa De La Haye Author: Sharon Bennett Connolly Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Pen & Sword History  Release Date: 2023 Pages: 236 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In a time when men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle against all-comers. Not once, but three times, earning herself the ironic praise that she acted ‘manfully’.      Nicholaa gained prominence in the First Baron’s War, the civil war that followed the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215. Although recently widowed, and in her 60s, in 1217 Nicholaa endured a siege that lasted over three months, resisting the English rebel barons and their French allies. The siege ended in the battle known as the Lincoln Fair, when 70-year-old William Marshal, the Greatest Knight in Christendom, spurred on by the chivalrous need to rescue a lady in distress, came to Nicholaa’s aid. ...

Cleopatra's Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen by Jane Draycott: A Book Review

  Cleopatra’s Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen Author: Jane Draycott Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Liveright Release Date: 2023 Pages: 336 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The first modern biography of one of the most influential yet long-neglected rulers of the ancient world: Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Antony and Cleopatra.      As the only daughter of Roman Triumvir Marc Antony and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII, Cleopatra Selene was expected to uphold traditional feminine virtues; to marry well and bear sons; and to legitimize and strengthen her parents’ rule. Yet with their parents’ deaths by suicide, the princess and her brothers found themselves the inheritors of Egypt, a claim that placed them squarely in the warpath of the Roman emperor.      “Supported by a feast of visual and literary references” (Caroline Lawrence), Cleopatra’s Daughter reimagines t...