Counterfeit Countess

'Powerful. . . . A heart-wrenching profile of resilience, ingenuity, and heroism.' Publisher's Weekly 'A story of courage, compassion, and cunning so profound that it must be included with the greatest Holocaust literature. Janina Mehlberg is a heroine for the ages.' - Larry Loftis, New York Times bestselling author of The Watchmaker's Daughter The Holocaust has given rise to many accounts of resistance and rescue, but The Counterfeit Countess is unique. It tells the remarkable, untold story of 'Countess Janina Suchodolska', a Jewish woman named Janina Mehlberg who rescued more than 10,000 Poles imprisoned by their country's Nazi occupiers. Using the identity papers of a Polish aristocrat, she worked as a welfare official while also serving in the Polish resistance. With guile, cajolery, and steely persistence, 'the Countess' persuaded SS officials to release thousands of Poles from the Majdanek concentration camp. Incredibly, she eluded detection, survived the war and eventually emigrated to the USA. Drawing on the manuscript of Mehlberg's own unpublished memoir, supplemented with prodigious research, , historians and Holocaust experts Elizabeth White and Joanna Sliwa have uncovered the full story of this extraordinary woman. Unsparing yet inspiring, The Counterfeit Countess is an unforgettable account of selfless courage in the face of unspeakable cruelty, and a major addition to the history of the Holocaust.

Daphne du Maurier award finalist for Best Historical Mystery “This story is full of romance and suspense. . . No one can resist a novel written by Cheryl Bolen. Her writing talents charm all readers. Highly recommended reading! 5 stars!” – Huntress Reviews “Bolen pens a sparkling tale, and readers will adore her feisty heroine, the arrogant, honorable Warwick and a wonderful cast of supporting characters.” – RT Book Reviews * * * Maggie thought she was married to an earl . . . but it seems that her late and unlamented husband lied to her from the day they met. Now—penniless and stranded in London—she has thrown herself on the mercy of the real Lord Warwick. What's a counterfeit countess to do? Edward, the Earl of Warwick, desires only to get rid of the beautiful woman who arrived at his house with no less than fourteen trunks, a younger sister, a maid, and a very large cat. Her preposterous explanation is of no importance—but her late husband held the clue to the identity of England's greatest traitor, a clue the Foreign Service must get at any cost. Edward will have to guard her night and day—but he cannot guard his heart.

Fifteen stories featuring Sherlock Holmes's deductive powers, penned by known and unknown writers. The two dozen cases range from an incident involving the Titanic to anarchist bombings in Paris.

This is a novella from the anthology Ever My Love: Lore of the Lucius Ring (no longer available). The original prologue, written by Kathryn Le Veque, is included. Heat index for both stories: Sweet Lady Annie Childe is accustomed to her twin sister taking everything that is hers, but she simply will not sit by idly while Fanny attempts to steal the affections of the only man Annie’s ever been attracted to—the Duke of Axminster. Though the lovely twins are identical, it is the scattered-looking one who catches the eye of Alex, the Duke of Axminster. She is the only woman he knows who shares his passion for politics. Not only that, she discusses them with keen intellect—and her views mirror his own. There is also something about her that elicits his protective instincts. But how can he withstand the assault from her scheming mother who’s determined he woo the wrong sister?

Brazen Brides Series, Book 5

The astonishing story of Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg—a Jewish mathematician who saved thousands of lives in Nazi-occupied Poland by masquerading as a Polish aristocrat—drawing on Mehlberg’s own unpublished memoir. World War II and the Holocaust have given rise to many stories of resistance and rescue, but The Counterfeit Countess is unique. It tells the remarkable, unknown story of “Countess Janina Suchodolska,” a Jewish woman who rescued more than 10,000 Poles imprisoned by Poland’s Nazi occupiers. Mehlberg operated in Lublin, Poland, headquarters of Aktion Reinhard, the SS operation that murdered 1.7 million Jews in occupied Poland. Using the identity papers of a Polish aristocrat, she worked as a welfare official while also serving in the Polish resistance. With guile, cajolery, and steely persistence, the “Countess” persuaded SS officials to release thousands of Poles from the Majdanek concentration camp. She won permission to deliver food and medicine—even decorated Christmas trees—for thousands more of the camp’s prisoners. At the same time, she personally smuggled supplies and messages to resistance fighters imprisoned at Majdanek, where 63,000 Jews were murdered in gas chambers and shooting pits. Incredibly, she eluded detection, and ultimately survived the war and emigrated to the US. Drawing on the manuscript of Mehlberg’s own unpublished memoir, supplemented with prodigious research, Elizabeth White and Joanna Sliwa, professional historians and Holocaust experts, have uncovered the full story of this remarkable woman. They interweave Mehlberg’s sometimes harrowing personal testimony with broader historical narrative. Like The Light of Days, Schindler’s List, and Irena’s Children, The Counterfeit Countess is an unforgettable account of inspiring courage in the face of unspeakable cruelty.

The bespectacled, very bookish Miss Rebecca Peabody, who pens enlightening essays under the name P. Corpus, simply must marry. Since she abhors that disgusting “bedchamber business,” she decides Lord Aynsley is the perfect man to become her husband. At the advanced age of three and forty, he surely has gotten that repellant bedchamber business out of his system. For reasons quite unknown to her, he accepts her bizarre marriage proposal, though he assures her a chaste marriage is NOT what he has in mind. John Compton, the Earl of Aynsley, needs a wife to see to his brood of seven motherless children, a wastrel ward, and an uncle with a most peculiar habit. But he’s not interested in the way-too-young Miss Rebecca Peabody . . . until he discovers she is the brilliant P. Corpus who writes political essays with such passion, a passion he vows to unleash. Thus he embarks on the adventure of his life . . . that of tutoring his young wife in the ways of love.