Thanks to William Morrow Paperbacks and Netgalley for the chance to read this advanced copy in return for an honest review.

During World War II, Margot Bisset is a young French maid accused of murder and sent to Fresnes Prison where she befriends Josephine Murant, a journalist and Resistance fighter. The women form an unlikely friendship and are transferred to a work camp in Germany to serve their sentences. They both endure untold horrors and only one of them makes it out.

In present day Paris, Evie Black, niece of Josephine Murant, is contacted by a museum curator who wishes to establish an exhibition on Josephine's life and her work in the French Resistance. There is a rumor of an unpublished manuscript and Evie and the museum curator try to find it. As they search, they uncover what Josephine and Margot's lives were like in the prison camp. They begin to understand how deep into the Resistance Josephine was and why she believed that Margot was innocent.

This was a well-told historical fiction that told the story of the Phrix Rayon factory. The Phrix Rayon factory was where the Germans created artificial rayon using viscose. The women were made to handle this acidic liquid and many ended up with scarred lungs, burns, and even blindness. Others drank the liquid in order to end their suffering. I was unaware that this factory even existed. With every historical fiction I read, I find myself researching places and events I did not know existed. Kirsty Manning is a wonderful author and I look forward to picking up more of her books and seeing what else she has to offer. ( )

An unusual twist of fate brings this story full circle as it starts in a beautiful French villa and ends there as the story concludes. Once again another WWII novel about hope and goodness triumphing over the evil empire but also shows some of the softer sides of the enemy. A worthwhile experience. ( )

A historical themed novel set in Paris and the Nazi prison camps of 2 friends and what became of them. It is an interesting mystery of how things played out in very unexpected ways over 2 generations. ( )

There's the beauty of Paris in the present, without Covid, and the richness and then poverty and scariness of Paris 1940. Going back & forth between the two time periods and women was sometimes confusing, but so worth the read! The author captures the time and people so well. ( )

A missing, unpublished manuscript by the infamous Josephine Murant who was a resistance fighter and imprisoned, a maid at a party who is tricked into carrying out a real murder and meets Josephine in Fresnes Prison, and a woman who hosted parties with grand events that got Margot arrested.

The event at one of her parties which was faking a murder that turned out to become a real murder had her maid, Margot Bisset, arrested.

We then meet and follow Josephine's niece and a museum curator, Clement, as they try to find the missing manuscript in hopes that it will give information about Josephine's life during the war and insight about her books for his exhibition.

They also are on a quest to find out who really murdered Peggy Schramsburg at the notorious woman, Tilly Munro’s, party.

We get to enjoy the French villa as they look for the book and go back and forth between present day and the days Josephine was in the war, her friendship with Margot, and her writing career.

We also learn of the Phrix Rayon Factory where the women had horrible working conditions with chemicals that caused blindness and burned their skin.

THE FRENCH GIFT is another marvelous book by Ms. Manning with a mystery within.

This book is for fans of WWII, those who enjoy discovering hidden facts about someone’s life, those who love rare books, as well as for those readers who enjoy seeing friendships blossom even in times of war.

Excellent!! Enjoy when you read it. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )