The Women in the Castle

By: Jessica Shattuck

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Three women, haunted by the past and the secrets they hold

Set at the end of World War II, in a crumbling Bavarian castle that once played host to all of German high society, a powerful and propulsive story of three widows whose lives and fates become intertwined - an affecting, shocking, and ultimately redemptive novel from the author of the New York Times notable book The Hazards of Good Breeding.

Amid the ashes of Nazi Germany's defeat, Marianne von Lingenfels returns to the once-grand castle of her husband's ancestors, an imposing stone fortress now fallen into ruin following years of war. The widow of a resister murdered in the failed July 20, 1944, plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Marianne plans to uphold the promise she made to her husband's brave conspirators: to find and protect their wives, her fellow resistance widows.

First Marianne rescues six-year-old Martin, the son of her dearest childhood friend, from a Nazi reeducation home. Together they make their way across the smoldering wreckage of their homeland to Berlin, where Martin's mother, the beautiful and naive Benita, has fallen into the hands of occupying Red Army soldiers. Then she locates Ania, another resister's wife, and her two boys, now refugees languishing in one of the many camps that house the millions displaced by the war.

As Marianne assembles this makeshift family from the ruins of her husband's resistance movement, she is certain their shared pain and circumstances will hold them together. But she quickly discovers that the black-and-white, highly principled world of her privileged past has become infinitely more complicated, filled with secrets and dark passions that threaten to tear them apart. Eventually all three women must come to terms with the choices that have defined their lives before, during, and after the war - each with her own unique share of challenges.

Written with the devastating emotional power of The Nightingale, Sarah's Key, and The Light Between Oceans, Jessica Shattuck's evocative and utterly enthralling novel offers a fresh perspective on one of the most tumultuous periods in history. Combining piercing social insight and vivid historical atmosphere, The Women in the Castle is a dramatic yet nuanced portrait of war and its repercussions that explores what it means to survive, love, and ultimately forgive in the wake of unimaginable hardship.

©2017 Jessica Shattuck (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Shattuck has written a beautiful, thought-provoking story, and Campbell's masterful reading strikes just the right chord in portraying each character's pain and joy." ( AudioFile)

Disappointing lack of detail.

Would you try another book from Jessica Shattuck and/or Cassandra Campbell?

I was looking forward to this book, but the title is misleading. There was very little about the time the women spent in the castle or its relevance. There was a lack of background or facts to understand why the lead character Marianne was so attached to her childhood friend's child and not her own. She seemed to think only about her childhood friend and not her own husband. There also lacked information about a stolen identity and how exactly that happened; or about how Marianne found the two other women or one of the other women's child post WWII. Even when the ending claimed Marianne was a hero of The Resistance it was without any earlier facts in the book to support the claim. Such information would have made for a better historical novel. The book, however, did get me to think about how to deal with people after such a tragedy, especially when that tragedy bent so many minds in an evil way and caused people to commit horrible acts.

Could have been better

This book was good up to a point, but the story just went on and on. If it were shorter, it would have been better. I usually like long books because if they are really good, I don't want them to end. This one drug on.

wonderful look at post war Germany

I enjoyed learning about Germany as it recovered from the Nazi deprivation. This book offers insight into a variety of issues.

good story, poor narration

the story was thought-provoking, however the voice acting was very distracting with many of the characters sounding exactly the same.

Excellent historical novel

WWII from a different perspective...diverse characters brought together and what they must do to survive the war in Germany. The toll it took on the people in Germany is rarely the subject of the narrative but is handled well here. The narrator Cassandra Campbell is one of my favorites and she does not disappoint, bringing these women to life. If you enjoy historical fiction, I think you will find this an interesting read..

loved the story. Narrator did a spectacular job.

I really liked the whole story, and felt the narrator did such a good job with all the accents. I especially liked how the author brought each character to completion.

Wonderful

What an amazing spellbinding story! Loved every minute of it. Would listen again and again.

Bouncing time line

Great descriptions of life in Germany after the War to end all wars and through WWII and its aftermath. this would have been a 4 plus star book except the author changes perspective and bounces back and forth between different years, locations, and people which I found confusing. If you like the twists and turns of a mystery novel it has that flavor.

Wonderful. Just Wonderful.

Any additional comments?

This book was great. I loved everything about it. The story, the narration...EVERYTHING! Get this book!!!

didn't want to stop.

I learned so much from Marian story,,watch how you judge people. stories like this helps you appreciate how blessed we really are!