The Diplomat's Wife [Paperback]

Pam Jenoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2008

Love was not a luxury Marta Nedermann could afford during the war. But with the Nazis defeated, her life takes a surprising turn when she meets Paul, a handsome American soldier. Their whirlwind romance is cut short when his troop is deployed, but promises of marriage and a rendezvous in London bolster Marta s spirits. Then, tragically, a plane crash claims Paul s life, and Marta is left alone to discover to her delight and dismay that she is pregnant.

Now, two years later, Marta has picked up the pieces and moved on. She has started over in London with her husband, a British diplomat, with whom she shares a companionable, if passionless, marriage. Simon asks her no questions, and Marta is happy to keep close her memories of Paul and let her deeds of the past remain unspoken.

But Marta s new life is anything but simple. A new war has been brought home to her doorstep: Communist loyalists have infiltrated British intelligence, and the one person who holds the key to exposing the leak is connected to Marta s past. There is a traitor amongst them who needs to prevent Marta s involvement, and no one not her former friends or current lover can be trusted.

In this dramatic follow-up to her international bestselling debut novel,
Pam Jenoff explores the sacrifices and heartbreak that come
in a time of uneasy peace and rising paranoia, when love and
desperation can make liars of us all.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Jenoff's stirring sequel to her debut, The Kommandant's Girl, chronicles the perilous post-WWII adventures of Marta Nederman, a member of the Polish resistance and best friend of the earlier book's heroine. When the Allies liberate Dachau, where Marta has been imprisoned and tortured by the Gestapo, Paul Mattison, a handsome American soldier, tenderly gives the weakened Marta a drink of water. Later, at a refugee camp outside Salzburg, Austria, Marta befriends Rose, another recovering survivor. After Rose's sudden death, Marta is able to use Rose's visa to travel to London. When en route Marta runs into Paul in Paris, the passion between the pair ignites. They promise to meet in two weeks, but tragedy ensues when Paul's plane crashes in the English Channel. Pregnant with Paul's baby, Marta marries Simon Gold, a British diplomat. Two years later, Marta goes on a dangerous mission to Poland, where a Communist takeover is imminent and where the seesaw plot takes more than one surprise twist. Historical romance fans will be well rewarded. (May)
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From Booklist

After working in the Jewish resistance in Kraków, Poland, Marta Nedermann is rescued from a Nazi prison by American soldiers. A simple gesture of human comfort by a soldier named Paul is etched in her mind, and when she sees him again in a camp for displaced persons in Salzburg, Marta is overjoyed. They meet again in Paris and become engaged, only to have Paul die in a plane crash. Marta is now scared, pregnant, and alone in a strange city. Simon Gold, an English diplomat, needs her language skills, and he wants her as well. They marry, and two years later, the English government taps Marta for help in finding a traitor in the British intelligence corps, sending her on an undercover mission that entails revisiting her past. Jenoff gives readers a thrilling and intense look at the beginning of the cold war as well as a heartrending love story about two very brave people as she continues the story of the heroic resistance members from The Kommandant’s Girl (2007). --Patty Engelmann

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Mira Books; Original edition (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778325121
• ISBN-13: 978-0778325123
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #341,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pam Jenoff is the author of several novels, including The Kommandant's Girl, which received widespread acclaim, earned her a nomination for the Quill Awards and became an international bestseller. She previously served as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. State Department in Europe, as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon and as a practicing attorney at a large firm and in-house. She received her juris doctor from the University of Pennsylvania, her masters degree in history from Cambridge University and her bachelors degree in international affairs from The George Washington University. Pam Jenoff lives with her husband and three children near Philadelphia where, in addition to writing, she teaches law school.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely a Page Turner!! July 15, 2008

By Dream Reader

Format:Paperback

I thought this book was excellent. It grabbed me from the first page and I practically read the entire book in one sitting. I simply couldn't put it down. I thought the characters were well developed and the story line twists were always exciting. The setting of the story, post WW II Europe, was also very interesting. There aren't alot of contemporary novels (that I'm aware of) that showcase what happened after the war ended and communism began to take over in the east. The author did a great job of balancing between historical elements and fictionalization. The story was also very romantic. Loved it!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A page turner - but not as good as the Kommandant's Girl November 13, 2008

By C. Francis

Format:Paperback

There is no doubt Jenoff has found her niche in the world of books. For WWII historical fiction, they are an enjoyable read; but, they lack much beyond that. However, with that said, they will hold your attention and you will find her characters easy enough to like. Personally, I love to travel and have been to most of the places in the novels and she is excellent at bringing those places to life again and again throughout her stories.

I was glad she decided to write a sequel to the first book (the better of the two) and I flew through the story in two evenings. I did feel, however, that not as much thought to detail and plot was given to her latest installment. At times, it was so predictable and unrealistic that I just wanted to turn ahead to get through the passage. I never fully believed in the relationship between Paul and Marta. I wanted to...I really did...but this book at times seemed like a "formula" no better than a Harlequin romance. Like her other book, there is a "mystery" element that holds the attention of the reader; however, this book was so predictable that it felt like her publisher might have rushed her into completing this one too quickly after the success of Kommandant's Girl.

I don't want you to think I hated the book. I didn't. It was just what I consider to be "entertainment." I didn't really have to think about much with this novel. I hope Jenoff continues to write because ultimately she can be a good storyteller. I just hope she takes more time with the next book and uses her natural gift as a writer to become more fully developed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A good, but predictable WWII story March 15, 2012

By S. Warfield TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

"The Diplomat's Wife" by Pam Jenoff is the sequel to "The Kommandant's Girl". In this second book, Marta, best friend of Emma from the the first book, winds up in Dachau. Both Emma and Marta were part of the Jewish resistance in Krakow, Poland during WWII, and Marta is freed by an American soldier. While she recovers she meets a woman named Rose and becomes fast friends with her, and in the meantime a romance has started between Marta and Paul, the American soldier who liberated her. Eventually Marta is to marry Paul, but as fate will have it, that marriage is not to be.

As in Jenoff's first book as well as this one, the horrors and suffering that people went through is made very clear. The awful conditions in the ghettos and the terror of being rounded up and sent off to a death camp for no reason other than being Jewish is told and also shows the strength that these people had under the worst possible conditions. Jenoff definitely did her research.

Marta makes her way to England and eventually marries Simon Gold who works in the Foreign Office in London. The two meet on the ship to England, and Simon thinks she would be perfect for the job in the Foreign Office that is open and needs to be filled. Marta and Simon soon have a little daughter, Rachel.

There is a Communist spy at work in London in British intelligence, and part of Marta's past comes back to her through a connection to the spy, and the only way the Communist spy can be identified is through someone who Marta knew in her Resistance days.

I read "The Diplomat's Wife" in a few days and enjoyed it, but not as much as I enjoyed "The Kommandant's Girl." As several other reviewers have written, many parts of the book were very predictable, which took away from the excitement of the story. One twist at the end surprised me, but despite it all, I still enjoyed the book and have the next one that Pam Jenoff has written. I really enjoy books, either fiction or non-fiction, that take place around or during the time of WWII, so this book still interested me historically.

If you plan to read this book, it is much better to read the first book, "The Kommandant's Girl" first, so that you can meet the characters who appear again in "The Diplomat's Wife." The second book picks up where the first one left off, so without the history behind the first one, it will be confusing and a lot of the meaning will be lost.