SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2026 WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION • LONGLISTED FOR THE 2026 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE • A FOYLES TOP TEN READ FOR FEBRUARY • A 2026 HIGHLIGHT IN: THE FINANCIAL TIMES • EVENING STANDARD • THE BOOKSELLER

“The human stories in this book are fascinating. A truly, truly, extraordinary read.” —Elif Shafak, author of There Are Rivers in the Sky and member of 2026 Baillie Gifford Prize jury

“[An] exceptional work of non-fiction—you couldn’t just call it a history book, it’s more than that. . . . Rogoyska captures the historical moment with a rare combination of urgency and empathy. . . . [She] has trawled memoirs from hotel staff and ex-officers, unearthing stories that are peculiarly resonant. . . . This is a scintillatingly good book. . . . I’ve rarely felt such a sense of the historical moment. Or indeed the present moment. Because if ever a book were about now as well as then, it’s this one.” —The Sunday Times

“Poignant and painful, Hotel Exile takes the vehicle of a hotel as a means of telling the story of exile. Set in the middle of Paris, before, during and after the Second World War, it reveals a part of this period of history that is often left unexplored.” ―Thangam Debbonaire, Chair of Judges for Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction

“A rich collection of personal stories. . . . The result is an almost cinematic account that will, for many readers, connect figures and episodes in a new way.” —Financial Times

“Rogoyska proves such a fresh, astute and unaffected writer that there’s not a dull page, so vividly is the drama of it all communicated.” —Literary Review

“Outstanding. . . . Rogoyska's book soars to great heights.” —The Guardian

“A devastating and memorable account of lives thrown into upheaval by Nazism.” —Irish Independent

“Impressive and original . . . vivid and thoroughly researched . . . a masterclass.” ―The Spectator

“Riveting—and heartbreaking.” ―The Economist

“Transformed from hotel to hospital, the Lutetia . . . and the dramas it witnessed are brought here to vivid, searing life.” ―The Tablet

“While Hotel Exile covers similar ground to Patrick Bishop’s recent Paris ’44, Rogoyska’s use of the present tense throughout and her intricate detailing of the plight of ordinary folk buffeted by the tides of history makes for a more personalising, and ultimately moving account.” ―Irish Times

“Moving and original. . . . Rogoyska brilliantly captures what it was like to be part of the frantic upheaval of those years.” ―Jewish Book Council

“Hotel Exile is an extraordinary account of a Parisian institution which became a stage set for the terror, tension and triumph of the Second World War. Its staff and guests are thrilling players in an utterly compelling account that sheds important new light on a seemingly familiar episode of modern history.” —Richard Ovenden

“In this affecting account, historian Rogoyska (Surviving Katyn) surveys three waves of patrons of Paris’s elegant Hotel Lutetia during the rise and fall of the Third Reich. . . . This evolution is riveting, spotlighting moments of both resistance and suffering, such as the staff hiding ‘all the best wines and champagnes’ from the Nazi ‘barbarians,’ formerly well-off exiles sinking into poverty after their evictions, and family members of Jewish Parisians transported east desperately seeking information about their loved ones. Taken together, this dense web of stories conveys the fear, devastation, and even disbelief and denial of the times. It’s a striking immersion into the trauma caused by the Nazi machine.” —Publishers Weekly

“[A] riveting nonfiction work. . . . Hotel Exile moves between intimate memories, accounts of intense bravery, stunning betrayals, tragic endings, interpersonal conflict, and fascinating statistics, to tell the incredible—and true—story that took place between 1933 and 1945. . . . Make sure you’re comfortable when you pick up [this] story, as you won’t be able to put it down.” —Policy Magazine

“Engaging. . . . Scenes come alive in striking detail. Rogoyska creates a compelling account of what she calls ‘one of the most complex and devastating periods in twentieth century history.’” —The Washington Examiner

“Beautifully written. . . . This is a compelling book full of lessons we may not wish to hear.” ―Country Life

“Poignant and richly layered.” ―History of War magazine