Books Set in Poland
Join me as we journey around the world in our book club.
Embark on a literary journey to Poland! From the harrowing bravery of saving culture amidst the Nazi occupation in The Keeper of the Hidden Books by Madeline Martin to the witty charm of a cozy murder mystery in Mrs. Mohr Goes Missing by Maryla Szymiczkowa, this month’s book selection provides a literary escape to explore a rich selection of books that transport us to Poland’s storied past and vibrant settings.
Book Club Pick – Poland
The Keeper of the Hidden Books by Madeline Martin
What is The Keeper of the Hidden Books about?
All her life, Zofia has found comfort in two things during times of hardship: books and her best friend, Janina. But no one could have imagined the horrors of the Nazi occupation in Warsaw. As the bombs rain down and Hitler’s forces loot and destroy the city, Zofia finds that now books are also in need of saving.
With the death count rising and persecution intensifying, Zofia jumps to action to save her friend and salvage whatever books she can from the wreckage, hiding them away, and even starting a clandestine book club. She and her dearest friend never surrender their love of reading, even when Janina is forced into the newly formed ghetto.
But the closer Warsaw creeps toward liberation, the more dangerous life becomes for the women and their families – and escape may not be possible for everyone. As the destruction rages around them, Zofia must fight to save her friend and preserve her culture and community using the only weapon they have left – literature.
Madeline Martin on Literary Escapes Podcast
Want to know more about Madeline and her books? I interviewed her a couple years ago. Listen to this conversation on the Literary Escapes Podcast!
Author Interview with Madeline Martin
Companion Book
Each month we choose two books to read from our destination. Here’s the second book!
Mrs. Mohr Goes Missing by Maryla Szymiczkowa
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Cracow, 1893: Zofia Turbotynska—professor’s wife, socialite, and bored homemaker—has little more to do than plan a charity auction sponsored by the wealthy residents of a local nursing home and the nuns who work there. But when one of those residents is found dead, Zofia finds a calling: solving crime.
Ridiculed by the police, who have declared the deaths of natural cause, she starts her own murder investigation, unbeknownst to anyone but her loyal cook Franciszka and one reluctant nun. With her husband blissfully unaware of her secret, Zofia remakes herself into one the most surprising, and maybe even effective, detectives combing the city streets. But what will it take for her to find the killer. . .before she becomes the next victim?
More Books Set in Poland
Beyond the two books we chose for the book club, we found several additional books spanning the genres of historical fiction and mystery. From this list, there’s sure to be a book for every reader looking to immerse themselves in the culture, history, and resilience of Poland.
Which book will you choose for a literary escape to Poland?
The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
Genre: Historical Fiction
In 1942, Europe remains in the relentless grip of war. Just beyond the tents of the refugee camp she calls home, a young woman speaks her wedding vows. It’s a decision that will alter her destiny…and it’s a lie that will remain buried until the next century.
Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now fifteen and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams instead of the day Tomasz returns from college in Warsaw so they can be married. But little by little, injustice by brutal injustice, the Nazi occupation takes hold, and Alina’s tiny rural village, its families, are divided by fear and hate.
Then, as the fabric of their lives is slowly picked apart, Tomasz disappears. Where Alina used to measure time between visits from her beloved, now she measures the spaces between hope and despair, waiting for word from Tomasz and avoiding the attentions of the soldiers who patrol her parents’ farm. But for now, even deafening silence is preferable to grief.
A Long Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka
Genre: Historical Fiction
On the eve of World War II, in a small Polish village, a young man nicknamed the Pigeon falls in love with a girl fabled for her angelic looks. To build a place in Anielica’s heart, he transforms her family’s modest hut into a beautiful home. But war arrives, cutting short their courtship and sending the young lovers off to the promise of a fresh start in Krakow.
Nearly fifty years later, the couple’s granddaughter, Beata, repeats this journey, seeking a new life in the fairy-tale city of her grandmother’s stories. But instead of the rumored prosperity of the New Poland, she discovers a city full of frustrated youths, caught between its future and its past. Taken in by her tough-talking cousin, Irena, and her glamorous daughter, Magda, Beata struggles to find her own place in the world. But unexpected events—tragedies and miracles both—change lives and open eyes.
Silent Water by P. K. Adams
Genre: Mystery
It is Christmas 1519 and the royal court in Kraków is in the midst of celebrating the joyous season. Less than two years earlier, Italian noblewoman Bona Sforza arrived in Poland’s capital from Bari as King Zygmunt’s new bride. She came from Italy accompanied by a splendid entourage, including Contessa Caterina Sanseverino who oversees the ladies of the Queen’s Chamber.
Caterina is still adjusting to the life in this northern kingdom of cold winters, unfamiliar customs, and an incomprehensible language when a shocking murder rocks the court on Christmas night. It is followed by another a few days later. The victims have seemingly nothing in common. Gossip, speculation, and suspicion are rife, but the perpetrator remains elusive as the court heads into the New Year.
As the official investigation stalls, Caterina—aided by Sebastian Konarski, a junior secretary in the king’s household—sets out to find the killer. With clues beginning to point to the queen’s innermost circle, the pair are soon racing against time to stop another murder.
The Good Doctor of Warsaw by Elisabeth Gifford
Genre: Historical Fiction
Set in the ghettos of wartime Warsaw, this is a sweeping, poignant, and heartbreaking novel inspired by the true story of one doctor who was determined to protect two hundred Jewish orphans from extermination.
Deeply in love and about to marry, students Misha and Sophia flee a Warsaw under Nazi occupation for a chance at freedom. Forced to return to the Warsaw ghetto, they help Misha’s mentor, Dr Janusz Korczak, care for the two hundred children in his orphanage. As Korczak struggles to uphold the rights of even the smallest child in the face of unimaginable conditions, he becomes a beacon of hope for the thousands who live behind the walls.
As the noose tightens around the ghetto, Misha and Sophia are torn from one another, forcing them to face their worst fears alone. They can only hope to find each other again one day . . .
Meanwhile, refusing to leave the children unprotected, Korczak must confront a terrible darkness.
The Goddess of Warsaw by Lisa Barr
Genre – Historical Fiction
The Goddess of Warsaw is an enthralling tale of a legendary Hollywood screen goddess with a dark secret about her life in the Warsaw Ghetto. When the famous actress is threatened by someone from her past, she must put her skills into play to protect herself, her illustrious career, and those she loves, then and now.
Los Angeles, 2005. Sienna Hayes, Hollywood’s latest It Girl, has ambitions to work behind the camera. When she meets Lena Browning, the enormously mysterious and famous Golden Age movie star, Sienna sees her big break. She wants to direct a picture about Lena’s life—but the legendary actor’s murky past turns out to be even darker than Sienna dreamed. Before she was a Living Legend, Lena Browning was Bina Blonski, a Polish Jew whose life and family were destroyed by the Nazis.
Warsaw, 1943. A member of the city’s Jewish elite, Bina Blonski and her husband, Jakub, are imprisoned in the ghastly, cramped ghetto along with the rest of Warsaw’s surviving Jews. Determined to fight back against the brutal Nazis, the beautiful, blonde Aryan-looking Bina becomes a spy, gaining information and stealing weapons outside the ghetto to protect her fellow Jews. But her dangerous circumstances grow complicated when she falls in love with Aleksander, an ally in resistance—and Jakub’s brother. While Lena accomplishes amazing feats of bravery, she sacrifices much in the process.
Over a decade after escaping the horrors of the ghetto, Bina, now known as Lena, rises to fame in Hollywood. Yet she cannot help but be reminded of her old life and hungers for revenge against the Nazis who escaped justice after the war. Her power and fame as a movie star offer Lena the chance to right the past’s wrongs . . . and perhaps even find the happy ending she never had.
The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab
Genre: Historical Fiction
Maria Florkowska is many things: daughter, avid chess player, and, as a member of the Polish resistance in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, a young woman brave beyond her years. When she is captured with her family by the Gestapo, she also becomes a prisoner of Auschwitz.
While Maria’s parents are sent to their deaths, the sadistic camp deputy Karl Fritzsch is intrigued by her chess skills and spares her life. But only for so long as he cares to play against her.
Overcome with grief, Maria vows to avenge her parents—a vow that makes her fight for her own survival. For four grueling years, Maria uses chess to get inside Fritzsch’s head and orchestrate his downfall. It’s a game of the highest stakes. And there can be only one winner.
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