Paris In Ruins

M.K. Tod

Heath Street Publishing, Mar 30, 2021 - Fiction - 370 pages

Paris 1870. Raised for a life of parties and servants, Camille and Mariele have much in common, but it takes the horrors of war to bring them together to fight for the city and people they love.

The story of two women whose families were caught up in the defense of Paris is deeply moving and suspenseful ~~ Margaret George, author of Splendor Before the Dark: A Novel of the Emperor Nero

Tod is not only a good historian, but also an accomplished writer … a gripping, well-limned picture of a time and a place that provide universal lessons ~~ Kirkus Reviews.

A few weeks after the abdication of Napoleon III, the Prussian army lays siege to Paris. Camille Noisette, the daughter of a wealthy family, volunteers to nurse wounded soldiers and agrees to spy on a group of radicals plotting to overthrow the French government. Her future sister-in-law, Mariele de Crécy, is appalled by the gaps between rich and poor. She volunteers to look after destitute children whose families can barely afford to eat.

Somehow, Camille and Mariele must find the courage and strength to endure months of devastating siege, bloody civil war, and great personal risk. Through it all, an unexpected friendship grows between the two women, as they face the destruction of Paris and discover that in war women have as much to fight for as men.

War has a way of teaching lessons—if only Camille and Mariele can survive long enough to learn them.

M.K. Tod's elegant style and uncanny eye for time and place again shine through in her riveting new tale, Paris in Ruins ~~ Jeffrey K. Walker author of No Hero’s Welcome

About the author

About the Author

Paris in Ruins is M.K. Tod’s fourth novel. Mary began writing in 2006 while living as an expat in Hong Kong. What started as an exploration of her grandparents’ lives and a way to keep busy ultimately turned into a full-time occupation writing historical fiction. Her other novels include Unravelled which was awarded Indie Editor’s Choice by the Historical Novel Society, Lies Told in Silence, a World War One novel featuring a French family, and Time and Regret, a dual timeline story about a woman searching her grandfather’s World War One past. Beyond writing historical novels, Mary blogs about reading and writing historical fiction at her award-winning blog A Writer of History and is known for her highly respected reader surveys. She lives with her husband in Toronto, Canada, and is the mother of two adult children and two delightful grandsons.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Paris In Ruins
• Author: M.K. Tod
• Publisher: Heath Street Publishing, 2021
• ISBN: 0991967054, 9780991967056
• Length: 370 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Historical / General; Fiction / Women