The Opera Sisters by Marianne Monson

The Opera Sisters 

By Marianne Monson 

Published by Shadow Mountain 

Description 

Based on the true story of the Cook sisters, who smuggled valuables out of 1930s Nazi Germany to finance a daring, secret operation to help Jews find hope for a new life in England 

British sisters Ida and Louise Cook enjoy their quiet, unassuming lives in south London. Ida writes romance novels, and Louise works as a secretary. In the evenings, the sisters indulge in their shared love for opera, saving their money to buy records and attend performances throughout England and Europe, becoming well-known by both performers and fellow opera lovers. 

But when Hitler seizes power in 1933, he begins targeting and persecuting German Jews, passing laws that restrict their rights and their lives. The sisters continue their trips to the German opera houses, but soon, Jewish members of the opera community covertly approach the sisters, worried that they will be stripped of their wealth and forced to leave their homes and the country. Danger looms on the horizon, threatening to spill across all of Europe’s borders. 

Ida and Louise vow to help, but how can two ordinary working-class women with limited means make a difference? 

Together with their beloved opera community, the sisters devise a plan to personally escort Jewish refugees from Germany to England. The success of the plan hinges on Ida and Louise’s ability to smuggle contraband jewelry and furs beneath the watchful eyes of the SS soldiers guarding various checkpoints. But how many trips can they make before someone blows a whistle? Or before the final curtain falls on Germany’s borders? 

Review

I love the fact that this book is based on real people! When you read a book and love the characters, it's definitely cool that they were real people! It was really inspiring to read about their work. The format took some getting used to, as there were lots of short passages ( some about the people Ida and Louise worked with or those they helped, some showing the events happening around the world as war approached, etc.), that initially seemed jarring to me. I did find the information in those short passages very interesting, but it broke up the flow of the main story somewhat. Overall, a very interesting story about a couple of amazing women!

4 stars.

I read an ARC provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.