A Bookshop in Berlin

Initially published as No Place to Lay One's Head - the unforgettable story of one woman's struggle to survive persecution in wartime France

‘An astonishing memoir... as gripping as any thriller’ Sunday Times

‘Utterly compelling, at once painful and exquisite’ Philippe Sands, author of East West Street

In 1921, Françoise Frenkel - a Jewish woman from Poland - opens Berlin’s first French bookshop. It is a dream come true. The bookshop attracts artists and diplomats, celebrities and poets. It brings Françoise peace, friendship and prosperity. Then, in the summer of 1939, the dream ends and Françoise begins a desperate, headlong flight from Nazi persecution.

Unfolding in Berlin, Paris and against the stunning landscapes of southern France, A Bookshop in Berlin is a heartbreaking tale of human cruelty and unending kindness - and of a woman whose lust for life refuses to leave her, even in her darkest hours.