The novel follows celebrated French opera singer Madeleine Moreau and her understudy, Yvonne Chevallier, who grapple with life in occupied Paris during World War II and make radically different choices about how to save the people they love—and themselves—from the Nazis.
THE PARIS UNDERSTUDY is inspired by French soprano Germaine Lubin, who was renowned for her singing of Wagnerian roles but also for her association with Nazis during World War II.
She sang Isolde at the Bayreuth Festival in 1939, as Madeleine in THE PARIS UNDERSTUDY is scheduled to do and as Yvonne ends up doing in her place.
September 10, 2024
Alcove Press
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PRAISE FOR THE PARIS UNDERSTUDY:
“The Paris Understudy is a captivating wartime story where ambition clashes with morality under the haunting melodies of opera. Historical fiction fans will delight in Thiele’s impeccable research and enriching atmosphere.” —Andie Newton, USA Today bestselling author of The Secret Pianist
"A decadent feast reminiscent of Alexander Chee’s Queen of the Night, intense and dramatic as an aria, Aurelie Thiele’s The Paris Understudy is an engrossing, immersive portrayal of one woman’s quest to pursue her art against the violence and instability of World War II." —Monica Ferrell, author of The Answer Is Always Yes and You Darling Thing
“An electrifying glance behind the curtain of one of the world’s most famous opera houses, following the ambitions of two talented and sometimes treacherous sopranos vying for center stage on the cusp of World War Two..” —Robert M. Eversz, author of the Nina Zero novels
“An engrossing tale about war and choices—wrong ones, right ones, yet always difficult ones. I was completely drawn in.” —M. B. Henry, author of All the Lights Above Us
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This powerful debut novel brings to life the hard choices Parisians made—or failed to make—under Nazi occupation, in the tradition of Pam Jenoff and Fiona Davis.
1938. Paris Opera legend Madeleine Moreau must keep newcomer Yvonne Chevallier, whose talent she fears, off the stage.
As the long-standing star of the opera, she is nowhere near ready to give up her spotlight. The perfect solution: enlist Yvonne as her understudy so she can never be upstaged.
When Madeleine is invited to headline at Germany’s pre-eminent opera festival, she is sure this will cement her legacy.
But war is looming, and when she learns that Adolf Hitler himself will be in attendance, she knows she’s made a grave error. As Madeleine makes a hurried escape back to France, Yvonne finds herself unexpectedly thrown into the limelight on the German stage.
When a newspaper photograph shows Hitler seemingly enraptured by Yvonne, Yvonne’s life is upended.
While she is trying frantically to repair her reputation at home, Yvonne’s son is captured and held as a prisoner of war. Desperate to free her son, she makes an impossible choice: turn to the enemy.
As the Nazis invade Paris, both women must decide what they are willing to do in pursuit of their art.
They form an unlikely alliance, using their fame to protect themselves and the people they love from the maelstrom of history.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Aurélie Thiele is a French American writer and engineering professor living in Dallas, TX.
She has studied writing at the UCLA Extension School and Bennington Writing Seminars, and holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.
