Set in Rome and the Vatican City in 1943 and based on the true story of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty who risked everything to save both Jews and escaped prisoners under the nose of Nazi soldiers who ruled the area during the war.
After visiting a concentration camp and seeing the conditions there, Monsignor O’Flaherty made it his mission to help make their lives as bearable as he can. When his visits are stopped he devises a plan along with a close nit group of friends to smuggle as many escapees out of Rome as he can using the guise of a choir to enable secret meetings to formulate and execute it. Gestapo boss Obersturmbannführer Paul Hauptmann who although struggles to prove anything is convinced that the Monsignor is up to something and is determined to find out exactly what it is.
The book is told via a split timeline, covering both events at the time and also later when members of the choir are interviewed by the BBC in the 1960’s. The multiple voices, each giving their own perspective of that time show the lengths that they went to in order to help those in need and the danger they actually put themselves under. Monsignor O’Flaherty was not only putting himself in the path of the Gestapo but also every citizen that resided in the Vatican City, which at the time was considered neutral even thought they lived under constant threat that they could be invaded at any time, a fact that those high up in the Vatican were always quick to stress when it looked like he was stepping out of line publicly. This is a time where the slightest slip up will get you killed and you never know who you can trust but somehow this unlikely group managed to do good whilst there was so much evil going on around them.
I love books that are based on true stories as although there will always be an element of fiction to help the story along and cover things that may not be known it ultimately satisfies the history geek in me giving me things I can research and read up on once I finish. It also gives me more insight into a past that I don’t fully know about. Whilst this is a book set during WWII it is more about the people who lived through that period in time rather than the war itself which I always find far more fascinating and compelling. As this is book 1 in the Rome Escape Line Trilogy I will definitely be looking out for the next in the series.

“My Father’s House” by Joseph O’Connor is an extraordinary and gripping novel that takes readers on a heart-pounding journey through the tumultuous times of World War II. Set against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Rome, the story unfolds with a perfect blend of historical accuracy and thrilling fiction.

At the center of this riveting tale is the courageous Irish priest, Hugh O’Flaherty, whose unwavering commitment to humanity and defiance against the tyranny of the SS officers make him a true hero. O’Connor masterfully weaves together the intricate threads of O’Flaherty’s life, creating a character that is deeply relatable.

The novel’s pacing is relentless, drawing readers into the high-stakes world of espionage and resistance. As the Gestapo’s net tightens around O’Flaherty and his team, the tension builds to an unbearable crescendo. The narrative is rich in suspense, leaving me on the edge of my seat.

“My Father’s House” sheds light on the often-overlooked acts of heroism during World War II, offering a poignant tribute to those who risked everything to save lives.

This is a must-read for anyone seeking a gripping tale of courage, sacrifice, and the triumph of good over evil.

This was an interesting and intriguing book based on a true story. Set in Rome and the Vatican City during world war 2, we meet an unlikely group of friends who make up "the choir" led by an Irish priest. The choir is a front for helping escapees and prisoners of war go into hiding or flee the country. The priest risks it all to help.

All the different characters were great especially John May and Enzo Angelucci and I liked finding out more of the story from interviews twenty years later. A really clever, well written book.

I really liked the sound of this book, but I found in confusing with too many characters. Great premise but I didn’t end up finishing it.

One of the best books I've ever read, I couldn't put it down. In 1943 the Nazis occupy Rome but one Irish priest living in the Vatican city rebels to help people escape. On his tail is SS officer Hauptmann who is determined to put an end to the escapees and the Irish priest. Fascinating and thrilling in equal measure and based on a true story - amazing!

I confess that I have enjoyed every one of Joseph O'Connor's novels that I have read. My Father's House is no exception. One of the aspects I enjoy most is the variety of approaches he employs in his fiction. It never palls with familiarity.

Here we have the story of an Irish priest, a teacher in the Vatican City State during the Second World War, operating an escape line for allied soldiers on the run in occupied Rome. The tale is structured around a series of interviews, notes and records, mainly from members of the Choir, Father Hugh O'Flaherty's team on the escape line. The point of these (fictional) records becomes clear towards the end of the novel in dramatic fashion. This structure permits the reader to observe O'Flaherty from the various points of view of others, and the picture of an intelligent, obstinate man with many virtues and also human failings emerges. For example, O'Flaherty has to reconcile his sense of Irish nationalism with all the anti-British paraphernalia that implies, with his attempts to bring mainly British service men to safety. Indeed, some of the Choir are English themselves.

All of the above is united in a highly dramatic narrative encompassing an 'operation' in real time, one conducted by O'Flaherty himself at great personal risk and played out in scenes of great tension and danger.

This is a great story, very well written, with some very memorable scenes, for example, O'Flaherty's interview by a clearly enraged Pope Pius XII, as well as his personal feud with the local Gestapo leader, Paul Hauptmann.

The "Renimento" mission, which O'Flaherty completes on Christmas Eve, is the focus of the 1943 narrative thread, which is presented in alternate chapters. The structure of this plot creates tension and drive. Even the second narrative thread, which recounts O'Flaherty's escapades from the viewpoint of significant individuals almost two decades after the event, keeps up the excitement.Hugh O'Flaherty (1898–1963), an Irish Catholic priest who is recognised as one of the Second World War's unsung heroes, served as the inspiration for the novel. He was a member of the resistance organisation against the Nazis from Vatican City and became known as "the scarlet pimpernel" for his skill in eluding the Gestapo.

I received an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House and the author Joseph O'Connor.
I thought this was beautifully written and a vivid depiction of the terror and risks involved with resisting Nazi rule and influence in Rome during the occupation. Influenced by real events and real people, it makes the story all the more impactful. Quite slow at the beginning but completely gripping at the end. Would recommend to any fans of WW2 historical fiction.

Beautiful, allusive writing with utterly viable and fascinating (if too many!) characters. We move around lots in time and place in Italy, earlier in US and among German higher ups (Hauptmann) .. bad guys, and shunt between resistance Irish and others helping escapees from the various zone in rome .. but I just kinda' ignored the confusion of tracking people and time frames, and hoped for the best. The ending is dazzling and colossal... utterly effective. I learn from other reviewers that this was real except for some details and necessary narrative fictionalisation. I'm glad to learn of this from masterful storyteller. Top notch.

Didn’t want it to end Joseph O’Connor is the most sublime writer. Every book he has written is a classic. This story is nerve wracking and heart breaking I am so grateful to know more about this man and the bravery they all showed in the horrors of war. Thankyou

Set in Rome during the Second World War, My Father’s House follows a small group of friends trying to help refugees and Allied prisoners escape back to safety. The main protagonists are Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, an Irish Catholic priest based in the Vatican who is the mastermind of the plots, and Obersturmbannfuhrer Paul Hauptmann, head of the Gestapo in Rome, and their interactions leading up to the Rendimento - code word for the Monsignor’s rescue plans on Christmas Eve.

Being. a fan of historical fiction, I enjoyed reading My Father’s House. There were times when I found it confusing, especially when it changed time, with ‘interviews’ from after the war. At the same time, I can see why it’s written like this, keeping the suspense of the events of the main rescue mission.

Inspired by real events and people, this is an entertaining story and life in Rome under Nazi rule.

It’s arguably unfashionable to write about priests doing good things, but that’s exactly what Irish writer Joseph O’Connor has done in his latest novel, My Father’s House.

The story is based on a real-life Irish Catholic priest, Hugh O’Flaherty (1898-1963), regarded as one of the unsung heroes of the Second World War. Based in Vatican City, he was part of the resistance movement against the Nazis and was so clever at evading the Gestapo that he earned the nickname “the scarlet pimpernel”.

Wikipedia tells me that he was responsible for saving 6,500 Allied soldiers and Jews. He did this by finding them places to hide in houses, farms and convents and by setting up a clandestine “escape line” to get escaped British POWs back home.

Of course, O’Flaherty didn’t work alone. He was aided by a small team of covert operators, including Delia Murphy, a famous balladeer married to the Irish ambassador; British Major Sam Derry, an escaped POW; Sir D’Arcy Osborne, British Ambassador to the Holy See; and John May, who was Sir D’Arcy’s butler. Together they created a vast underground network that fed and housed and aided thousands trying to evade the Nazi’s stranglehold on Italy after the occupation of Rome and the fall of Fascist leader Mussolini.

O’Connor makes it clear in his acknowledgements that My Father’s House is a work of fiction and that he has taken liberties with facts, chronologies and so on, and that the characters presented, while based on real people, are “my versions and not to be relied upon by biographers or researchers”. He adds: “The novel is not intended to be a source of students of wartime Rome or the Nazi occupation of Italy.”

Yet, the story feels authentic. It reads like a literary thriller, but it’s packed with exuberant detail — of streetscapes, people and activities, for instance — to create scenes that are so vivid as to be cinematic. It would make an excellent movie.

But as ever with O’Connor’s work, his fictionalised account of this man and his daring exploits is almost as ambitious as O’Flaherty’s self-appointed mission. He adopts a “high literary” style to tell the priest’s story from multiple viewpoints using imagined BBC interview transcripts, for instance, made about 17 years after the war (and likely to mark the passing of the priest, who died aged 65), interspersing these with a straightforward narrative that moves forward from 19 December 1943 to Christmas Eve, 1943.

The 1943 narrative thread, told in alternate chapters, counts down to a mission known as the “Renimento”, which O’Flaherty carries out on Christmas Eve. The design of this storyline builds suspense and momentum. Even the second narrative thread, which is told from the perspective of key characters looking back on O’Flaherty’s exploits almost 20 years after the fact, continues to build that momentum.

Yet My Father’s House isn’t a bonafide page-turner because the pacing is slightly too uneven and sometimes gets bogged down in detail and literary flourishes. But I liked the pitting of the good priest against the bad Nazi — Paul Hauptmann, the Gestapo commander in Rome — and the cunning both men have to employ to get by, which adds a frisson to the story.

And the Coda, written in the form of a memoir by a contessa who knew O’Flaherty, rounds things off nicely by showing us how the humanity and quiet dignity of the man continued after the war ended. It’s a moving — and fitting — tribute.

A riveting book based on the true story of Irish Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty and his companions who ran an Escape Line out of Nazi controlled Rome during WW2 under ever watchful eye of the notorious Gestapo Commander Paul Hauptmann under their cover of a Choir in the Vatican City where O'Flaherty lived and worked in the Annulments Office.
The book is not just about the Monsignor but also about his companions, some are real characters and some based on a number of real characters. When I finished I found myself reading about these individuals as they were every bit as fascinating as Monsigneur Hugh O'Flaherty
The writing is superb, the tension will leave you holding your breath at times. The author clearly did a lot of research before writing this book and it shows.
If you only read one book this year, read this one. You wont regret it.

Not my usual read, but enjoyable.

I found I was immersed into the story and the descriptions of Rome made me feel a deeper involvement in the book.

Thanks to #NetGalley the author and publisher for an ARC of this book

Such a good book based in Rome and the Vatican City. These are described so well that I felt like I was actually in the arena with the characters. The writing was beautiful and it touched me. I love history and this felt the perfect mix of what actually happened to what really happened. This book draws the reader in.

The novel is set in 1943 and describes a number of disparate individuals who meet in the Vatican ostensibly as a choir when they are in fact, arranging the escape of many allied soldiers and other people who fear persecution or death at the hands of the Nazis. It’s a gripping story and well told. Well worth reading.
My Father’s House’ is based upon the true story of Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, a Catholic priest from Killarney, Co. Kerry who assisted the escape of hundreds of allied personnel via Vatican City.

I felt completely submerged in wartime Rome and Vatican City, smiling with them when plans worked, and tense when there were problems.
I’d never heard of Monsignor O’Flaherty, so made myself not google him, to see how it all ended. What a remarkable story, what very brave people.
I enjoyed the frequent humour in the writing, making it an even more enjoyable read.
I absolutely loved this book - I’m sad to have finished it!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book for review

This book is absolutely beautifully written with a host of very real characters and settings. I particularly loved the humour, especially in Delia’s commentary on events. I did find the novel confusing in places and found myself having to go back several pages to work out whose story I was reading when new chapters began simply with pronouns and left me to work out whose version of events I was reading. This was no great hardship because it is prose which deserves to be read and enjoyed at least twice.

A dual timeline book mainly telling the true story of wartime Rome in 1943/4.. Hugh is an Irish Catholic priest working in the Vatican and I really enjoyed his descriptions of life under the Germans. Lots of humour when reflecting on life.
The use of a choir has individuals working to help those who have escaped German wartime camps, Keep going to the end to read about events on Christmas Eve!! Recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book read like a thriller, based on real events but fictionalised. I wasn't aware of this episode in history and it was a nice way to be educated. The characters are all varied and interesting who have their own major parts to play. Loved the way each chapter was based on each character's statement.
#MyFathersHouse #NetGalley