The Last Woman of Warsaw

Batalion, author of the bestselling Holocaust history The Light of Days, chronicles the friendship between two very different Jewish women in 1938 Warsaw in her illuminating debut novel. Born into a family of wealth and privilege, Fanny Zelshinsky is engaged to be married and studies French at Warsaw University. Unbeknownst to her domineering mother, she wishes to change her major to art and indulge in the passion her mother believes is just a hobby. Meanwhile, Zosia Dror, who has newly arrived in the city, wants to prove herself as leader of a Labor Zionist youth group and obtain a visa to British Palestine. The two women meet on campus, where Zosia has sought help from Prof. Wanda Petrovsky in getting a visa. When they discover that Wanda, who is also involved in Zosia’s organization, appears to be missing, they join forces to find her. As Fanny proves to Zosia that her social connections give her an edge in the search, Zosia draws Fanny into the world of the working-class Labor Zionist movement, where she considers trading her financial security for independence. With the characters facing persecution as Jewish people on the university campus, Batalion uses the odd-couple friendship to show how adversity unites unlikely allies. Readers will be riveted. Agent: Alia Hanna Habib, Gernert Co. (Apr.)