The Renoir Girls1.jpg
The Renoir Girls2.jpg
The Renoir Girls1.jpg
The Renoir Girls2.jpg

The Renoir Girls: A Hidden History of Art, War & Betrayal by Catherine Ostler

from $13.99
Hardcover:

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2026

“Beguiling, troubling and ultimately heartbreaking… Ostler employs her research skills like an X-ray technician, peeking beneath the painting’s shimmering surface to reveal secrets and betrayals at the heart of both a single Jewish family and French society.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Immensely rewarding...Ostler transforms history’s grand sweep into intimate profile.” —The Washington Post

Three sisters, the daughters of a prominent French Jewish family, all painted as children by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. In the turbulent years from the Belle Epoque to World War II, one would marry an English aristocrat and escape; one would become a collaborator with the Nazis; one would die in Auschwitz. This is the remarkable hidden history of the lives behind Renoir’s beguiling portraits.

Paris, 1881. The artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir knocks on the door of a wealthy Jewish family’s home in the 8th arrondissement, the grandest quarter of Paris. He has arrived to paint the portrait of the family’s two youngest daughters. The parents, the Cahen d’Anvers, are bankers, collectors, philanthropists, and pillars of Parisian society. They go to balls, breed racehorses, and ride in the Bois de Boulogne with their aristocratic friends. But for the Jewish community, the undercurrents of Parisian sentiment are already moving in a sinister direction. The story of the Renoir girls will end in the duplicity and the horror of the Second World War.

With an extraordinary cast of characters, from the girls themselves, their mother’s lovers, a heroic British General; from the King of Spain to Dreyfus, Proust, and Maupassant—this is a story about one of the world’s most famous pictures, The Pink and the Blue. But really it is a story about Paris—one that prefers to be hidden. With access to never-before-seen letters, diaries, and personal recollections—it is a tale of privilege, beauty, and betrayal almost lost in the shimmering memory of a vanished world.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2026

“Beguiling, troubling and ultimately heartbreaking… Ostler employs her research skills like an X-ray technician, peeking beneath the painting’s shimmering surface to reveal secrets and betrayals at the heart of both a single Jewish family and French society.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Immensely rewarding...Ostler transforms history’s grand sweep into intimate profile.” —The Washington Post

Three sisters, the daughters of a prominent French Jewish family, all painted as children by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. In the turbulent years from the Belle Epoque to World War II, one would marry an English aristocrat and escape; one would become a collaborator with the Nazis; one would die in Auschwitz. This is the remarkable hidden history of the lives behind Renoir’s beguiling portraits.

Paris, 1881. The artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir knocks on the door of a wealthy Jewish family’s home in the 8th arrondissement, the grandest quarter of Paris. He has arrived to paint the portrait of the family’s two youngest daughters. The parents, the Cahen d’Anvers, are bankers, collectors, philanthropists, and pillars of Parisian society. They go to balls, breed racehorses, and ride in the Bois de Boulogne with their aristocratic friends. But for the Jewish community, the undercurrents of Parisian sentiment are already moving in a sinister direction. The story of the Renoir girls will end in the duplicity and the horror of the Second World War.

With an extraordinary cast of characters, from the girls themselves, their mother’s lovers, a heroic British General; from the King of Spain to Dreyfus, Proust, and Maupassant—this is a story about one of the world’s most famous pictures, The Pink and the Blue. But really it is a story about Paris—one that prefers to be hidden. With access to never-before-seen letters, diaries, and personal recollections—it is a tale of privilege, beauty, and betrayal almost lost in the shimmering memory of a vanished world.

  • Publisher: Atria Books

    Title: The Renoir Girls: A Hidden History of Art, War & Betrayal

    Author: Catherine Ostler

    On Sale Date: July 14, 2026

    ISBN 13: 978-1668232484

    ISBN 10: 1668232480

    Format: Hardcover

    Retail Price: $35.00

    BISAC: Biography & Autobiography / Women; History / Holocaust

    Page Count: 432

    Dimensions: 6 x 1.5 x 9 inches

    Weight: 1.35 lbs

  • Catherine Ostler spent years in newsrooms before turning to books, serving as editor-in-chief of Tatler and the Evening Standard after reading English at Oxford. That journalist's eye for character and scandal shows throughout The Renoir Girls, her second book after the acclaimed The Duchess Countess. She lives in London.

  • Critics and fellow bestselling authors are calling it dazzling, meticulous, and revelatory:

    • "A dazzling achievement...utterly gripping." —Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of The World

    • "The Renoir Girls is magnificent." —Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Five

    • "Meticulously researched and beautifully written." —Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny

    • "Ostler transforms history's grand sweep into intimate profile." —The Washington Post

This book is for you if

  • You love narrative history that reads like a novel, packed with real letters, diaries, and a knockout final twist.

  • You're drawn to stories where art history and family secrets collide.

  • You want to understand how antisemitism crept into "polite" society long before the Holocaust made it impossible to ignore.

  • You loved The Hare with Amber Eyes and want another richly researched saga of a European family undone by history.

  • You appreciate a Belle Époque setting — balls, painters, and old money — shadowed by the century's darkest turn.

“★★★★★ You’re renting a brand-new hardcover for $12 instead of paying $30+. Even if you keep it, you come in under what you’d pay elsewhere.”
— Andrew B., Google review

Reviews from Trove customers

“★★★★★ With Trove the ordering and delivery process is quick and easy! Definitely recommend!”
— Caroline J., Google review

Trove is different.

We rent new books.

How renting works

Step 1

Rent this Book

Rent this book for ~60% off retail.

Keep it for 30 days and return it easily with the return kit provided!

No box, no label — just show the QR code at a USPS location.

Step 2

Receive it

Trove makes shipping simple and hassle-free.

Arrives in about a week or less, straight to your door.

Free shipping is offered from Trove Plus.

Step 3

Read and Decide

If you want to return it — great!

We’ll send you a free return label and QR code with instructions for an easy return.

Simply ship it back using the return kit at your local USPS. 

Step 4

Return it

Love it? Keep it — we’ll charge the difference between your rental and the cover price, as if you bought it new (plus tax).

And we'll always email you before your billing date, so there are no surprises.

Learn more about renting

Frequently asked questions

  • We believe hardcover books are too expensive, especially new releases. Trove gives you a better option to read new books immediately. Rent a book, then return it for free — or keep it if you love it!

  • Choose Rent New, read the book, then return it using the book return kit. If you end up keeping the book, then the remaining balance applies as if you bought it at retail plus tax.

  • Renting a book is kept for 30 days, two books for 60 days, and three or more books for 90 days. Trove provides a return kit with every book rental — simply pack and return the book(s) at your local USPS, and they will scan the QR code label Trove provides.

  • Keeping the book past your billing date automatically charges the payment method we have on file.

    Trove Bookstore complies with all local and federal laws. Should you have any questions, please reach out to hello@trovebookstore.com.

  • Running a few days late? No worries — just let us know by emailing Trove at hello@trovebookstore.com and we will work with you. Trove will send several email reminders before the billing date, so just let us know if you need any extensions!

  • The book(s) should be returned in very good condition so another reader can enjoy it! However, if a rental book is lost or returned with major damage, the remaining purchase balance may still apply.

    If something happens to your rental, please contact Trove at hello@trovebookstore.com as soon as possible so we can work with you to resolve the issue.

  • It’s yours! If you rent a book and decide you want to keep it, the remaining balance will apply. No action is needed. Trove gives readers the option to try out a book for a discounted rental price and only pay the rest if you feel the book belongs on your shelf.

Have more questions?

Reach out to us and someone will get back to you shortly.

More FAQs
Contact us