Ellen Hampton Books.
Historian and author writing at the crossroads of war, revolution, and the enduring allure of Paris.
History, Literature, and the Space Between
I am a PhD historian, author, editor, and occasional professor whose work explores the human stories that shape how we remember the past. From World War II resistance and frontline courage to contemporary Paris, my books follow people navigating fear, hope, and moral choices. I also collaborate on multimedia projects, including audio tours, documentaries, and exhibitions that bring the past into the present.
Featured Books
Featured Books
Doctors at War
LSU PRESS, 2023
When anti-Jewish measures intensified under the Nazi Occupation of France, a group of doctors formed a clandestine group to treat and shelter resistants, to deter deportation and to protect victims of terror. Led by the grandson of the great Louis Pasteur, the Resistance Health Service included the son of a rabbi, the son of a Protestant pastor, and the first woman to direct a French hospital department. They joined forces in Paris to outwit the Nazis, despite terrible danger. Sworn to aid and assist, most of them felt they could not have acted otherwise.
Les Rochambelles
TALLANDIER, 2022
Des femmes dans une division blindée ! Le général Leclerc n’en a jamais entendu parler. Mais tel est le marché qui lui est présenté : s’il veut 19 ambulances Dodge flambant neuves pour sa jeune division, il doit accepter également les chauffeurs, des femmes. Le groupe Rochambeau – rapidement surnommé les Rochambelles – écrit une page d’histoire en étant la première unité des femmes intégrée dans une division de combat sur le front occidental pendant la Deuxième Guerre mondiale.
Women of Valor
MCFARLAND PUBLICATIONS, 2021
Based on interviews with surviving members, Women of Valor tells the extraordinary story of the Rochambelles, the only women's unit to serve on the front lines of WWII. Organized in New York by a wealthy American widow determined to create an all-female ambulance corps, they served in the French Second Armored Division with unflinching courage—saving soldiers from burning tanks, dodging bombs, bullets, and mines, and occasionally even talking their way out of German hands.
Playground for Misunderstanding
2013
A smart, darkly funny novel in which an American exchange student in Paris and his girlfriend take a walk along the faultlines of communication between French and American, male and female, old and young, in the sublime chaos of today's Paris. Or is it yesterday's? So hard to tell.
