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The Best WWII Historical Fiction About the Resistance
By: Angela & Melissa
Updated:
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we may earn a referral fee from qualifying purchases.While the books on this list are all historical fiction set during World War II, many are based on real stories and real heroes who risked everything for the greater good by joining the Resistance.
We love the reminder that even when evil is trying to prevail, we can choose to see the good and even become the good.
Historical Fiction Books Featuring WW2 Resistance Workers
After Paris
Book Summary
In 1940s Nazi-occupied Paris, Cécile, a French actress, uses her position and relationships with high-ranking Germans to gather intelligence for the Resistance. Sylvia Rousseau, a Polish Jewish woman living under a false identity as Cécile’s dressmaker, helps refugees escape the Nazis. Both women feed intelligence through Cécile’s sister, Émilie, risking their lives daily in organized resistance work.
In present-day Virginia, twenty-five-year-old Ruby has spent the last two years battling cancer. Now she’s ready for a new project: researching a French actress. As she uncovers the stories of Cécile and Sylvia, she finds unexpected inspiration for her own life.
The Secret History of Audrey James
Book Summary
In 2010, Kate left London after a tragic life event. She ended up living in a guest house near the Scottish border, hoping she’d be able to heal in the peaceful surroundings. But the mysterious elderly proprietor seems to have secrets.
In 1938, in Berlin, Audrey was weeks away from graduating from a prestigious music school. During her time at the school, she lived with her best friend Ilse Kaplan’s family and dreaded having to return home to her own father.
Before Audrey has to face her father, Ilse’s parents and brothers disappear. High-ranking Nazi officials confiscate their upscale home, and Audrey must quickly hide Ilse in the attic. Audrey then pretends that she is a housekeeper so she’ll be able to remain in the house.
While Ilse remains a prisoner in her own attic, Audrey becomes part of the anti-Hitler movement. Her group is part of the resisters working to bring down the Nazis from within Germany itself.
Historical Context
This novel, from the author of Looking for Jane, was inspired by true stories about the Red Orchestra resistance movement.
Book Summary
Based on Nancy Wake’s real life, Code Name Hélène introduces you to four different names of this unlikely Australian helper.
As Lucienne, she smuggles people across the border to safety. Her success in those efforts leads to a bounty on her life and a new nickname, The White Mouse.
After training with the Special Operations Executive in Britain, she was assigned the code name Hélène. When she returned from training and became an influential leader in the French Resistance, she became Madam André.
Book Summary
Kristoff is an apprentice to a master Jewish stamp engraver when his teacher disappears during Kristallnacht in 1938. While German soldiers force him to engrave stamps by day, his skills also allow him to help send messages and forge papers alongside Elena, his teacher’s daughter.
In 1989, after a divorce, Katie is decluttering her home when she comes across her father’s stamp collection. When an appraiser, Benjamin, discovers a WWII-era Austrian stamp on a love letter, he and Katie set out to uncover a story that spans decades and continents, including behind the newly fallen Berlin Wall.
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
In 1943, the Müller family seems like the model Nazi family, with Ava working for Joseph Goebbels alongside her father, a high-ranking official in the Reich. Her sister, Hanna, is a nurse for German soldiers.
When Ava visits the family’s country home, she is shocked to discover that Hanna and her parents have been secretly working for the Resistance. Not only are they hiding childhood friend Eliana and her parents in the attic, but their work has a wider reach. Once Ava’s eyes are open to the truth about the regime, she begins the dangerous job of undermining the Reich from within its own headquarters.
The Book of Lost Names
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
In 1942, Eve fled Paris after her father was arrested for being a Polish Jew. When she arrives in the Free Zone, she decides to help Jewish children escape by creating new identity documents for them. She doesn’t want their true identities to be lost forever, so she begins documenting them in The Book of Lost Names.
Sixty-five years later, in Florida, Eve is now a semi-retired librarian. She’s shocked when she sees a photo of the book in a magazine article about the looting of libraries in WWII. Only Eve knows the code contained within the book, but she’s not sure if she has the strength to revisit this tragic time in history.
The Librarian Spy
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Ava lives a quiet life as a Library of Congress librarian. Her world is turned upside down when she gets a new job offer from the US military. They want her to work undercover as a librarian in Lisbon, but her real goal would be to act as a spy.
In France, Elaine is an apprentice at a printing press run by the Resistance. As Nazis search for the press to shut them down, Ava and Elaine are connected through the coded messages they send. These book lovers find unexpected hope and friendship through their work with each other.
More About This Book
While this historical fiction novel is not based on one specific story from WWII, it is inspired by the true fact that the US government used librarians as spies during the war, sending them to neutral countries to gather intelligence under the guise of their library work.
For another historical fiction take on this topic, you might also want to read The Librarians of Lisbon by Suzanne Nelson. Set in London in 1943, this novel focuses less on the role of the librarians and reads more like a WWII espionage/romantic-suspense story.
Book Summary
In April of 1937, seventeen-year-old Sibi and her family are caught up in the horror when bombs drop from the sky in Guernica in Basque Country. She is saved by Griff, an American military attaché. While Sibi saw Nazi emblems on the planes, Germany claimed no involvement in the attack. Griff wisely instructs Sibi to lie to the Nazi officials about what they saw.
As the war expands, Sibi joins the Resistance and works to pass information to Griff while maintaining the facade of a Nazi sympathizer. This false support of the enemy becomes even more complicated when the scope of Germany’s ambitions is revealed.
Another Book to Consider
Guernica was inspired by Picasso’s famous work of the same name.
Karen Robards has another highly rated Resistance-themed novel, Black Swan of Paris, about a beautiful singer in Paris who is being used by her manager, Max, as a smokescreen for his work in the Resistance.
Book Summary
Londoner Madeleine met her husband Giles, a French journalist while studying at the Sorbonne. They are raising their young son, Olivier, as war breaks out across Europe. Giles sends Madeleine and Olivier to the relative safety of England while he stays behind to join the Resistance.
Sadly, a terrible twist of fate causes her to lose her son despite their efforts to protect him. Madeleine then bravely accepts a request from the ministry to aid in the war effort. She returns to France, desperately hoping to find Giles and do everything she can to stop the Reich and get revenge for the death of her son.
A Place to Hide
Book Summary
Teddy Hartigan comes from a wealthy Washington, DC family with the political clout to secure him a comfortable job with the State Department. Then, in 1938, as Hitler’s rise continues, Teddy is reassigned to the US Consulate in Amsterdam to replace staff who are fleeing.
His job is to process visa applications, and by 1939, he’s swamped with refugees from Nazi-conquered Poland, Austria, and other countries desperate to secure safe passage to America. After Teddy and his girlfriend, Sara, adopt a young girl who was abandoned at a school, he realizes that he has the keys to save countless more lives. He risks his own safety by joining an underground resistance group.
About the Author
Ronald Balson is a practicing attorney and former adjunct professor of business law in addition to being an author. He won the 2018 National Jewish Book Award in the Book Club category for his novel The Girl from Berlin, which follows a seventy-eight-year-old woman facing eviction while revealing her past in Nazi-occupied Italy and Berlin.
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
99% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
The Nightingale tells the story of French sisters Vianne and Isabelle, who have always been at odds. Vianne is a rule follower, and Isabelle is more rebellious and willing to speak her mind. With WWII escalating, Isabelle intends to fight for France. At the same time, Vianne simply wants to survive the war with her family intact – even if it means allowing a German officer to live in her home.
Isabelle, who refuses to live passively under German authority, joins the French Resistance and guides Allied airmen out of France after their planes are shot down—work for which she adopts the codename Nightingale. As the war progresses, both sisters learn who they are and what they can do.
Thoughts On This Book…
In this novel, the two sisters take different approaches to making a difference during the war. As a result, this book is also included on our list of books about humanitarian helpers during WWII.
If you’ve already read and loved The Nightingale, be sure to check out our list of the Best Books Like The Nightingale.
The Secret Letter
Book Summary
In Germany, 13-year-old Magda is devastated when her best friend is taken to a concentration camp. Magda secretly joins a youth resistance movement known as the White Rose movement, but when an English pilot lands near her home, she has to decide whether to save the stranger at the risk of endangering her family.
In England, fifteen-year-old Imogen is separated from her family and evacuated to the Lake District – a safe space away from the bombs and battles ravaging Europe. As she writes letters to her loved ones, little does she know that her fate rests on the actions of a girl she’s never met.
Historical Context and Genre Notes
The true story of the White Rose youth resistance movement inspires this WWII historical fiction. While the main characters are both young, this book is not YA—it is adult fiction with adult content.
Resistance Women
Book Summary
When Mildred Fish from Wisconsin married a German economist, they couldn’t predict what would happen in Germany when they moved back to his homeland in the early 1930s.
As the Third Reich rose to power, they committed to gathering intelligence and developing a network of women dedicated to stopping the regime. Their critical work continued for years until Nazi radio operators detected an errant signal, exposing them to the highest risk yet.
Historical Context
This book is based on true events and is a great look at ordinary people doing extraordinary things to stop evil. Like The Secret History of Audrey James, which is also on this list, this historical fiction is based on the Red Orchestra resistance network.
The Paper Girl of Paris
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
96% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Alice’s grandmother, Adalyn, just passed away, and she left the sixteen-year-old an apartment in Paris – one that’s been locked up for more than seventy years and that no one in the family knew existed.
Now Alice is spending the summer in Paris, and with the help of Paul – a Parisian student – she’s determined to find out why her grandma never mentioned the family that she left behind when she left France during WWII. The more she learns about the past, the more she realizes that her family is also hiding secrets in the present.
This dual-timeline novel also transports us back to Paris in the 1940s. It’s a city that sixteen-year-old Adalyn hardly recognizes as the Occupation brings new terrors daily. When she meets a young leader of a resistance group, she sees an opportunity to fight back, but she soon finds herself having to make more and more compromises.
Our Thoughts on This Book
We know that some people are hesitant to read YA historical fiction, but Angela recently finished this book and found it to be an excellent depiction of the French Resistance. Our readers who have rated this book with us definitely agree.
Sisters of the Resistance
Book Summary
In France in 1944, Catherine Dior, sister of fashion designer Christian Dior, was a real-life Resistance hero. This historical fiction novel tells the story of two of her recruits, sisters Gabby and Yvette.
While Gabby initially tried to avoid trouble with the occupying forces, she was swept into the Resistance after discovering an elderly neighbor hiding a wounded British airman.
Yvette takes a bolder path, working as a courier for the Resistance. The sisters soon find themselves in a dangerous world of espionage, safe houses, and clandestine operations to protect their community.
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
96% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Pino is a typical Italian teenager who wants nothing to do with the war. He’s much more interested in music, food, and girls. But when Allied bombs destroy his home in Milan, his innocence is lost. He joins an underground railroad that helps Jews escape over the Alps on skis.
His parents force him to enlist as a German soldier to avoid being drafted. They think this will protect him, but he is injured nonetheless. No longer able to fight, Pino is recruited to become the personal driver of one of the Third Reich’s top commanders in Italy. This new role allows him to aid the Allies from the inside as a spy.
A Note About Historical Accuracy
The author based this novel on the true experiences of Pino Lella, whom he interviewed extensively. Since its publication, some have questioned whether Pino Lella was actually involved with the boys of Casa Alpina, who skied refugees across the Swiss border. In either event, the underground railroad described in the book did exist, whether the real-life Pino was a part of it or not.
This highly-rated novel is a bit on the longer side, coming in just over 500 pages.
The Winemaker’s Wife
Book Summary
In Champagne, France, Michel has the perfect storage space in the Champagne House, Maison Chauveau, to assist the Resistance by hiding munitions. His new wife fears they’ll be caught, but the risk is even higher for the half-Jewish wife of their head winemaker.
In 2019, New York City, Liv is surprised by a visit from her grandmother and her insistence that they travel to France together. Her grandmother is ready to share her tragic wartime history, and eventually, they end up in the cellars of Maison Chauveau.
More Books to Consider
Several other Kristin Harmel books also feature Resistance work, and they are all extremely highly rated.
The Beekeeper’s Promise
Book Summary
Eliane tends to the bees at the beautiful Château Bellevue in France. It’s 1938, and her peaceful life is being threatened as France’s eastern border is getting closer to war. Eliane is separated from her first love, Mathieu, as the Germans occupy their town, and Eliane makes the brave choice to join the Resistance.
In the present day, Abi is also running from heartbreak as she takes a summer job in rural France at the Château Bellevue. The Château is deeply connected to the past, and Abi is drawn to the incredible tale of one woman.
Thoughts on This Book
Reviewers say this book will transport you to France and is rich with bee-related themes & language.
Book Summary
While the French Resistance is the most talked-about underground network, it wasn’t the only important group fighting back against the Third Reich’s cruelty. Young Germans started the White Rose movement, speaking out against their government’s escalating actions. This novel is based on their stories.
Natalya had already witnessed the horror of war on the Russian front as a volunteer nurse. She’s a student at the University of Munich when she begins seeing White Rose leaflets hidden in public places. Siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl and their friends are responsible, and Natalya feels compelled to go all-in to support their efforts, even if it means risking her life.
Historical Context
This historical fiction novel is based on the real White Rose resistance group that formed in Germany during WWII.
All the Ways We Said Goodbye
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
This historical fiction moves from the dark days of WWI and WWII to the turbulent years of the 1960s. In each era, women with bruised hearts – an heiress, a Resistance fighter, and a widow – find refuge at the legendary Ritz Hotel in Paris.
In the 1940s timeline, Marguerite “Daisy” Villon has a brave American grandmother working for the Resistance and a husband who sympathizes with Hitler’s regime. While she’s reluctant at first, she soon becomes deeply involved in her grandmother’s efforts and works as a courier for a famous document forger, Legrand.
Book Summary
This dual-timeline WWII historical fiction follows the lives of three young seamstresses who share a small apartment above the fashion house where they work in German-occupied Paris. While all three seem to be simply going about their daily lives, each is actually hiding a secret. Mireille is fighting with the French Resistance; a German officer has seduced Claire, and Vivienne’s involvement can’t even be revealed to her friends.
Two generations later, Claire’s granddaughter travels from England to Paris and finds herself living and working in the same building her grandmother occupied. When she finds a box of old photos and letters, she begins to investigate.
Take Note
There are some graphic descriptions of war crimes in this novel.
The Lost Vintage
Book Summary
Kate is struggling to pass the notoriously difficult Master of Wine Exam. As she studies for her third attempt, she decides to travel to Burgundy to spend the fall working at the vineyard estate that has been in her family for generations.
While helping her cousin clean out the basement, she first comes upon boxes of family memorabilia, including a diary of an unknown relative. She then discovers a secret passage that leads to a hidden room filled with WWII Resistance pamphlets and hundreds of bottles of extremely valuable wine.
Against her uncle’s wishes, she begins digging into the family history, hoping to uncover the truth about the diary keeper—her great-aunt, who was a teenager during the German occupation. As the story unfolds, the line between Resistance and Collaboration blurs.
Our Thoughts on This Book
Angela enjoyed reading this dual-timeline WWII historical fiction and learning about the role of the Burgundy region near the Demarcation Line in WWII. Additionally, she enjoyed learning more about wine and winemaking.
Girl in the Blue Coat
Book Summary
Eighteen-year-old Hanneke was devastated by the loss of her boyfriend, who died on the Dutch front lines when the German soldiers invaded. As a small act of rebellion, unbeknownst to her family, she begins to smuggle black-market, hard-to-come-by items, such as sugar, bacon, tea, and alcohol.
During one of her deliveries, she ends up getting pulled into much more dangerous work when one of her clients, Mrs. Janssen, asks her to help find a missing person – a Jewish teenager that Mrs. Janssen had been hiding, but who has now disappeared. Hanneke is reluctant, but agrees to help and finds herself drawn into the heart of the Dutch Resistance.
Historical Context
This YA historical fiction is based on the real Amsterdam Student Group (ASG), a WWII Dutch Resistance organization that helped to rescue thousands of Jewish children.
Book Summary
In Nazi-occupied Netherlands, there is very little to eat, and everyone lives under the constant threat of arrest. Edda is fifteen years old and ready to help the Dutch resistance after her uncle is killed and her brother is sent into hiding. The family is running out of their meager food supply, and it’s now up to Edda to help however she can.
Surprising Inspiration for This Book
This middle-grade novel by award-winning author Tom Palmer was inspired by the real childhood of Audrey Hepburn before she became a Hollywood legend. If you’re looking for a shorter read that still highlights a teen’s true contributions to resisting Nazi atrocities, this is a great pick.
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Thank you for the list and even more for your reason behind making this list. Silence is complicity and there are so many ways to resist.
Thank you for this list. I have read many of these books, but there are also ones I have not read. I appreciate your summaries they are very helpful.
I’m disappointed that your historical fiction list is only WW2 books. I’ve read WW2, they are so heavy and emotional I can only read a few a year. There are so many other eras to read about. The Women( Vietnam) also very emotional, The Radium Girls, Finding Margaret Fuller Just to name a few OTHER great historical fiction books.
I look forward to your other lists as they arise!
Thanks,
Betsy
Hi Betsy, We do have all the books you mentioned on other lists. The topic of this list was specific to Resistance workers during WW2 because we wanted to highlight the amazing, brave, self-sacrificing women who saved countless lives during the war. We think it’s important to highlight that even during the worst times, humans have an amazing capacity to remain positive and be the helpers.
I have read four in this reading list. The Nightingale was a favorite. Thank you for recommending The Book Thief. I will be sure and read it.
The Book Thief is one of my all time favorites and I really liked The Nightengale. Great list – many are on my TBR list.
What a great list! The Book Thief is one of my, all time, favorites and I’ve already read 3 other books from this list. For readers who have seen the 60 Minutes special segment on the Ritchie Boys and any others who’d like to know more about these secret heroes of WWII, I’d like to suggest my award winning novel, Immigrant Soldier, the Story of a Ritchie Boy, by K. Lang-Slattery. This historical novel follows a German-Jewish young man as he evolves from a frightened and frustrated teenager looking for a place to belong into a confident and caring U.S. Army intelligence officer working under General Patton.