The first female chair of the National Gallery, she describes her characters’ physical characteristics with the eye of someone who’s spent a lifetime looking carefully at paintings.

Rothschild is an intelligent writer and an elegant prose stylist. Mixed The Wall Street Journal Nothing is left out in this madcap, convoluted novel, which parodies British aristocracy on one hand and the social-climbing world of new money on the other. Florence, despite her heroism, remains somewhat opaque. Perhaps because of that journal, Carl comes across vividly as an outgoing, empathetic character. Miraculously this little book (and its owner) survived the sinking of the ship taking him to hard labor in Japan. His most rewarding source is Carl’s prison journal, written in pencil in a small spiral notepad, a meticulous record of prison events and the names of the soldiers who died, along with his musings and even his dreams. Mrazek, a novelist, historian and former congressman, has researched letters, diaries, memoirs and firsthand reminiscences for his detailed account. Mrazek’s description of victims she saw upon entering their headquarters is so harrowing I couldn’t finish reading it. The writing is brisk and energetic the saga unfolds with enormous suspense. Mrazek weaves their stories into a series of short back-and-forth chapters, organized like scenes from a play. At the same time he provides a dramatic account of Engelhart’s ordeal as a prisoner of war. Mrazek unfolds her audacious plan to help prisoners and underground freedom fighters. Donner’s reports of the torture inflicted by the Gestapo are so gruesome I had to stop reading. 30, 1933, puts the reader right into the scene with its details of the Nazi victory parade. Her description of the day Hitler was named chancellor, Jan. Her account of the decline of liberties is harrowing. Donner evocatively brings to life the giddy feeling of freedom under the Weimar regime in Berlin and how swiftly it eroded. But it’s a deeply affecting biography, meticulously researched and illustrated with photographs, documents, diary entries, smuggled notes, and fragments of a Gestapo questionnaire Mildred was made to fill out in prison on her last day alive. There are occasional lapses in the writing, and sometimes the cliff-hangers are a little forced. A nonfiction narrative with the pace of a political thriller, it’s imbued with suspense and dread. Donner’s use of the present tense increases the feeling of inevitability as she unfolds her story to its horrific conclusion.

No Place for a Lady by Barbara Hodgson