Here’s a fun one. For fans of Killing Eve, an endorsement of my new novel from Luke Jennings, author of the Codename Villanelle series that inspired the TV series!
“The War Begins in Paris tracks, in scrupulous and forensic detail, a relationship toxified by the lies of Nazism.”
—Luke Jennings, author of Codename Villanelle
Last week the new Publishers Weekly hit shelves and featured a glowing review for The War Begins in Paris!
You can read the entire review in the September 25, 2023 issue or on their website. In the meantime, here are some highlights:
Wheeler delivers an evocative and well-crafted story of two American journalists on a potentially fatal collision course in WWII Europe.
He effectively makes uses of the Damoclean sword he’s devised to maintain suspense, and the book’s ornate prose captures the period’s unsettling combination of horror and progress…
This is one to savor.
So happy to share an endorsement from my dear friend and collaborator, Kassandra Montag!
I publish nothing without showing it to Kassandra first and The War Begins in Paris is no different. Such a keen mind and generous spirit. She’s the best.
“A riveting novel with dynamic characters, The War Begins in Paris illuminates how intoxicating and destructive obsession can be. Wheeler ratchets up the drama with his nuanced, glowing prose, and portrays two complex women who believe in their ideals, no matter the peril. I couldn’t put it down.” —Kassandra Montag, author of After the Flood
I feel so lucky to have the great Caitlin Horrocks endorse The War Begins in Paris!
Caitlin’s The Vexations (about Erik Satie’s life in Belle Epoque France) is one of the best novels of the last five years. She was all booked to come to Omaha in 2020 to tell us about the novel at Omaha Lit Fest, but, alas, it wasn’t meant to be.
“This powerful, immersive novel is simultaneously lush and chilling. Theodore Wheeler transports us to a place and time where friendships make it harder, not easier, to chart a moral path forward, and masterfully explores how love and loyalty can, for better and for worse, change what we’re willing to do, and who we understand ourselves to be.”
—Caitlin Horrocks, author of The Vexations
I’m so honored to share this fantastic endorsement for The War Begins in Paris from one of my favorite novelists (and the godfather of Nebraska authors) Timothy Schaffert!
His Paris novel, The Perfume Thief, is so charming, and being in conversation with Timothy about The Perfume Thief was my highlight of the last Omaha Lit Fest we did in back 2021. I can’t wait for his new novel, The Titanic Survivors Book Club, which is due out in April.
“This vivid novel takes on one of my favorite subjects: journalists in the war zone. Here we have ‘radio traitors’ among them, everybody wound tight, with questions of truth and trust all caught up in threat and propaganda. With fascinating parallels to our own cultural moment, The War Begins in Paris is a captivating and vibrant—and utterly present—portrait of chaos.”
—Timothy Schaffert, author of The Perfume Thief
I’m still adding events all the time. But, in the meantime, I’m so excited to share with you all this graphic that highlights some of my main stops!
From Denver to DC, Portland to Greenville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Iowa City, and Chicago. This will be a lot of fun. If you live near one of these stops, it would be great to see you!
Wow! I’m so grateful to have Jenny Tinghui Zhang as an advocate for my new novel, The War Begins in Paris. Jenny is a brilliant novelist, with an understanding of how historical movement and folklore shape culture. If you haven’t read her debut novel Four Treasures of the Sky, you need to check it out.
“An exhilarating rush of a novel, The War Begins in Paris tells the story of a woman torn between what is right and what is easy. With sharp, propulsive prose, Theodore Wheeler’s third novel is a tender search for courage and humanity in the face of the unthinkable.”
—Jenny Tinghui Zhang,
The first trade review of The War Begins in Paris is in, from the typically speedy, and often grumpy, Kirkus Reviews. All in all, it’s pretty effusive for Kirkus. I’ll count that as a win.
You can read the whole review here, but below are some highlights.
“Wheeler traces the intense, sexually charged friendship of two American reporters from their first meeting in a Paris café in 1938 and through the ensuing war. The prologue describes Jane Anderson, nicknamed the Georgia Peach, and Marthe Hess, called Mielle, with ominous matter-of-factness so reminiscent of an Orson Welles narration that readers will rush to Google their names to see if either actually existed.”
“Wheeler’s depiction of Jane shows how dangerously appealing authoritarianism can be and how corrosive it is to one’s character.”
“This retro yet oddly fresh take on WWII captures the romance of wartime, but also the decadence and desperation.”
It’s such an honor to have the amazing James Han Mattson lend his support to my new novel, The War Begins in Paris!
We went on a short book tour together in 2018 when both of our debut novels were new and both edited by Vivian Lee, though we hadn’t ever met in person until that first reading at Beaverdale Books in Des Moines. I’m happy to count Jim as a friend now. His novel Reprieve was a powerhouse and he has a new one out next year to add to his debut, The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves.
“Propulsive, immersive, and beautifully rendered, Theodore Wheeler’s The War Begins in Paris is that rare novel that’s both contemplative and energetic, pulse-pounding and utterly devastating. Through Mielle and Jane, Wheeler deftly illuminates themes of friendship, love, sacrifice, and heroism, and shows us how loyalty and conviction can move in unpredictable patterns under wartime duress. This is a major gut-punch of a novel, and I, for one, am thankful it exists.”
—James Han Mattson, author of Reprieve
The War Begins in Paris will be published on November 14, 2023, but you can pre-order your copy now. (Order a signed copy here and have you shipped to you in November.)
Theodore Wheeler 