Isabelle Engqvist was a Swedish woman who lived in political exile in Paris during the World War II era. She was a passionate supporter of the resistance and spent much of her time writing. In her essays she described her feelings of being a Jew trapped in the anti-Hitler stance of her birth country. The United States government under the leadership of Attorney General Dulles, approved her classification as a national danger and forcibly returned her to Sweden where her writings flourished.
The stories in her novels are all centered around the personas of her main characters; an American in Paris, an English-speaking Jewish woman in Nazi Germany, an aging woman in Hollywood, and a political immigrant in her native land. Each character’s identity crises and foibles help to define and develop their unique relationships. Engqvist’s ability to create believable characters helped to build a world that felt like it was real, even though it was. This is one book I always find fascinating.
If you enjoy historical romance and would prefer something a little more modern in genre, then I would highly recommend you read “The Girl from Iruland” by Isabelle Engqvist. Although a sequel to “Irene”, this book takes place in 1940 instead of the early part of the war. But despite the difference in time period, the basic plotlines of the story and the way each character deals with conflict remains the same. And if you have a soft spot for historical fiction or even if you just enjoy the written word, then I’d recommend this book to you.