Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Warsaw, 1943: Every night, Franceska dances at the most dangerous hotel in Poland. She knows which floorboards creak on the stage, which waiters are clumsy, and which officers like to be smiled at.
After her performance, one strap of her black silk dress sliding off her shoulder, she sips champagne with the terrifying SS commander who is determined to rid the streets of Jewish people. She charms him in the soft candlelight, hoping he might lead her to her missing sister. And she prays he misses the glances she exchanges with the man in the corner of the dining room, who is helping her smuggle Jewish people into the hotel and to safety.
The war has stolen so much from Franceska. She has almost nobody left in the world, and little to lose. But as she bewitches the soldiers with her dancing and flattery, extracting details that will help her in her quest, will she pay with the ultimate sacrifice? For as she fights the dark, she can no longer hide in the dark…
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Hotel Dancer to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
It’s been some time since I have read a book by Ellie Midwood and after a run of only mediocre historical fiction reads, I was looking for something that had a bit of meat to it with a good solid storyline, well developed characters, decent pacing and some twists and turns. That’s certainly what I got with The Hotel Dancer. Right from the prologue, I was gripped and it’s not often that I can say that. The tension and suspense from the opening pages remained throughout as the reader never knew what each turn of the page would bring. Danger, anxiety, suspicion, threats, hazards and risks all abound. The prologue sets us up nicely for what is to come. It takes place in Poland in October 1943. I won’t give away any details of it but the reader is left with numerous questions. Most pressing how did the characters get themselves into the situation that is presented and is there any hope that they can make their way out of it? To discover the answers we must make our way back in time to Warsaw earlier in 1943 and what follows is an incredible story based on a real life young dancer at the time whose acts of bravery only highlighted what tremendous sacrifices and daring acts so many people put themselves through during the war.
Franceska Mann (although she will go by the name Ewa throughout the book which is her new identity) has escaped the Warsaw ghetto following its liquidisation. She is traumatised by what she has witnessed but at the same time there is a hardness and steeliness to her persona that only grows the further she sinks into the world of the Nazi’s who have overtaken and rule her beloved city. Her time in the ghetto meant she saw horrific things and was forced into horrendous situations in order to just to survive. Her friend Lena, takes her in and offers refuge and sanctuary as Franceska tries to navigate life without her parents and beloved sister Zofia. As she is Jewish she has to remain in hiding but when soldiers come to Lena’s apartment a new Franceska is born with a new story and life which must be kept secret at all costs. Instead of hiding away and willing the time to pass until the war is hopefully over, Franceska jumps straight into the lion’s den and is employed at the Hotel Polski as a dancer. Prior to the war she was beginning to become well known as a ballerina and these talents will be put to good use.
The descriptions of the Hotel Polski were fantastic. I could just imagine it as the central social site where high ranking Nazi’s and soldiers of the Wehrmacht gathered nightly and indulged in all manner of things. Lena and Franceska perform there and thanks to the soldiers lead a fairly good life as they provide them with food and other necessities. But I always felt Franceska was playing an incredible risky game. For if her heritage was discovered it would have meant instant death. Yet as she dances under the spotlight she shows how astute and courageous she is as she watches every little movement and gathers as much information and detail as she can. For all Franceska wants is freedom and happiness and for life under oppression to come to an end .A simple dignified existence is what she craves and she will not lay down or be beaten in trying to achieve this. My heart was constantly in my mouth that with each new chapter she would be discovered but she played the game well although as the story developed I really felt that she was far too close for comfort and that surely the Germans could not fail to notice what was going on under their noses?
Franceska is a strong, brave and determined woman. She knows what is at stake but becomes adept at manipulating situations to her advantage. But isn’t every player in the game also doing the same? As the layers that enshroud the Hotel Polski are peeled back it becomes evident that there is far more going on than just entertaining soldiers and officials. A new web is exposed and one which Franceska wants to cling to. She becomes involved in helping those who have remained in hiding since the ghetto was raided. She earned my respect for this because she could have just continued dancing and counting down the days until freedom if that was ever to materalise. Instead, she placed herself front and centre in order to conceal a much bigger operation at work the finer details of which I won’t divulge so as not to ruin the story for readers. She is resilient alongside the group that she ingratiates herself into. Resistance and determination are what fuel her but as the links in the chain start to become apparent I did think how can she not see that a certain character may not be as they seem. That they couldn’t possibly be as helpful or turning a blind eye for given their ethnicity and status they couldn’t do what the author wished us to believe.
A strong female character needs a strong male to bounce off but little did I think it would come in the form of Ritter, the head of the local criminal police. It all seemed to be good to be true with him and I thought Franceska was just falling right into the exact spot that the Germans wished her to be in before they pounced. The author developed the plot in such a way that you were sure that one thing was happening as the evidence presented backed this up and the characters were saying and doing specific things would have also suggested this. I just didn’t know who or what to believe and even as I neared the final chapters and once again as I read through an astounding and powerful epilogue I had my fingers crossed for an alternative outcome. How brave the author was to do this but as the story is rooted in historical accuracy she had to go in a certain direction. But what one would it be I had no idea given I had never heard of Franceska Mann prior to reading this book.
The Hotel Dancer is a powerful read packed full of tension and emotion and Franceska becomes a character that you grow to admire for she never wavered from her quest of doing what she firmly believed was right and just. Both heartbreaking and atmospheric, despite the harrowing and at times difficult subject matter this story really packs a punch but all the characters who put themselves forward and did incredible things at the most distressing and challenging of times deserve to be given a voice and not become forgotten people in history. Ellie Midwood gave Franceska a voice and showed what a courageous and remarkable woman she was. One who was a fighter until the very last. Without doubt this is one of the better historical fiction books with World War Two at its focus that I have recently read and I look forward to what the author brings us next.
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