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The Piano Teacher of Montparnasse by Heather Morris
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The Piano Teacher of Montparnasse

Publisher
Blackstone Publishing
Publish Date
20 October 2026
Run Time
10 hours 45 minutes
Format
Audiobook
$13.95

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What to expect

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz returns with a masterful new novel that captures the astonishing bravery of ordinary people in extraordinary times.

In 1942, the Nazis come for a Jewish family living in the Montparnasse area of occupied Paris. In the chaos of their arrest, eleven-year-old Josephine runs to the only person she can trust: her piano teacher, Andrée Levallois, a secret French Resistance operative.

Andrée takes her in as a member of the family, spreading their rations and risking everything to keep her safe. But soon the authorities close in, and both Andrée and Josie are caught in a desperate race to stay alive.

Epic in scope and based on real people and historical events, Heather Morris has written a story of breathtaking beauty, at once gripping, heartbreaking, and uplifting.

Critics Review

  • “The Piano Teacher of Montparnasse is an inspiring true story of resilience, hope, and courage.”

    Christy Lefteri, internationally bestselling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo

  • “To many, this book will be most appreciated for its powerful evocation of the everyday horrors of life as a prisoner in a concentration camp, while others will be heartened by the novel’s message of how true love can transcend even the most hellishly inhuman environments. This is a perfect novel for book clubs and readers of historical fiction.”

    Publishers Weekly on The Tattooist of Auschwitz

  • “Like the Nobel Prize-winning author Elie Wiesel’s Night, Morris’ work takes us inside the day-to-day workings of the most notorious German death camp. Over the course of three years, Morris interviewed Lale, teasing out his memories and weaving them into her heart-rending narrative of a Jew whose unlikely forced occupation as a tattooist put him in a position to act with kindness and humanity in a place where both were nearly extinct.”

    BookPage on The Tattooist of Auschwitz

  • “The Tattooist of Auschwitz is the story of hope and survival against incredible odds and the power of love.”

    Popsugar

See more reviews
  • “Based on a true story, the wrenching yet riveting tale of Lale’s determination to survive the camp with Gita is a moving testament to the power of kindness, ingenuity, and hope.”

    People on The Tattooist of Auschwitz

  • “The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an extraordinary document. I find it hard to imagine anyone who would not be drawn in, confronted and moved. I would recommend it unreservedly to anyone, whether they’d read a hundred Holocaust stories or none.”

    Graeme Simsion, internationally bestselling author of The Rosie Project

  • “What an extraordinary and important book this is. We need as many memories of the Holocaust as we can retain, and this is a moving and ultimately uplifting story of love, loyalties, and friendship amidst the horrors of war.”

    Jill Mansell, internationally bestselling author, on The Tattooist of Auschwitz

  • “As many interviews as I did with Holocaust survivors for the Shoah Foundation and as many devastating testimonies as I heard, I could not stop reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz—an extraordinary story of love so fierce it sustained people enduring the unimaginable. Read it, share it, remember it.”

    Jenna Blum, New York Times and international bestselling author of Those Who Save Us and The Lost Family

  • “A remarkable story of survival and how love triumphed in that lawless hell. A phenomenon.”

    The Sunday Times on The Tattooist of Auschwitz

  • “This is a powerful, gut-wrenching tale that is hard to shake off.”

    Kirkus Reviews on The Tattooist of Auschwitz

  • “Morris imbues the novel with remarkable suspense.”

    Booklist on The Tattooist of Auschwitz

  • “No one tells stories of courage, resilience, and triumph of the spirit quite like the brilliant Heather Morris. Every page of The Piano Teacher of Montparnasse resonates like a beautifully played sonata—tender, heartbreaking, and unforgettable. Inspired by true historical events, this sweeping World War II novel is a stirring testament to the extraordinary bravery of ordinary people, revolving around a courageous young girl and her heroic piano teacher, and the life-saving power of love, music, and compassion in humanity’s darkest hour. Rich with suspense, emotion, and hope, this is historical fiction at its most moving and meaningful. Once again, Heather Morris has composed yet another masterpiece that will linger in readers’ hearts long after the final note has faded.”

    Lisa Barr, New York Times bestselling author of The Goddess of Warsaw

  • “This exceptional novel, an important reflection on history, grabs you from the first paragraph. The writing is immediate, as if you’re right there, and the characters remind you of the importance of courage and decency in difficult times…Heather Morris takes a difficult subject and handles it with grace, infuses her chapters with hope. I ended up reading the book in one sitting. Heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. Highly recommended.”

    Marta Molnar, author of The Secret Life of Sunflowers

  • “Heather Morris’s The Piano Teacher of Montparnasse is riveting, wrenching, tender, timeless—a testament to the triumph of courage over evil, the ability of music to heal even in the darkest moments, and the power of love to save us.”

    Meg Waite Clayton, bestselling author of The Last Train to London

  • “This is such a beautiful book about the family we are born into and the one that we find for ourselves, and the power of music to light up a dark, dark world. Heather Morris is an incredibly gifted storyteller and her talents shine here as she brings to life the true story of ordinary people who find the courage within themselves to do extraordinary things for those they love. I couldn’t put it down.”

    Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Orphan

  • “I was deeply moved by Heather Morris’s novel, whose story resonates strongly with my father’s own experience during the Second World War. It is a novel filled with humanity. Every character is memorable and deeply endearing: Andrée, of course, her parents, Josie, and even Maurice, the concierge. I found myself holding my breath until the very last pages, where I could no longer hold back my tears. It is a powerful and deeply resonant story, particularly at a time when totalitarian forces are seeking to undermine Europe’s democracies. It is a novel that every young person should read.”

    Marc Levy, internationally bestselling author of P.S. from Paris and If Only It Were True

  • “In this spellbinding, deeply moving WWII novel, Morris renders a gut-wrenching race for survival that stands right alongside her internationally bestselling debut, The Tattooist of Auschwitz…Morris’s writing shines brightly, capturing the extraordinary bravery of ordinary families. Her signature storytelling transforms this historical novel into a powerful and profoundly affecting story about resilience and the unifying power of music, building to a beautiful, lingering crescendo of human courage.”

    Booklist (starred review)

  • “Morris thoroughly immerses the reader in the danger and selflessness of the Resistance movement in occupied Paris. Historical fiction fans will be transported.”

    Publishers Weekly

  • “Based on a true story, this novel will once again captivate Morris’s readers, who will be deeply invested in Josephine’s struggle not only to survive but also to find hope and peace amid the devastation of Hitler’s war. Readers of Tatiana de Rosnay’s Sarah’s Key and Charles Belfoure’s The Paris Architect will want to add this title to their TBR piles.”

    Library Journal

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Details

Author
Heather Morris
Narrator
Saskia Maarleveld
Duration
10 hours 45 minutes
Release Date
20 October 2026
ISBN
9798228808263
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Blackstone Publishing
Genre
Historical fiction, Second World War fiction, Historical fiction, War, combat and military adventure fiction, Biographical fiction, Religious and spiritual fiction, The Holocaust, European history

Synopsis

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz returns with a masterful new novel that captures the astonishing bravery of ordinary people in extraordinary times.In 1942, the Nazis come for a Jewish family living in the Montparnasse area of occupied Paris. In the chaos of their arrest, eleven-year-old Josephine runs to the only person she can trust: her piano teacher, Andrée Levallois, a secret French Resistance operative.Andrée takes her in as a member of the family, spreading their rations and risking everything to keep her safe. But soon the authorities close in, and both Andrée and Josie are caught in a desperate race to stay alive.Epic in scope and based on real people and historical events, Heather Morris has written a story of breathtaking beauty, at once gripping, heartbreaking, and uplifting.

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