Pam Jenoff is an American historian, and best-selling author, who specializes in WWII novels. Pam’s writing process was deeply inspired by her life. Pam was born in Maryland. She attended Cherokee High School and George Washington University, and received her Master’s degree in history from Cambridge University.
Jenoff’s life did not take off until she became the Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. Pam Jenoff’s life changed because the job allowed her to see how government works at the top level.
She observed how those around her responded to emergencies and disasters.
The author’s government job took her from the Pentagon to the State Department. Her work gave her important insight into the relationship between Polish and Jewish people.
Here, Jenoff became friends with many Holocaust survivors. This gave her a fresh outlook on the horrific events they had endured. The author started to consider writing fiction at this point.
As an adult, she discovered that she was pulled toward historical fiction. And, once she had mastered writing fiction, she chose set her novels in the times of World War II, using everything she’d learned about it throughout her career.
Pam Jenoff Books in order
Jordan Weiss Series
Kommandant’s Girl
Winter Guest
Pam Jenoff Standalone Novel
- The Things We Cherished (2011)
- The Last Embrace (2012)
- The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach (2015)
- The Orphan’s Tale (2017)
- The Lost Girls of Paris (2019)
- The Woman with the Blue Star (2021)
Similar authors
- The Huntress by Kate Quinn follows Nina. She becomes the target of the Huntress, a Nazi murderess, and only her courage will keep her alive.
- Kristin Harmel’s The Book of Lost Names follows Eva. She is forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. She seeks refuge in a small town in the Free Zone. There, she fabricates identification documents for Jewish children escaping to Switzerland.
See also: Pat Conroy Books in Order.
Most recommended books
- The Woman with the Blue Star (4.15 Goodreads score)
- The Orphan’s Tale (4.04 Goodreads score)
- The Diplomat’s Wife (The Kommandant’s Girl, #2) (3.95 Goodreads score)
- The Lost Girls of Paris (3.89 Goodreads score)
- The Winter Guest (3.88 Goodreads score)
Awards
Pam Jenoff’s first novel was The Kommandant’s Girl, published in 2007. For it, Jenoff received a Quill Award nomination.
Upcoming releases
Pam’s newest book will be named ‘Code Name Sapphire. The publication date is set for 2023. It follows a woman who has to rescue her cousin’s family from an Auschwitz train.
Book summaries
Almost Home / The Officer’s Lover (2009)
A breathtakingly poignant novel of suspense about a woman who must face a past she’d rather forget in order to uncover a dangerous legacy that threatens her future.Ten years ago, U.S. State Department intelligence officer Jordan Weiss’s idyllic experience as a graduate student at Cambridge was shattered when her boyfriend Jared drowned in the River Cam. She swore she’d never go back—until a terminally ill friend asks her to return. Jordan attempts to settle into her new life, taking on an urgent mission beside rakish agent Sebastian Hodges. Just when she thinks there’s hope for a fresh start, a former college classmate tells her that Jared’s death was not an accident—he was murdered.Jordan quickly learns that Jared’s research into World War II had uncovered a shameful secret, but powerful forces with everything to lose will stop at nothing to keep the past buried. Soon, Jordan finds herself in grave peril as she struggles to find the answers that lie treacherously close to home, the truth that threatens to change her life forever, and the love that makes it all worth fighting for
A Hidden Affair (2010)
Past wars, past lives, past loves…Can we ever really let them go…And should we?Ten years ago, U.S. State Department intelligence officer Jordan Weiss’s life was turned upside down when she was told her college boyfriend, Jared, drowned in the River Cam. In a shocking discovery, though, she realizes that things weren’t as they seemed and that she had been lied to and betrayed by those closest to her. Reeling from the shock— and the knowledge that Jared is still alive—Jordan resigns her State Department post and sets off in search of answers. Traveling to Jared’s last known whereabouts on the French Riviera, she encounters Nicole, a mysterious woman who flees after refusing to disclose what she knows about Jared.Following Nicole across Europe, Jordan soon discovers that she is not alone in her pursuit— Aaron, a handsome and enigmatic Israeli, is chasing Nicole for his own cryptic reasons. Though distrustful of each other, Jordan and Aaron join forces on a journey that takes them half a world away, and only steps ahead of grave peril.As Jordan draws closer to finding the answers that have eluded her for a decade, larger questions remain: Can she reconcile her attraction to Aaron with her unresolved feelings for Jared, the only man she ever loved? Will the truth be too devastating to handle or finally set her free?
The Kommandant’s Girl (2007)
Nineteen-year-old Emma Bau has been married only three weeks when Nazi tanks thunder into Poland. Within days Emma’s husband is forced to disappear underground, leaving her alone in the Jewish ghetto. In the dead of night, the resistance smuggles her out and brings her to Krakow, where she takes on a new identity as Anna Lipowski, a gentile.Emma’s already precarious situation is complicated by her introduction to Kommandant Richwalder, a high-ranking Nazi official who hires her to work as his assistant. As the atrocities of war intensify, Emma must make unthinkable choices that will force her to risk not only her double life, but also the lives of those she loves.
The Diplomat’s Wife (2008)
1945. Marta Nederman has barely survived the brutality of a Nazi concentration camp, where she was imprisoned for her work with the Polish resistance. Lucky to have escaped with her life, she meets Paul, an American soldier, who gives her hope of a happier future. The two make a promise to meet in London, but Paul is in a deadly plane crash and never arrives.Finding herself pregnant and alone in a strange city, Marta finds comfort with a kind British diplomat, and the two soon marry. But Marta’s happiness is threatened when the British government seeks her help to find a Communist spy—an undercover mission that resurrects the past with far-reaching consequences.
The Ambassador’s Daughter (2012)
For one woman in the aftermath of World War I, the City of Light harbors dark secrets and dangerous liaisons.Paris, 1919. Margot Rosenthal has arrived in France with her father, a German diplomat. She initially resents being trapped in the congested capital, where she is still considered the enemy. But as she contemplates returning to Berlin and a life she hardly knows anymore, she decides that being in Paris is not so bad after all.Bored and torn between duty and the desire to be free, Margot strikes up unlikely alliances: with Krysia, an accomplished musician with radical acquaintances and a secret to protect; and with Georg, a naval officer who gives Margot a job—and a reason to question everything she thought she knew about where her true loyalties should lie.Against the backdrop of one of the most significant events of the century, a delicate web of lies obscures the line between the casualties of war and of the heart, making trust a luxury that no one can afford.
The Winter Guest (2014)
Life is a constant struggle for the eighteen-year-old Nowak twins as they raise their three younger siblings in rural Poland under the shadow of the Nazi occupation. The constant threat of arrest has made everyone in their village a spy, and turned neighbor against neighbor. Though rugged, independent Helena and pretty, gentle Ruth couldn’t be more different, they are staunch allies in protecting their family from the threats the war brings closer to their doorstep with each passing day.Then Helena discovers an American paratrooper stranded outside their small mountain village, wounded, but alive. Risking the safety of herself and her family, she hides Sam—a Jew—but Helena’s concern for the American grows into something much deeper. Defying the perils that render a future together all but impossible, Sam and Helena make plans for the family to flee. But Helena is forced to contend with the jealousy her choices have sparked in Ruth, culminating in a singular act of betrayal that endangers them all—and setting in motion a chain of events that will reverberate across continents and decades.
The Other Girl (2014)
One woman’s determination to protect a child from the dangers of war will force her to face those lurking closer to home…Life in rural Poland during WWII brings a new set of challenges to Maria, estranged from her own family and left alone with her in-laws after her husband is sent to the front. For a young, newly pregnant wife, the days are especially cold, the nights unexpectedly lonely. The discovery of a girl hiding in the barn changes everything—Hannah is fleeing the German police who are taking Jews like her to special camps. Ignoring the risk to her own life and that of her unborn child, Maria is compelled to help. But in these dark days, no one can be trusted, and soon Maria finds her courage tested in ways she never expected and herself facing truths about her own family that the quiet village has kept buried for years..
The Things We Cherished (2011)
Roger Dykmans, a wealthy financier and the brother of a Holocaust hero, has been accused of World War II-era war crimes, including the betrayal of his brother and the Jews he tried to save. All Charlotte needs to do is travel to Munich and help Brian’s estranged brother Jack prove Roger’s innocence. Despite her misgivings, Charlotte agrees, but the case is soon hindered by the client himself. Roger refuses to help with his own defense, revealing only that proof of his innocence lies inside an intricate timepiece last seen in Nazi Germany. As Jack and Charlotte track the anniversary clock through the past century, they learn of Roger’s love for his brother’s Jewish wife, Magda, and the tragic decisions he had to make to save her—all the while fighting a growing attraction of their own.
The Last Embrace (2012)
Forbidden love in the time of war, this is essential reading for fans of emotional historical romance, perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Maureen Lee.August 1940 and 16-year-old refugee Addie escapes Fascist Italy to live with her aunt and uncle in Atlantic City. As WW2 breaks, she finds acceptance and love with Charlie Connally and his family.But war changes everything: secrets and passions abound, and when one brother’s destructive choices lead to the tragic death of another, the Connally family is decimated, and Addie along with them.Now 18, she flees, first to Washington and then to war-torn London where she is swept up with life as a correspondent. But when Charlie, now a paratrooper, re-appears, Addie discovers that the past is impossible to outrun. Now she must make one last desperate attempt to find within herself the answers that will lead the way home
The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach (2015)
Summer 1941. Young Adelia Montforte flees fascist Italy for America, where she is whisked away to the shore by her well-meaning aunt and uncle. Here, she meets and falls for Charlie Connally, the eldest of the four Irish-Catholic boys next door. But all hopes for a future together are soon throttled by the war and a tragedy that hits much closer to home.Grief-stricken, Addie flees—first to Washington and then to war-torn London—and finds a position at a prestigious newspaper, as well as a chance to redeem lost time, lost family…and lost love. But the past always nips at her heels, demanding to be reckoned with. And in a final, fateful choice, Addie discovers that the way home may be a path she never suspected.
The Orphan’s Tale (2017)
Sixteen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby. She lives above a small rail station, which she cleans in order to earn her keep… When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the child that was taken from her. And in a moment that will change the course of her life, she snatches one of the babies and flees into the snowy night.Noa finds refuge with a German circus, but she must learn the flying trapeze act so she can blend in undetected, spurning the resentment of the lead aerialist, Astrid. At first rivals, Noa and Astrid soon forge a powerful bond. But as the facade that protects them proves increasingly tenuous, Noa and Astrid must decide whether their friendship is enough to save one another—or if the secrets that burn between them will destroy everything.
The Lost Girls of Paris (2019)
1946, ManhattanOne morning while passing through Grand Central Terminal on her way to work, Grace Healey finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Unable to resist her own curiosity, Grace opens the suitcase, where she discovers a dozen photographs—each of a different woman. In a moment of impulse, Grace takes the photographs and quickly leaves the station.Grace soon learns that the suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg, leader of a network of female secret agents who were deployed out of London during the war. Twelve of these women were sent to Occupied Europe as couriers and radio operators to aid the resistance, but they never returned home, their fates a mystery. Setting out to learn the truth behind the women in the photographs, Grace finds herself drawn to a young mother turned agent named Marie, whose daring mission overseas reveals a remarkable story of friendship, valor and betrayal.
The Woman with the Blue Star (2021)
1942. Sadie Gault is eighteen and living with her parents in the Kraków Ghetto during World War II. When the Nazis liquidate the ghetto, Sadie and her pregnant mother are forced to seek refuge in the perilous tunnels beneath the city. One day Sadie looks up through a grate and sees a girl about her own age buying flowers.Ella Stepanek is an affluent Polish girl living a life of relative ease with her stepmother, who has developed close alliances with the occupying Germans. While on an errand in the market, she catches a glimpse of something moving beneath a grate in the street. Upon closer inspection, she realizes it’s a girl hiding.Ella begins to aid Sadie and the two become close, but as the dangers of the war worsen, their lives are set on a collision course that will test them in the face of overwhelming odds.
