Barman of the Ritz: A Novel

AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

A BLOOMBERG BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

A celebrated bartender at the Ritz Hotel during the Nazi occupation of Paris harbors a dangerous secret in this “magnificent” (ELLE), “brilliant” (Le Parisien) international bestseller based on a true story.

"The Barman of the Ritz brilliantly captures the tense, morally murky atmosphere of Nazi-occupied France. Richly researched and utterly absorbing, this World War II novel pulls readers inside Paris’s legendary Ritz Hotel—where every cocktail, every conversation, and every choice could change a life forever.” —Anne Berest, author of The Postcard

Paris, 1940. The Nazis have descended on Paris and the Occupation has begun. Businesses across the city have shuttered, but the legendary Ritz Hotel remains open, its dazzling lights still burning bright on the Place Vendôme. When it becomes the favorite watering hole of the occupying forces, its barman, Frank Meier, is forced to adapt to a new clientele. But Frank has a secret: he is Jewish.

Tensions rise as the war progresses, but Frank refuses to leave his post behind the bar. Unbeknownst to the Nazi officers he serves night after night, Frank forms precarious alliances with unlikely accomplices in order to save other Jewish families in the city and keep his loved ones alive.

Inspired by real events, with the highest of stakes and a brilliant protagonist, The Barman of the Ritz is a heady cocktail of history and fiction set in one of Paris’s most glamorous places, diving deep into the impossible choices of an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances.

Philippe Collin has been a producer at France Inter for the past twenty years and holds a master’s degree in contemporary history. Since 2021, he has produced a series of historical podcasts that have been downloaded by more than forty million listeners. The Barman of the Ritz is his first novel.