Description

‘A deeply researched and evocative true story’ ANNE SEBBA

‘Jay has the gift for forging a moving narrative from an impressive array of sources’ JEWISH CHRONICLE

Ninette Dreyfus was a cosseted scion of one of France’s most prominent Jewish families – a cousin to Albert Einstein and family friend to Colette. But when the Second World War broke out and the Germans occupied Paris, the fall from grace was dramatic. Realising that her fate would be transformed, the teenager soon found herself fleeing the capital for the South, only to fall prey to the Vichy regime. In fear of her life at the hands of the Nazis and their French collaborators, she became somebody else.

Woven together from Ninette’s own diaries and interviews with author John Jay before she died, NINETTE’S WAR traces the frailty of national and personal unity through the eyes of a young woman, in compelling and unforgettable detail.

Publisher Review

A coming-of-age story that unravels France’s dark years of Nazi occupation with the paradox of who resisted, who betrayed and who collaborated. Compelling testimony to what it means to be forced to flee your home and yet emerge with optimism and plenty of life still to be lived’ — Anne Sebba, author of LES PARISIENNES The ripples of stories about the courage and tragic fate of Jews in Nazi occupied Europe still reach us. John Jay’s reclaiming of the wartime odyssey in France of Ninette Dreyfus – aka Lady Swaythling in a later life in Britain – is spellbinding. A worthy recalling of the past in the dark times of the present — Colin Shindler, Emeritus Professor, author of THE RISE OF THE ISRAELI RIGHT and ISRAEL AND THE EUROPEAN LEFT John Jay’s riveting account of the life of Ninette Dreyfus, daughter of one branch of the illustrious Jewish family, skillfully unfurls a fascinating, textured account of France’s betrayal of the Jews during the Second World War. Cleaving to the details of her life and that of those around her, Jay provides a gripping and fresh narrative of ever-more astonishing, pacey and ultimately world-changing events. At a time when the Holocaust and the taboo against anti-Semitism moves further away in time, Ninette’s War provides urgent context and details we must not forget, alongside a compassionate, elegant tribute to one brave woman’s life — Zoe Strimpel, historian and author of SEEKING LOVE IN MODERN BRITAIN Praise for Facing Fearful Odds — : This book is a well-written and moving act of filial homage, where Jay discusses a father always beyond his reach … leaving behind little more than a few pages of an abandoned memoir and book of poems, Facing Fearful Odds explores the mystery and tries to make sense of his father’s tragic post-war life — Nigel Perrin, author of SPIRIT OF RESISTENCE * Times Literary Supplement * A pacey and well-researched from an impressive array of sources, Facing Fearful Odds is a moving testament to filial love. Jay has the journalists gift for moving a narrative along in a pacey fashion, and takes us to the heart of darkness where so many men like his father had to dwell, giving him a voice through this work of love — Ben Barkow, director of the Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide * Jewish Chronicle * A fascinating account of life in a prisoner-of-war camp … Facing Fearful Odds is remarkable reconstruction of one man’s war and moving tale of endurance and courage * Daily Express * A vivid and engaging description of [Alec Jay’s] war experience * Hampstead & Highgate Express * Well written with useful maps and interesting photos … [will be] of interest to anyone looking for a soldier’s tale of captivity — The WW2 Escape Lines Memorial Society